Elemental

These are my links for July 26th through July 27th:

• International Green Construction Code (IGCC) Now in the Works| News | Architectural Record – International in the same way the World Series is a global baseball competition: "On June 29, the American Institute of Architects, along with the International Code Council (ICC) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), announced their intent to create an International Green Construction Code (IGCC).
  The new code aims to cover all aspects of sustainability in the built environment, from roofing to ventilation strategies, drawing from existing codes and standards to create one universal code. The code will apply to new construction and renovations. “We hope this will bring all of the separate efforts together and put them under one umbrella to make it easier for jurisdictions to know what they are adopting,” says Adolf Zubia, ICC board president."
• CBI climate change progress tracker. CBI on climate change. – Climate change remains one of the most critical issues affecting the UK, but in tough economic times it is at clear risk of slipping down the political agenda. Urgent action to cut emissions must be delivered if we are to hit government emissions reduction targets, ensure a future independent supply of energy, and manage rising energy costs.
  The CBI’s Climate Change Tracker is a tool developed by the CBI to track progress against the priorities set out in the CBI’s 2007 climate change report, Climate change: everyone’s business.
  The Tracker benchmarks the progress of the priorities for action set out in the report, focusing on the immediate decisions and delivery needed up to 2010.
• Dubai development may be down, but it’s not out – Los Angeles Times – Fascinating and scary article on Dubai: "In the heart of most cities, the biggest piece of land that a single developer is typically able to control is one square block. …In Dubai, whole districts of the city, many covering dozens of square blocks and hundreds of acres, have been given over to single developments. Seeing architectural diversity within any project as a threat to the bottom line, their creators usually hire a single firm to design them around a recognizable theme…
  The result is a surprising twist on the privatization of cities like Los Angeles, where public space is notoriously scarce. In the privatized city, as the well-known critique goes, people aren't forced to mix with people who are different from themselves. They are hidden from that interaction inside their private cars and gated developments. … In Dubai, remarkably enough, the same is true for buildings, which tend to cluster together with other pieces of architecture just like them."
• Property’s Quangocracy – Property Week – Excellent dissection of the RDA's and their spending. MIPIM anyone?
• Charter of the New Urbanism | Congress for the New Urbanism – My Jane Jacobs obsession has lead me to the doors of New Urbanism and their charter. With LEED-ND and BREEAM Communities rearing their heads, time to get to grips with New Urbanism and what the future holds…
• Frank Gruber: New Urbanism: Very Misunderstood – "New Urbanism, although it has antecedents in mid-century voices (such as that of Jane Jacobs) …is a movement that arose in the 1980s among architects upset not only with the decline of the quality of the built environment but also with the failure they perceived of the profession of architecture to pay attention to the spaces between buildings and the larger urban or regional context…
  New Urbanists are attacked from both sides of America's cultural divide. Chances are, if you mention New Urbanism to group of forward thinking, contemporary design professionals, whether architects or planners, they will roll their eyes. To them New Urbanism, …is a facilitator of sprawl, not a solution. …New Urbanism is hopelessly nostalgic.
  But if you find yourself among a group of conservatives or libertarians, … you'll just as likely unleash a denunciation on the grounds that New Urbanism aims to thwart the natural desire of Americans to live in a single-family house on a cul-de-sac."
• Media library · Town and Country Planning Association – "Leading planning and housing charity, the Town and Country Planning Association(TCPA) will celebrate its 110th AGM today by publishing a Manifesto for the 21st Century. The Association’s vision – Towns and Countryside for a New Age of Challenge – sets out a new set of aspirations which directly address today’s challenges of climate change, globalisation and social justice.
  The TCPA’s Manifesto comprises four main elements: choice and diversity; cities and the larger task; a revitalised countryside; and networks of cities, towns and villages."
