Elemental

mel starrs Uncategorized Blogging

Following the lead of Building, Property Week have announced:

“with online publishing across the world moving away from subscription models, we will not be charging you a penny to log on”

“But that’s not all. Property Week’s archive, dating back to 1999, is also fully searchable and available to everyone for free.”

Not really a surprise as they’re both from the same stable, CMP.  Now if CMP would just get all their other publications up to speed on RSS feeds (BSJ latest news, please), I’d be happy.

mel starrs Uncategorized CMP, Knowledge, online publishing

Interesting precis of the past 10 years by Construction Journal here – the message is good, but could do better.

(Labour) has given construction 10 years of steady workload, without the peaks and troughs of previous decades. And on the back of this, everyone in the industry has benefited, with pay increases comfortably above the all-industry average.

Good to see a positive slant in what is notoriously a doom mongering industry (and I can probably include myself in that).  Maybe things aren’t as bad as we all like to think they are…

mel starrs Uncategorized Construction Industry, Economics, statistics

I’m not at CIBSE conference – instead I am polishing the final draft of the MBA dissertation in anticipation of my upcoming career break (I finished paid employment on Friday) as I depart for distant shores next Monday.

But if I was at CIBSE, I would be quizzing folks on the following press release :

A new initiative ensuring accurate and complete carbon emissions calculations for compliance with Criteria 1 of Part L 2006 for buildings other than dwellings has been launched, offering a competent, independent approach to low carbon design.

The new simulation side of The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers’ (CIBSE’s) Low Carbon Consultants Register was unveiled at the Institutions’ 2007 National Conference, 24th and 25th April 2007.

Following the success of the operation and design aspects of the register, the simulation category is for those who carry out energy performance calculations. All of the major simulation software providers will be participating in the scheme and users of these software products can now register their competence via CIBSE. Training and examination for this aspect of the register will be carried out by software providers Integrated Environmental Solutions Limited (IES), Hevacomp Limited and Environmental Design Solutions Limited (EDSL).

CIBSE has applied to the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for approval to operate the Simulation element of the Register as an accredited scheme. This will allow Building Control Officers to accept CO2 calculations signed off by the Low Carbon Consultant without further checking or evaluation.

Welcoming the launch, CIBSE Chief Executive Stephen Matthews said: “We are delighted that the success of the Low Carbon Consultants Register has allowed us to branch out into the simulation side and further build on the expertise offered by those on the register.”

IES Founder and Managing Director, Dr Don Mclean adds: “As an alternative to the SBEM engine, CLG approved thermal simulation software, such as IES’s, offers building designers a more comprehensive and reliable route for assessing Part L2 compliance for complex and simple buildings.  This scheme is particularly important in helping the industry understand how such simulation software can be used effectively not only to ensure Regulations compliance but also to achieve energy efficient building design.”

IES, EDSL and Hevacomp must be sighing with relief – after all their investment in their software has been somewhat more risky for them than the SBEM software.

It seems odd to me that SBEM, being primarily not-for-profit, is not ‘open source’. DCLG missed a trick here.  By keeping the algorithms a ‘black-box’, engineers have had to resort to reverse-engineering to find out what the particular foibles of the methodology are.  Had the algorithms been released, all that time and effort could have been channelled into improving the methodolgy and software.  After all, there’s no fiercer critic than an engineer, as anyone who has presented a technical paper at CIBSE can probably attest to.

mel starrs Uncategorized Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, CIBSE, Communities and Local Government, Department of Communities, Don Mclean, energy efficient building design, energy performance calculations, Environmental Design Solutions Limited, Hevacomp Limited, Integrated Environmental Solutions Limited, Part L, simulation, simulation software, simulation software providers, Software, software providers, Stephen Matthews, thermal simulation software

I’ve updated my links to the side, adding a few more categories and blogs I’ve found over the past few months.  Highlights include:

Rob at no2self found via Hana , I think. He’s an architect (in Birmingham) and his EcoBuild post had me giggling inappropriately at my keyboard.

A young blog (born December 2006) here by 4FM (who are fans of Phil over at Zero Champion). 4fm is the service partner to the Centre for Facilities Management.

Holistic City have a great little blog (not updated very often) at adg rest area. I particularly liked the wind turbine post.

There’s plenty more who I’ve namechecked over the past few months or have been following.  Take a browse through the blogrolls to the left…

mel starrs Uncategorized Birmingham, Centre for Facilities Management, Hana, Housekeeping

The Government wants go further to make it easier for homebuyers to access grants for energy efficiency measures, linking them to new EPCs.

