Kelvin Court is a 35-unit sheltered housing complex located in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire.

Constructed in 1995, this multi-storey building is located within a conservation area with many aspects of the building deteriorating. Hanover (Scotland) Housing Association was keen to co-ordinate required replacement works with energy improvements works. A deep retrofit project was commissioned, supported by a £500,000 grant from The Scottish Government.

Completed in March 2025, this project focussed on a fabric first solution to minimise energy demand.  Additional measures included the introduction of improved heating, hot water and ventilation solutions as well as renewable technology.

The improvements have succeeded in reducing the building’s overall energy demand and lowering its carbon emissions, whilst protecting the asset in the long term. The aesthetic of the building has considerably improved, and the residents and staff will benefit from improvements in indoor air quality, increased thermal comfort, health and wellbeing, and of course a significant reduction in energy bills.

Carbon Futures was appointed to assist with technical input on site and to provide as built energy assessments on completion of all works.

This involved collaboration between the client, contractor, sub-contractors and structural engineer to resolve technical challenges on site in relation to the improvement and energy efficiency works. This specifically focussed on detailing in relation to air tightness, thermal bridging and insulation installations. The works also included replacement of roof coverings, windows and doors, and, critically, the triangular curtain walling elements within the living rooms of the flats.

Energy assessments were carried out for all properties to represent the variety of flat types and positions within the building. These were completed for both the existing conditions and proposed works to demonstrate improvements.

The retrofit design was a collaborative process and was based on a whole building and fabric first approaches following PAS 2035 methodology. The fabric upgrades were considered first and then options for heating and hot water solutions were complimented through the use of renewable technologies.

Works were completed in only seven months with the residents continuing to occupy the building throughout.

In  line with the fabric first approach, significant attention was given to thermal bridging detailing to reduce the risk of condensation and mould at all junctions.

Non-combustible external wall insulation was installed to improve the existing wall U-value from 0.35W/m²K to 0.15W/m²K. Insulation in the existing roof spaces varied and was topped up to 300mm throughout. The original drawings showed that the ground floor has some insulation and given the level of disruption, it was decided not to insulate the ground floor further, however, the wall insulation was taken well below the ground floor level to reduce thermal bridging at this junction.

New triple glazed windows were installed to form the new curtain walling sections in the triangular bay windows. An external colour palette was selected to tie into the surrounding area and retain interest in the elevations.

Whilst heat pumps were investigated, due to restrictions of the site, it was decided to replace the existing storage heaters with new high heat retention storage heaters. The quantity of PV on the roof was maximised and an Allume SolShare system was installed; dividing the energy generated from a single rooftop solar array between all flats.

From an energy efficiency perspective, EPC bands have improved from D and C bandings to all properties now having a B rating.

Overall reductions show the following savings per year for the 35 flats:

2025 Scottish Energy Efficiency Awards Winner – Large Scale Project Award
2025 Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland Awards Winner – Net Zero in Housing

______ Design Team

The Scottish Government
Hanover (Scotland) Housing Association Ltd
Union Technical
Brown + Wallace
Quantum Solutions Limited