News
Solar Industry in crisis
January 13, 2012
The solar industry remains in “total limbo” after a day of legal argument failed to determine if the Government has the right to appeal in the row over feed-in-tariff incentives.
David Hunt, a director with leading renewable energy company Eco Environments, said: “The Government has not covered itself in glory during this whole sorry saga, and today’s outcome further exacerbates the negative impact of their actions.
“The industry needs to move forward without the prospect of months of continued uncertainty hanging over it. While the reduction in the feed-in-tariff to 21p/kWh for domestic customers is greater than we would have wanted, the industry now accepts that we have to work with the new rate which still offers a fantastic return on investment for homeowners.
“The failure to even agree whether an appeal can be heard is another hammer blow to our industry – the only winners today are the lawyers.
“If the Government is ultimately successful with its appeal, the industry is spared the return to a 43p domestic FIT rate which will blow an already overspent budget, causing a short boom, and a catastrophic bust for the renewable energy industry, not just solar.
“The FIT budget is not separated by technology, if it is all spent on solar PV, then Wind, Hydro and other eligible technologies will lose FIT subsidy too. However, it would cause long term uncertainty for the industry, having created a precedent that Government can make retrospective changes to FIT and other subsidies, giving major concerns to any potential investor, domestic or commercial, now and in the future.
“If on the other hand the Government loses any appeal, then we will end up with the boom and bust, wiping out the FIT budget at a stroke. This will result in a nightmare for all renewable installers with short term ‘cowboy’ selling and long term job losses and company closures.
“To compound the issue the state of total limbo is likely to continue, with either side going to the Supreme Court if they lose. The only certainty is seems will be ongoing uncertainty which is already costing jobs and creating a crisis of confidence among potential investors. This will not help to secure the futures of many companies which simply will not survive another few months’ of paralysis.”
Mr Hunt said that he and colleagues within the renewable energy sector still have their guns on a number of other aspects still out to consultation.
Perhaps the most serious issue surrounds Ministers’ plans to insist from April that all homes must achieve a C-rated energy efficiency standard in order to qualify for the full feed-in-tariff subsidies.
Nine in ten homes do not currently meet this rating and bringing homes up to the required standard would cost between £5,500 and £12,000 according to industry experts – an investment well beyond the majority of people.
Mr Hunt added: “It is vitally important that the Government steps back from the brink and removes the requirement that says every home must achieve the C-rating for energy efficiency in order to qualify for the maximum feed-in-tariff incentive. That is if we still have any feed-in-tariff left after the High Court judgement!”
New £70m development gets under way
December 19, 2011
Construction work has begun on a £70 million mixed-use development in south London.
Contractor United House has begun building the ‘Kingston Heights’ development which will include 56 affordable homes on top of 136 residential units, 80 private apartments and an upmarket 150-bedroom hotel.
The development will use the natural heat in the water of the river Thames to heat provide all the heating, cooling and hot water requirements for the development.
The first phase of construction involves the challenging encapsulation of a UK Power Network substation within a steel-lined concrete ‘box’ as well as the lifting of a pre-cast concrete ‘podium deck’ which will require the use of a 1,200 tonne mobile crane to lift.
Jeffrey Adams, group chief executive of United House, said: ‘Kingston Heights is a great opportunity for United House to demonstrate its skills as a major contractor for large mixed-use projects. The marketplace is changing dramatically and we are changing with it.
‘From what was once primarily a refurbishment company, new build now accounts for the vast majority of our current £270 million turnover, and by 2012 we will have some 750 homes under development.’
Pozzoni Case Study
November 30, 2011
The 21 no 2B apartments in Handforth have been designed to HCA requirements, Lifetime Homes standards and Secured by Design. The design team pushed to increase the specification from Level 3 to 4 long before it was required by regulations, making this development our first completed Level 4 building.
44% reduction in carbon emissions was achieved through a combination of a highly insulated timber frame with triple glazed windows and Photovoltaic panels. The air tight building fabric reduces the total energy demand of the building so that the PV array supplies a higher percentage of that reduced demand. The PVs on the east-west facing pitched roof supply electricity to the communal lights in the corridors reducing electricity bills and
generating an income from the Feed in Tariff scheme.
A natural ventilation strategy and high levels of daylight further reduce energy demand and contribute to the health and well being of the residents. Careful specification of insulation with low Global Warming Potential, and efficient heating systems with reduced NOx emissions ensured maximum credits in the Pollution category. The sanitary ware and rainwater harvesting systems were selected to reduce water consumption and the surface water run-off from site.
Download the PDF here
Living in a Zero Carbon House
November 15, 2011
Zero in on zero carbon homes - What are they really like?
Read this fascinating account by Andrew Eagles of Sustainable Homes of what its really like to live in a Code 6 house.
Atmos Heating Systems come on board
November 10, 2011
Atmos Heating Systems are pleased to announce their new EasySolar hot water system. A cold water preheat system to be used in conjunction with solar compatible combination boilers, or un-vented hot water tanks.
See here for more information on the system and
Here for a case study in Kent
Hardware upgrades
November 07, 2011
We are delighted to announce that we have just upgraded our dedicated server and this has meant a massive improvement in speed when entering the assessment part of the system.
Green Deal and the Code
November 07, 2011
Applying the green deal to new homes could make financing zero carbon developments more acceptable, a sustainability expert has said.
