Eco Refurbishment

Course review:

The vast majority of us will never design and build our own new eco-homes, yet our existing houses can make a massive contribution to our carbon footprint and wider environmental impact.

This course covers ecological improvements to existing buildings, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, water re-use and conservation, healthy buildings and hazardous building materials. It includes a number of practical demonstration sessions.

Intro:
Refurbishing a property can be the quickest and easiest way to improve its energy ratings, and to save money on energy bills. This course looks at ways of refurbishing and renovating a building in line with the most up to date ecologically sound techniques and using a variety of eco materials.

Course Outline:
This course will look at areas most commonly addressed in refurbishing a property, such as insulation and water conservation.

Topics covered include solid wall insulation, looking at available insulating materials from the commonly available to ecologically sound looking at practical issues and compromises associated with each. U values will also be discussed as an introduction to understanding heat loss of a building. The course will also explore renewable energy options for a building, giving specialist tours of the renewables on the CAT site.

There will be practical sessions to support all of the material on the course, from roof insulation, to water conservation and compost toilets.

How will the course be taught?
The course will be taught through a series of lectures, practicals, discussions, workshops and tours.

What students will get out of it?
A thorough understanding of the best practices involved in eco refurbishment, with skills and knowledge applicable to their own projects.