This article examines the nature of building retrofitting, the specific measures that fit within building retrofitting, and the environmental and social benefits of increased building retrofitting.
Students will learn that building retrofitting is building renovation with a focus on increasing energy efficiency, that increased building retrofitting will decrease carbon emissions and improve air quality, and other impacts of building retrofitting.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This article gives a nuanced view of the financial aspects of building retrofitting.
This solution is related to many other building-related solutions and would improve any lesson on increased efficiency.
Additional Prerequisites
Under the article there is a "related solutions" section that will enrich your understanding of building retrofitting and other climate solutions.
It may be helpful if students already understand the connection between building construction, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Some students, including ELLs, may need some terms defined before they read the article.
Differentiation
Students can read this article at home to prepare for an in-class discussion on energy use and efficiency within their own homes.
This resource pairs well with the High-Efficiency Heat Pumps article or any articles detailing solutions that can be implemented as building retrofits.
This article can support a lesson on the measures that are part of building retrofitting.
Language arts students can write persuasive letters to building managers to convince them to implement energy-saving retrofits.
Scientist Notes
In this resource, readers will learn about building retrofitting and how it encompasses many climate solutions. The article does not detail the different solutions but mentions them. You can find the mentioned solutions on the website, and SubjectToClimate has reviewed many of them. This resource demonstrates how combating climate change can look different for everyone and can be addressed from many angles. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-4 Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
ETS1: Engineering Design
HS-ETS1-3 Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Economics
D2.Eco.1.9-12 Analyze how incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.8 Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.9 Synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g., texts, experiments, simulations) into a coherent understanding of a process, phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting information when possible.
