National Portrait Gallery takes steps towards decarbonisation with Salix Low Carbon Skills Fund

Run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and delivered by Salix, the new funding will support the Grade I-listed Gallery in its aim to achieve Westminster City Council's guidance of reaching net zero by 2040. The Phase 5 Low Carbon Skills Fund provides grants for public sector organisations to engage specialist and expert advice and skills needed to create robust heat decarbonisation plans to prepare for heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency works.

Working alongside Jamie Fobert Architects, our goal in the renovation project was to improve the internal conditions of the Gallery – which houses the most extensive collection of portraits in the world – in the most sustainable, energy-efficient, and sensitive way possible. We were tasked with integrating state-of-the-art engineering systems as well as safely reintroducing daylight into the galleries through windows which had been hidden for nearly 100 years. The work included the installation of a low-energy heat recovery ventilation system.

The Gallery, which was shortlisted for this year's RIBA Stirling Prize, will now use the Low Carbon Skills Fund to help create a robust heat decarbonisation strategy, enabling teams to assess and plan net zero works. The project is unique in that the building is entirely run from gas steam boilers, which provide the entirety of the building’s heating, and steam for humidification.

As well as being able to fund a heat decarbonisation strategy, the Low Carbon Skills Fund grant will also be used to undertake a desktop assessment, audit and feasibility study for net zero works, which includes plans to install low carbon heat pumps, electric humidifiers and low temperature hot water systems to minimise the Gallery’s environmental impact.

Petra Rodrigues, Principal Decarbonisation Project Manager, said: “We look at the whole building first to help identify where best to focus our efforts. We are also working with the Gallery to find other opportunities for decarbonisation and energy efficiency work to help meet its sustainability and net zero targets."

A route to decarbonisation 

This phase of funding will also allow the Gallery's team to review existing energy consumption data and organisation infrastructure and then look at an options appraisal for renewable technologies and fabric improvements. This will be followed by a desktop assessment that will include, heat loss calculations, architectural input, quantity surveyor’s input, and acoustics advice. 

The project team also includes consultants Purcell, who worked on Inspiring People and will now be consulting on the architectural heritage of the project, as well as consultants at Fanshawe who will be acting as quantity surveyors. 

The plan will set out a route to decarbonisation over the Gallery that includes financial and time benchmarks.

This combination of activities will outline the baseline energy consumption and emissions for the Gallery. It will help identify areas of high consumption, set out an options appraisal for possible interventions, and identify piecemeal, actionable projects that maximize cost-effectiveness.

Overall, the heat decarbonisation plan will set out the relevant issues that must be addressed to deliver decarbonisation.

Salix Client Support Officer, Milo Challinerl said: “It was fantastic to visit the wonderful National Portrait Gallery and to talk about the net zero plans for this incredible building.

“It may seem like a daunting task, especially as the building and its amazing collection have such significance. It really does feel like all the historical figures of the past and present are watching with interest!”