About the Project

Historic buildings represent a major challenge for communities and local authorities in the Northern Periphery & Arctic Region. They have unique cultural, architectural and economic value, but those very attributes present challenges when it comes to improving energy efficiency.

These buildings need individually tailored improvements and retrofit options, that will allow them to continue in active service and not detract from their historic character. Often, this sensitive renovation is essential, as is identifying new uses that will keep them central to the communities that host them.

The Energy Pathfinder Project brings together partners from 6 NPA regions and aims to identify the main challenges in improving energy efficiency in historic buildings to achieve or approach modern Near Zero Energy Standards.

Energy Pathfinder’s Partners have identified 8 demonstrator buildings, representing a range of old and new historic buildings in Cork, Ireland, Scotland’s Orkney Islands, Umea, Sweden and Viðareiði on the Faroe Islands. They include historic churches, stately homes, lighthouse cottages and public buildings.

In addition to making tailor made proposals for the improvement and energy retrofitting of these historic buildings (including the integration of renewable energies) Energy Pathfinder will monitor actual energy use in 6 demonstrator buildings, both before and after retrofit, and establish the benefit of different measures.

These buildings will provide data for an on-line Toolkit which will allow building owners & users to consider working towards Near Zero Energy standards. In order to develop and demonstrate the toolkit, Energy Pathfinder will work with owners and other stakeholders through a participatory design process.

Energy Pathfinder aims to show that historic buildings can be sustainable from an energy and CO2 perspective, economically viable and socially and culturally relevant.