Grants look to be worth about £100 – £300 for homes rated E, F or G. Current estimates for the cost of an EPC are £85 (which the seller, rather than the buyer pays). This price will probably vary in terms of location – rural areas will probably not be as well served as urban areas, with prices reflecting this.

EPC’s of E and lower are equivalent to a SAP rating of 54 or lower.

So will it be better to look for a house with a B rating (say SAP of 85) or an E rating of 54 and get the grant? The savings on energy bills of a B rating will amount to around £300/yr. Now it’s unclear what the grants would cover, but it’s unlikely they’ll cover the full capital cost of your improvements. The cost to bring a house up to 85 from 54 is likely to be much greater than £300.

It will be interesting to see if the market takes all this information and reflects it in prices.

For instance, Sellers A and B, on the same street, with the same access to schools etc, and for simplicity sake, the same shape of building. If seller A has an EPC with 85 on it, do they price their house taking into account the future savings the new buyer will make in relation to seller B’s house which has an EPC with 54 on it? Or do they try to recover the investment they have made in installing improvements? Or are they the marker by which seller B discounts against? Of course both sellers have to pay the same price for their certificate (assuming they are in a location with many assessors who are competing for business).

Any comments anyone?

mel starrs Uncategorized Economics, energy bills, energy efficiency measures, EPBD, GBP, Part L

The always excellent TheyWorkForYou has alerted me to these factoids:

Q: how much has been allocated to the Energy Performance Certificates scheme for (a) start-up costs and (b) 2007-08?

A:The Department has allocated some £1.96 million to start-up costs for the Energy Performance Certificates scheme. This money is required to put into place the necessary systems and calculation methodologies to support introduction of energy certificates and to develop guidance, qualifications and quality assurance frameworks for energy assessors. The allocations for 2007-08 are currently under consideration.

I assume this includes the upcoming public buildings, as well as housing.

Q : how many qualified (a) home inspectors and (b) domestic energy assessors there are on the (i) Buildings Research Establishment, (ii) Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and (iii) SAVA Government-accredited schemes?

A: As at 23 March there were 1,085 home inspector candidates who had successfully passed their exam. There were over 3,000 DEA candidates who were in or about to begin training, all of whom could qualify by June.

Accreditation schemes for domestic energy assessors are in the process of being approved by the Secretary of State, and will receive formal approval shortly. As no approval has yet been made details cannot be provided.

Still no formal approval!  Cutting it a bit tight, aren’t they?

Q: what funding her (Yvette Cooper) Department provides to government-accredited schemes to train (a) home inspectors and (b) domestic energy assessors?

A: No public funding has been provided to the commercial companies currently offering training courses to prospective home inspectors and domestic energy assessors.

The trainees themselves are responsible for payment of their own fees, but have access to the range of Government-backed schemes such as career development loans which are available to those wishing to upgrade their skills or undertake a new career.

Q: how many lenders offer a green mortgage in preparation for the introduction of energy performance estimates?

A: We are aware of four lending bodies who currently offer ‘green mortgage’ products, others have said they are interested in developing products. As the Chancellor stated in the Budget, the Government expect the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates and other initiatives to provide the potential for the market for ‘green’ financial products to develop further.

She hasn’t said who they are – anyone know?

Unrelated to EPC’s, but relevant to housing and obviously asked due to the impending merger of HC and EP:

Q: how much land is owned by (a) the Housing Corporation and (b) English Partnerships; and what estimate she (Yvette Cooper) has made of its value.

A: The Housing Corporation predominantly pursues its objectives through the provision of grant funding and does not currently own any land.

English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency, owns over 8,000 hectares of land being held for phased redevelopment and disposal, with an estimated market value of £1,838 million as at March 2006.

Nearly £2 billion of land in the coffers – good news for BREEAM and EcoHomes/Code for Sustainable Houses.  EP land requires a ‘Very Good’ certification as minimum or 3 star for CSH.

mel starrs Uncategorized BREEAM, energy assessors, energy certificates, energy performance estimates, English Partnerships, EPBD, Finance, financial products, GBP, Housing Corporation, national regeneration agency, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, SAVA Government, statistics, Yvette Cooper

I’ve had many a conversation over the past few months lamenting the lack of engineers available for hire at senior and associate level. These figures from 2004 show that we’re not imagining this shortfall – look at the massive gap in age bracket 40-44:

General concensus is that in the early 90’s when the industry was in recession, those who were then in their late 20’s/early 30’s left to pursue careers in IT, accountancy or aromatherapy and never came back.