• The Effect of the Recession on Partnering in the Construction Sector – Excellent presentation from Don Ward, which he presented at the AEC networking meeting at the Building Centre last week. Slides 31/32 hold key messages for me. A lower price for the client does not necessarily have to eat into our profit margins (and in fact, shouldn't – we all need to make money).
• Real Time Carbon – I love this – I have a great deal of time for anything coming out of AMEE : "Until now, anyone trying to understand the carbon impact of the electricity they use has only had a single static Government conversion factor. The factor – currently 527 grams CO2 per kWh of electricity – is updated only a few times a year.
  The standard figure is based on a number of assumptions about the mix of energy used to generate electricity – the "generation mix". It tells consumers nothing about the carbon intensity of electricity at a given time.
  Real Time Carbon wants to help energy users see the real-time carbon intensity of electricity so they can avoid consuming at times of high emissions. We look forward to a time when appliances, buildings and factories automatically manage demand according to the carbon being released."
• Our Seven Commitments – Royal Town Planning Institute – Interesting work from RTPI, but it feels a little late? Interested to find out how they do with no.1, behavioural change, and good to see it isn't a "cast-in-stone" mainfesto : "The seven commitments are supported by a living and continuously improved action plan that will deliver practical outcomes, benefiting communities at the global and the local scale."
• U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu: “Global Warming Is the Greatest Challenge Facing Science” « The Dirt – "In the case of energy-efficient buildings, Chu argued local knowledge drives local building development, and needs to be updated to ensure best practices in energy-efficient buildings quickly go global. ”Buildings are local. We don’t ship buildings to Denmark.” He described the type of knowledge needed for creating energy-efficient buildings as a sort of “hands-on,” practitioner’s knowledge –”it’s like a gardener’s craft or like those who know how to cook well.” Still, he thinks it is possible to “teach each other how to capture carbon, how to create more energy-efficient buildings.” To those who argue that any intellectual property (IP) transferred overseas should be protected, Chu added “it’s not about intellectual property (IP), it’s about people.” He also argued that the case for energy efficient buildings is economic — highly energy-efficient buildings can reduce current energy consumption by four-to-five times, putting “more money into people’s pockets.”"
• Ch 13 Page 79: Sustainable Energy – without the hot air – From David MacKay's excellent book:"“it’s better to drive than to walk.” Whether this is true depends on your diet. It’s certainly possible to find food whose fossil-fuel energy footprint is bigger than the energy delivered to the human. … According to a study from the University of Exeter, the typical diet has an embodied energy of roughly 6 kWh per kWh eaten. To figure out whether driving a car or walking uses less energy, we need to know the transport efficiency of each mode. For the typical car …, the energy cost was 80 kWh per 100 km. Walking uses a net energy of 3.6 kWh per 100 km – 22 times less. So if you live entirely on food whose footprint is greater than 22 kWh per kWh then, yes, the energy cost of getting you from A to B in a fossil-fuel-powered vehicle is less than if you go under your own steam. But if you have a typical diet (6 kWh per kWh) then “it’s better to drive than to walk” is a myth. Walking uses one quarter as much energy."
• DOE: Building Energy Codes – News Item – "The decision to create the joint publication resulted from the recent legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Act establishes an energy efficiency goal of 90 percent compliance with the 2009 IECC and Standard 90.1-2007 in all 50 states by 2017. In establishing this goal, the Federal legislation recognizes the 2009 IECC and Standard 90.1-2007 as the energy efficiency benchmarks for residential and commercial buildings.
  Because the ICC and ASHRAE documents complement each other, publishing them in one book benefits architects, designers, engineers, and code officials. It makes it easier to choose between design options, and helps make sure new and renovated buildings are in compliance with the latest references and local building safety codes."
• Bad British Architecture: BLAR MHOR HOUSING IN CAOL, FORT WILLIAM BY ARCHIAL FOR LORNE DEVELOPMENTS – Very quickly, a firm favourite on my blogroll. Ghost of Nairn in acerbic form as usual: "One helpful rule of thumb, from Nairn to you. When someone presents a masterplan with a perimeter of a line of trees, it means they're trying to hide something. Do not trust these people."

