22 C O N T E X T 1 4 9 : M A Y 2 0 1 7 A pilot project in Edinburgh’s world heritage site demonstrated, for example, how panels for solar water heating can be installed on the twinned double-pitched roofs of Georgian tenement buildings without a visual impact by mounting the panels in the central roof valley.5 Where hiding is not an option, careful aesthetic and technical design becomes more important.The National Trust installed conventional in-line photovoltaic panels and mini-panels, mimicking slates, at the stables block of Morden Hall in south London to compare the technologies in practice. The importance of aesthetic design has also been highlighted by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, describing in a guide for placeresponsive design how, through sensitive detailing and positioning, and the selection of appropriate shapes, colours, textures and so on, photovoltaic panels can be integrated in culturally sensitive settings.6 Similar guidance has been published in Germany.The Bavarian State Office of Monument Care, for example, has produced a booklet on solar energy and monument care, acknowledging that the three-step process of energy consumption reduction, energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy use applies to historic buildings, and the installation of photovoltaic panels can be acceptable, depending on context and detailing.7 To support owners of (historic) buildings where photovoltaics installation is not considered acceptable or feasible, regional Bavarian governments have created virtual solar area markets, where building owners without roof areas suitable for photovoltaics can find owners with such areas, so that both can make best use of their shared interest.The Bavarian government is supporting this by integrating the identification of solar areas into long-term master planning. Solar areas are assessed and listed in the land registry. In historic areas, the cultural impact is included in the assessment. This means that an owner of a historic building knows at an early stage if the installation of photovoltaics on the buildings is acceptable and, if it is not, where to find suitable areas nearby. Together, the cadastre and exchange tools will help historic building owners to benefit from the sun. This communal approach and the active engagement of German governments at national, regional and municipal levels to investing and providing tools specifically useful for historic building owners makes larger reductions in carbon dioxide emissions possible than mere technical upgrades of singular buildings ever could. The UK certainly has a good track record of publishing policies and advice, such as the Retrofit GuidanceWheel and best practice guides.Without more infrastructural investment and better financial and master planning tools, particularly at local and regional levels, achieving ever-greater reductions in carbon dioxide emissions seems unlikely, especially if a more communal approach is not achieved. Carsten Hermann works for Historic Environment Scotland as advisor and researcher on sustainable building conservation. In a pilot project in Edinburgh’s world heritage site, solar water heating panels were installed in the hidden valley of the M-shaped roofs of Georgian tenements to reduce the visual impact of the panels. (Photo: Crown copyright, Historic Scotland) References 5 Changeworks (2009) Renewable heritage: a guide to microgeneration in traditional and historic homes, Changeworks, Edinburgh 6 Williams, J, and Hagen, K (2016) Ensuring placeresponsive design for solar photovoltaics on buildings: a good practice guide for designers, manufacturers and installers, Campaign to Protect Rural England in association with the BRE, London 7 Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (2012) Solarenergie und Denkmalpflege
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