It is estimated that we need 7,000 entrants per annum over the next few years to meet construction demand.

One institute which has come up with a novel way to solve the dilemma is RICS. Reported in Building last week:

  The RICS is set to address the skills shortage in surveying by launching refresher courses for people who have left the profession but wish to return.

The article goes on to suggest that QS’s may be about to be added to the current list of skills shortage occupations. I’m surprised to learn that the only engineering disciplines currently on the list are railway engineers, structural/bridge engineers, transportation and highways engineers and ground engineering. I’d be more than happy to see building services engineers added to the list and start to import talent from India, East Europe and China more freely.

mel starrs Uncategorized China, Construction Industry, India, Resources

Found via:: WorldChanging, a manifesto from Allan Chochinov of Core 77 (online design magazine). The full 1000 word manifesto is worth a read but the headings are as follows:

1. Hippocratic before Socratic
2. Stop making crap
3. Systems before artifacts
4. Teach sustainability early
5. Screws better than glues
6. Design for impermanence
7. Balance before talents
8. Metrics before magic
9. Climates before primates
10. Context before absolutely everything

I’m particularly struck with no.6 – design for impermanence. Designing for things to be reusable or recyclable begins to make sense, against building artefacts that will exist for many many generations to come, when viewed in the context of how planet earth manufactures, tools, and recycles things. There’s a whole area to be explored here, looking at history, culture, and how human emotions get jumbled up in the things we produce. The image above is of Ankar Wat in Cambodia. By embracing the concept of impermanence, we lose the ability to leave something of ourselves behind for future generations. Is this something the human race can do or is it inherently in our nature to construct monuments of our time?

This list reminded me of the Hannover Principles, from 1992, of Bill McDonough, now more well know for the Cradle to Cradle approach. The Hannover Principles are listed below, but the full 59 page pdf can be downloaded from here. Some common themes, including impermanence or as McDonough characterises it, humility:

1. Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist in a healthy, supportive, diverse and sustainable condition.
2. Recognize interdependence. The elements of human design interact with and depend upon the natural world, with broad and diverse implications at every scale. Expand design considerations to recognizing even distant effects.
3. Respect relationships between spirit and matter. Consider all aspects of human settlement including community, dwelling, industry and trade in terms of existing and evolving connections between spiritual and material consciousness.
4. Accept responsibility for the consequences of design decisions upon human well-being, the viability of natural systems, and their right to co-exist.
5. Create safe objects of long-term value. Do not burden future generations with requirements for maintenance of vigilant administration of potential danger due to the careless creation of products, processes or standards.
6. Eliminate the concept of waste. Evaluate and optimize the full life cycle of products and processes, to approach the state of natural systems, in which there is no waste.
7. Rely on natural energy flows. Human designs should, like the living world, derive their creative forces from perpetual solar income. Incorporate the energy efficiently and safely for responsible use.
8. Understand the limitations of design. No human creation lasts forever and design does not solve all problems. Those who create and plan should practice humility in the face of nature. Treat nature as a model and mentor, not an inconvenience to be evaded or controlled.
9. Seek constant improvement by the sharing of knowledge. Encourage direct and open communication between colleagues, patrons, manufacturers and users to link long-term sustainable considerations with ethical responsibility, and re-establish the integral relationship between natural processes and human activity.

mel starrs Uncategorized Allan Chochinov, Bill McDonough, Cambodia, Energy, natural energy flows, natural systems, online design magazine, Sustainability

 Launched recently is OpenArchitectureNetwork.org. Although still in beta, the idea is proposing:

  “an open-source online space where architects and engineers can share their ideas with organizations and community leaders that are seeking design solutions for coping with the aftermath of natural disasters and political conflict. In addition to forging connections between socially responsible designers and worthy clients, the network allows creative colleagues to comment on one another’s ideas, along the lines of Web sites such as Wikipedia”

  via:: Architectural Record

  It’s probably obvious to readers of this blog – I’m very much in favour of knowledge sharing across company boundaries. The Smeagol approach to knowledge and information is dying and I predict will be damaging to businesses in the future. Knowledge itself is no longer a competitive advantage – but how you use it, share it and leverage it will be. A book I haven’t had a chance to read yet, but is on my wishlist, is “Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything” by Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams. This is one topic which is not going away soon…

mel starrs Uncategorized Anthony Williams, Don Tapscott, Knowledge, open-source online space