admin News amee, Architecture, ashrae, building, buildings, business, carbon, carbon_intensity, CBI, Chu, climatechange, code, criticism, development, Dubai, Economics, efficient, electricity, Energy, food, global, globalisation, green, international, IP, Jane_Jacobs, local, manifesto, masterplanning, New_Urbanism, partnering, planning, RDA, recession, RTPI, Sustainability, TCPA, UK, urbanism, US

These are my links for June 3rd through June 5th:

• ECUK – Sustainability – Engineers chartered with EC now explicitly expected to "Do more than just comply with legislation and codes": "ECUK’s Guidance on Sustainability clarifies the role of engineers in relation to sustainability and lists six principles to guide professional engineers in their work. It should be read alongside sustainability related information produced by Professional Engineering Institutions, such as codes, policy statements or guidance of a technical nature. "
• Sustainable legislation: keep it simple – Building – Pooran Desai of BioRegional takes on CSH: "Up to Code Level 4, the outcomes from an environmental persepective are basically sound though the metrics can be made more straightforward, robust. However, Code 5 and 6 as they are currently written are of dubious environmental value. The industry now generally accepts that forcing ‘net zero carbon’ on-site electricity generation is not helpful. There are other problems. On higher density sites particularly where you can’t collect sufficient rainwater to flush toilets, it forces on-site grey water treatment, often energy and chemical intensive, when even the Centre for Alternative Technology states that conventional sewage treatment is more eco-friendly than on-site grey water recycling. The solutions needed to deliver Code 5 and 6 are not just expensive in capital terms, but may not be kept operational because of high maintenance costs. This means that many homes built to current Code Level 5 and 6 will be less eco-friendly than Code 4."
• Genuine partnership remains the key to regeneration success – The Regeneration Blog – Excellent point, and not just for regeneration, but the entire construction industry: "I was at a conference the other day when a very clever person (oh, I wish, I wish, it had been me) said "less than three years ago we were confidently asserting that we had seen the end of boom-and-bust, now we are bust we are pinning our hopes back on the forthcoming boom. Well, you can't have it both ways"."
• Lord Turner on failed markets, irrational markets and environmental policy – 21 May 2009 – "The CCC’s report concluded that the electricity sector would have to be radically decarbonised by the 2030s in order to meet the 80% 2050 target. This cleaner electricity could then be applied, across other sectors such as transport, to help reduce emissions. He said that the CCC had concluded that the volatile nature of the financial market, with its direct impact on carbon and fossil fuel prices meant that a wholly market-led approach to tackling climate change would simply not work. Stronger policy instruments, coupled with government intervention would be needed to deliver the radical changes required."
• Living Building Challenge Version 1.3 — ILBI – A kind of supplement to LEED, via CRGBC: "The Living Building Challenge is a rigorous performance standard that defines the closest measure of true sustainability in the built environment, using a benchmark of what is currently possible and given the best knowledge available today. Version 1.3 is comprised of sixteen prerequisites within six performance areas, or Petals: Site, Energy, Materials, Water, Indoor Quality, and Beauty + Inspiration."
• China’s Grand Plans for <br/>Eco-Cities Now Lie Abandoned by Christina Larson: Yale Environment 360 – Arup's mythical Dongtan – lessons learned (a must-read): "Dongtan and other highly touted eco-cities across China were meant to be models of sustainable design for the future. Instead they’ve become models of bold visions that mostly stayed on the drawing boards — or collapsed from shoddy implementation. More often than not, these vaunted eco-cities have been designed by big-name foreign architectural and engineering firms who plunged into the projects with little understanding of Chinese politics, culture, and economics — and with little feel for the needs of local residents whom the utopian communities were designed to serve."
• NYCDOT – Street Design Manual – "The New York City Street Design Manual provides policies and design guidelines to city agencies, design professionals, private developers and community groups for the improvement of streets and sidewalks throughout the five boroughs. It is intended to serve as a comprehensive resource for promoting higher quality street designs and more efficient project implementation.
  The Manual builds on the experience of innovation in street design, materials and lighting that has developed around the world, emphasizing a balanced approach that gives equal weight to transportation, community and environmental goals. It is designed to be a flexible document that will change and grow, incorporating new treatments as appropriate after testing. The use and continued development of the Street Design Manual will assure that New York City remains a leading innovator in the public realm as it becomes a greater, greener city."
• Eco-ventilation health scare prompts regulation change – Building – "The draft report by the BRE’s Dr Michael Swainson and seen by Building, found that filters were not being replaced when worn out, which could lead to a build-up of humidity, carbon dioxide and other pollutants, as well as driving up energy use. It also says this could increase the risk of cancer in the homes of smokers.
  Mechanical ventilation systems are required in energy-efficient airtight homes to make sure that fresh air can circulate and that pollutants and humidity are extracted from the house. However, like a hoover, if the filter is not replaced the system stops working.
  The systems are virtually unavoidable if a home is to meet level four of the Code for Sustainable Homes, which all new homes in the social sector must meet by 2010."

admin News arup, bedzed, built_environment, chartership, China, cities, city, code, CSH, design, dongtan, EC, EcoHomes, Economics, electricity, filters, generation, mcdonough, nyc, obligations, planning, recession, standards, Sustainability, transport, UK, urban, ventilation

Well, I never thought I’d write that as a blog title! I’m not a fan of electric heating and haven’t been since before I did some investigation into Part L back in 2002.

However, as I was browsing through my copy of h&v news this week I came across an article by Kelly Butler of TEHVA, some of which I agreed with. As I said when I started blogging, changing my mind is my prerogative:

it is clear that as the generation of electricity de-carbonises, any form of heating that uses electricity increases in carbon defined popularity. But de-carbonisation is some way off yet and it takes a big leap of faith in political terms to guide us towards a more strategic set of policy instruments that appreciate that the services of the future need to built into the houses of today.

His crystal ball is showing him a future where the grid is decarbonised and it’s business as usual. Butler goes on to point out the applications where electric heating is suited:

domestic electric heating and hot water services are ideally suited to dwellings that have:

• Low heat requirements and the need for highly responsive well controlled heating, which is why they are so popular in new apartments.

• Restrictions on other services, such as gas pipe for high rise or economically unviable CHP; again relevant in apartments.

• Small hot water draw-off, with smaller cylinders and in some cases instantaneous delivery.

• Some form of renewable such as solar or heat pumps which needs to work with a supplementary heat source.

However, one thing Butler tries to gloss over is the fact that heating water using electricity (which is a scarce resource) could be at the detriment of using it for other uses which cannot be fuelled any other way. The grid capacity is just not there. Also the vision of business as usual with a decarbonised grid seems rosy and contrary to say, a Transitions Towns type vision. As Butler says himself, it is a big leap of faith, but I suppose it is one possible scenario of the future.

I wasn’t completely won over by the electric heating special feature though – the page opposite had a marketing pitch from an electric heating manufacturer which was wholly lacking in substance. Electric heating has it’s place, and will probably continue to replace some gas applications in the future, but an article on how to ‘trick’ Part L compliance does still not sit well with me.

mel starrs Opinion Electric heating, electricity, Kelly Butler, renewable energy

These are my links for August 18th through August 19th:

• One green energy firm 100% renewable – "Data available on electricityinfo.org shows that Good Energy is the only firm offering its customers energy which is all generated from renewables. Other companies which claim to offer green power, such as Ecotricity and Green Energy, don't even generate half of their power from renewables. And, while Good Energy makes no carbon emissions, the others do."
• Ten tips for cheap and effective eco-refurbishments – Building – Bigging up Inbuilt's recent contribution to Building's sustainability channel…
• STAR Community Index — ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA – via Jetson Green: The STAR Community Index is a new tool designed to help local governments plan, track and measure their sustainability programs. Inspired by the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED ® Green Building Rating System ™.
• Plans drawn up for British Embassy in Indonesia – Property Week – I was wondering what use BREEAM International would be with the majority of countries opting for LEED – of course! The FCO will have to have BREEAM on any embassies they build (OGC requirement). Still, not a massive market, I would of thought…
• BREEAM’s green credentials are not what they seem – Property Week – Great article from Property Week on the downsides of BREEAM and how these should change with BREEAM 2008 – links into EPC's and DEC's.
• The Green Workplace: BREEAM – the UK equivalent to LEED – toughens up – Emma Wharton of HOK compares BREEAM 2008 to LEED and wonders what changes LEED will bring in later this year.

mel starrs News BREEAM, buildings, competitors, DEC, electricity, EPC, existing, FCO, green, HOK, inbuilt, LEED, masterplanning, OGC, rating, system, tariffs, UK, US, USGBC

These are my links for July 10th through July 11th:

• The Standardised Method of Life Cycle Costing for Construction Procurement – Standardized Method of Life Cycle Costing for Construction Procurement brings together ISO 15686-5 and the BCIS Standard Form of Cost Analysis (SFCA) along with industry recognized occupancy cost codes, and will provide you with:° A standardized method o
• BROKERWATCH Engineering consultants target prices cut at Panmure Gordon – Panmure said that while the sub-sector is not completely immune to a global economic downturn, diversification by market and geography is key with an interesting consolidation play in place at the moment.
• CEEQUAL – The Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Assessment and Award Scheme – via Martin – free pdf of CEEQUAL manual: "This page offers you the opportunity to download a free pdf version of the CEEQUAL Scheme Manual for your personal use."
• Improving the energy efficiency of our buildings: A guide to air-conditioning inspections for buildings – Planning, building and the environment – Communities and Local Government – This guide is intended to help anyone who manages or controls air-conditioning plant understand how the Directive and Regulations work in practice, how to apply the Regulations, what their responsibilities are and when air conditioning inspections are req
• interview with the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Amory Lovins – The McKinsey Quarterly – interview Rocky Mountain Institute’s Amory Lovins – Energy, Resources, Materials – Electric Power – Good interview with Amory geared up to business readers. "the most important policy innovation is decoupling the profits of utilities from their sales volumes"

mel starrs News business, CEEQUAL, CLG, costing, electricity, Energy, EPBD, McKinsey, recession, shares, valuation, WLC

These are my links for June 15th through June 18th:

• Carbon Trust publishes views on Green Tariffs | Carbon Trust – In light of these concerns, for voluntary reporting purposes, Defra recommends that organisations calculate emissions from renewable tariffs using the average electricity emissions factor for the UK
• Shh – don’t tell anyone – these apartments are green! | The Greenwash Brigade | Marketplace from American Public Media – The basic lesson of hunting greenwash is to look for details and evidence; obscuring information or providing none is a loud indicator of guilt.
• Guest Post: Advanced GTD with Remember The Milk – I'm a big fan of GTD and also of web-based apps that can be accessed from any computer/phone. I've tried Remember the Milk before, but this looks like the system to beat all systems…
• “Zerstreutheit” and the Attention Management Cure | 43 Folders – Time management is *so* passe – attention managment is the new buzz. Totally agree with the sentiments here.
• NYT: Businesses Fight the Email Monster They Helped Created | 43 Folders – Merlin Mann on email bloat.

mel starrs News attention, carbon_trust, electricity, email, greenwash, green_tariffs, gtd, LEED, lifehacks, procrastination, Productivity, rememberthemilk, time, US

Well, I hate to say I told you so but we’ve been here before.

Back in November 2002, I wrote an article for BSJ* pointing out the iniquities of the factor used for electricity in the old Part L.  Seems Code for Sustainable Homes still has a flawed factor included and a similar loophole to the one I was worried about then still exists.  That was over 5 years ago.  Yikes.

Let’s hope this time the error gets fixed…

*BTW, if you click through and read the article, can I point out that the typo in the first paragraph was entirely BSJ and not me.  It still rankles with me (and woe betide you if you send me an email with typos – I am liable to correct it and send it back to you.  Is this a character flaw?).

mel starrs Opinion BSJ, electricity, factors, Part L

Since August 2006 this resource has been available and I failed to mention it until now. http://maps.restats.org.uk

From the press release: The collection of renewable energy statistics – began in 1989 via a project carried out by ETSU (now FES – a part of AEA Technology Environment) on behalf of the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Statistical Office of the European Communities (SOEC, also referred to as Eurostat). The project identified all relevant renewable energy sources and, where possible, information was collected on the amounts of energy derived from each. The database now contains 17 years of data from 1989 to 2005. RESTATS currently holds information on heat and electricity generated from all the following sources:

* Biofuels, including the combustion of biomass and wastes, co-firing, gas from landfill sites and digestion processes
* Hydro-electricity, both large and small-scale
* Wave power
* Wind turbines and wind-farms – onshore and offshore
* Solar – active solar heating and photovoltaics
* Geothermal aquifers
Information contained in the RESTATS database provides support to Government and Industry in a range of activities related to renewable energy. In particular, it is perhaps the most reliable means by which the success of the UK New and Renewable Energy Programme can be measured and monitored. More info at http://www.restats.org.uk

mel starrs Uncategorized Biofuels, electricity, Energy, renewable energy, renewable energy locations, renewable energy sources, renewable energy statistics, Statistical Office of the European Communities, Sustainability, UK Department, United Kingdom

A new one on me – BEEP stands for BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (and BOMA stands for Building Owners and Managers Association). Not content with all these acronyms, they also have a scheme called the GREEN (Green Resource Energy and Environment Network).

Stateside FM focussed, there could be some useful resources here come the advent of EPC’s for public building here in the UK. For Earth Day (again this seemed to be mainly a stateside celebration on 22 April) they released a Top 10 Energy Efficient Strategies (some US bias and mainly common sense):

1. Check that Equipment Is Functioning as Designed
Regularly inspect all equipment and controls to ensure they are functioning as designed.
Double-check Energy Management System (EMS) programming to make sure that operations are optimized. One firm corrected an EMS software programming error from “And” to “Or” and saved $3,700 annually.

2. Consider Your Cleaning Options
Team Cleaning-Janitors go through the building as a team floor by floor, and the lighting is turned on/off as they progress through the building.
Occupancy Sensors-Install motion sensors that will turn lights on when janitors are cleaning and automatically turn them off when the floor is vacant.
Coordinate-Have janitors coordinate with the security crew to walk through the building and turn off equipment that was inadvertently left on by tenants.
Day Cleaning-Why not have the janitors clean during the day while the lights are already on?

3. Encourage Tenants to Turn Off Equipment
During off hours, make sure to power down everything – such as copiers, kitchen equipment and task lights. Use cleaning/security personnel to turn off miscellaneous items such as coffee pots, kitchen equipment and individual office lights.

4. Use High Efficiency LED Exit Signs
Replace inefficient exits signs with high efficiency LED exit signs. LED exit signs operate 24/7 and have lower maintenance costs due to their extended life.

5. Institute an Energy Awareness Program
Create promotional items, post posters, write news releases-tell everyone about your commitment to energy savings. Use your company newsletter and company/building announcements to keep tenants informed about your energy savings goals and how they can both help and benefit.

6. Install Monitor Power Management Software
In U.S. companies alone, more than $1 billion a year is wasted on electricity for computer monitors that are left on when they shouldn’t be. Avoid those wastes by installing power management software for computer monitors and CPU/Hard Drives.

7. Change Incandescents to CFL and HID
CFL lights use less energy, have a longer lamp life, and produce less heat, thereby reducing heat load. Also, check the lighting in restrooms, closets, server rooms and some common areas. Thanks to the 2005 Energy Bill, lighting retrofits and upgrades that meet energy efficiency requirements may be tax deductible, up to $.60 psf.

8. Harvest Daylight
Locate workstations requiring high illumination adjacent to windows.

9. Evaluate After Hours Usage
Talk to the tenants to learn if they are actually using their space during the lease-required operating hours. Adjust building operating hours to reflect actual tenant usage.

10. Adjust Ventilation
Reduce exhaust and outdoor-air ventilation rates within codes. Take a look at the fans and adjust ventilation in unoccupied and low-density areas to reduce the ventilation to a practical, yet comfortable level.

mel starrs Uncategorized Building Owners and Managers Association, Earth Day, electricity, energy savings, energy savings goals, Green Building, Install Monitor Power Management Software, kitchen equipment, less energy, meet energy efficiency requirements, power management software, Resources, software programming error, United Kingdom, United States, USD

Mark Brinkley has written up a great critique of Bill Dunster (of BedZED infamy) and his green philosophy, following on from the article in the Sunday Times at the weekend. Highlights include:

• Bill’s a fan of thermal mass, acheived by concrete (high embodied energy)
• He’s not a fan of mech vent, opting for wind cowls (making for a leakier type of construction)
• He also opts for an ‘off-grid’ self sufficiency which Mark tracks back to the 70’s

Another thing Mark doesn’t pick up, but jumped out at me was the fact that ZEDfactory are importing cheap ‘green’ technologies from China. With food miles at the forefront of UK consciousness this seems a risky strategy.

Back in December ZEDfabric were promising that from February 2007,  they would be offering photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity, and solar thermal hot water panels. Equipment will be offered at competitive market prices.

At the time, Wendy Lee explained:

“The current situation is that, as a homeowner, you can apply for a Low Carbon Building Programme grant. To get a grant, you have to apply within the first few months of each year before funding runs out, and fight your way through the bureaucracy to ensure you meet the criteria. If successful, the grant can only be used for government-accredited products,
installed by government-accredited installers. You cannot use your own contractor or install panels by yourself.
If you opt to participate in our buying consortium, our wholesale prices for panels are better than the government-accredited products with a grant.
As an example, using the Low Carbon Building Programme, 1kWp of PV panels costs around £5,500 + VAT to install. The grant enables you to claim back 50% of the pre tax cost, i.e. £2,750. As the grant doesn’t cover VAT, your bill will be around £3,700.”

Almost spooky how right they got it – LCBP has been suspended for the April round, pending a relaunch in May after funding was allocatted within minutes of becoming available by the March round.  One side effect of the LCBP PR disaster has been a collapse in sales for british companies relying on LCBP to stimulate sales.  By funding vanishing, buyers are opting to wait, or worse, not bother. By ZEDfabric importing from China and reselling cheaply, they have neatly sidestepped around this.  Unfortunately, many of the links on the site are broken and I can’t figure out if this has been a success or not.

Sustainability is a unique conundrum. Is it better to reduce carbon by manufacturing close to home, buoying up the local economy and reinvigorating the manufacturing industry or is it better to import from China, increasing their wealth, and therefore increasing the likelihood that they will be able to afford to mitigate their environmental transgressions? It all depends on your worldview with regards to globalisation, economics and wealth.
It seems contradictory to me that Bill is happy to go off-grid locally, by relying on technologies produced many thousands of miles away? Pragmatic or hypocritical?  He is of course ‘trading’ his knowledge directly by being involved in the design of sustainable cities out there.

It’s the kind of thing which gets dissected much more eloquently by Jim or Tim.  Like I keep saying, the principles of low carbon building can escalate into much more complex debates.

mel starrs Uncategorized Bill Dunster, China, Economics, electricity, embodied energy, food miles, GBP, Mark Brinkley, Sunday Times, Sustainability, United Kingdom, Wendy Lee