Nicholas Doyle, project director at Places for People, said the energy efficiency improvement scheme could have an impact beyond the retrofit market.
Speaking at a seminar on the green deal organised by law firm TLT, Mr Doyle said he has been talking to government officials about how the idea could work.
‘The green deal being applied to new build could be a nice simple mechanism that consumers can understand and that industry can understand, if we get it right,’ he said.
Housing minister Grant Shapps first raised the idea of the green deal being used for new homes at a Zero Carbon Hub conference in February, but details have been slow to emerge.
Under the green deal consumers will be able to get energy efficiency improvements to their home without paying any upfront costs. The work will be financed by green deal providers, with the loan then repaid by the householder through the savings on their energy bills.
The green deal is due to launch in autumn 2012, and a consultation with further details is expected in the next few weeks.
To apply the green deal to a new home, a benchmark would need to be set, probably based on building regulations, and energy efficiency improvements would then be made to improve its environmental performance. It is unclear how the repayment costs would be met for a new home.
The government has a commitment to ensure all new homes built after 2016 meet level five of the code for sustainable homes, effectively meaning the building itself has to be zero carbon, but appliances contained within it are not covered.
1,000 new homes per yr planned
November 07, 2011
Willmott Dixon is targeting the big house builders to up dramatically the number of private homes it builds.
The builder has a long track-record as a social housing specialist, but Government funding cuts look set to make projects more scarce, forcing it to broaden its horizons.
Willmott Dixon now hopes to lift the number of private units it builds for developers to around 1,000 a year.
It also is developing plans to ramp up its in-house developer Willmott Dixon Homes.
To spearhead the shift into becoming a developer and builder for firms like Taylor Wimpey and Bellway, it has recruited Keith Harley as housing for sale sector manager .
Harley will deliver the strategy to build over 1,000 homes a year for private developers and its in-house development business.
Harley was director of development services at Tribal Consulting, where he worked with developers and social housing landlords advising on a number development projects including large-scale regeneration schemes, HCA gap funding schemes and assessing the financial viability of planned private housing developments.
He said: “When Willmott Dixon outlined its ambitious growth plans to be one of the largest volume contractors of housing for sale, the opportunity to spearhead that was too good to miss.
“I am looking forward to applying my specialist knowledge to this sector, especially with the growth plans of our own in-house developer, and believe that our skill set provides a compelling market proposition.”
Presently Willmott Dixon builds over 1,500 homes a year, mainly for Registered Providers, but it recently started jobs several jobs for for Taylor Wimpey and St George.
Willmott Dixon Capital Works CEO John Frankiewicz said, “We are already one of the UK’s largest housing contractors by volume, with the majority being social housing or mixed-tenure projects for RPs.
“With our private house building experience, combined with the return of major residential developments in the South East, Keith gives us a highly experienced resource to ensure we bring the Willmott Dixon approach to this emerging market.”
With its skill-set and supply chain, Willmott Dixon is also one of the most experienced housing contractors in the area low energy efficiency, including recently delivering ground breaking low carbon housing for Home Group in Stevenage and Velux in Kettering.
“The target now is to take this experience and achieve a balanced split between private developer customers and RP clients.”
The Negative Energy Home
November 01, 2011
Net-zero energy homes may be the hot new thing at the moment, but Josh Wynne Construction has already begun looking—and building—past that. The builder’s recent project, the Power Haus, in Sarasota, Fla., not only offers high-style design while producing all the energy needed to run the home, but also doubles as an energy production plant in its own right, producing extra power to feed back into the grid.
To create all that power, the home is outfitted with solar panels that provide electricity to the home and heat water for both indoor use and the pool. But more than just using clean energy sources, the design also harks back to the fundamental notion of efficiency by focusing on simply consuming less.
"We looked at everything that consumes power in the house and tried to reduce its load so that we could reduce the number of solar panels we needed to use as well," says Drew Smith, president of Two Trails, a green building consulting firm that collaborated with Josh Wynne on the project.
To that end, the home is outfitted exclusively with LED lights, a highly efficient air-conditioning system and pool pump, and super-insulated windows. Concrete block walls feature extruded polystyrene on the living side of the wall, as well as spray foam insulation injected into the cavities of the block.
As a result, the home’s HERS rating of -22 is the lowest ever recorded by Energy Star, and its LEED score came in at 118—far beyond the necessary 95 for a Platinum certification.
The home also uses passive ventilation, passive cooling, and passive lighting, which both take down energy use and help open the home up to panoramic views of the surrounding hardwood swamp.
Good looks notwithstanding, the site came with its own set of challenges thanks to its hot, humid climate. In response, the home sports finishes that can take the heat, such as polished concrete floors, clay walls over mold-resistant drywall, and native cypress timbers for doors, trim, cabinets, and roof framing.
Claire Easley is a senior editor at Builder.
Boost to Social Housing
October 24, 2011
Social housing in Northern Ireland is set to benefit from a £65 million boost as a result of a funding partnership between a housing association and Northern Bank.
A £30 million loan from Northern Bank will help 2,500-home Clanmil Housing access a further £35 million grant funding from the Department for Social Development to build 550 homes by 2014.
The project will also provide 300 on-site jobs.
Social development minister Nelson McCausland, said: ‘This funding is a huge vote of confidence by a local bank in the work of a local housing association.
‘My department already provides significant funding for social housing and this combination of public and private financing will enable Clanmil Housing to build substantially more houses.’
Jonathan Boggs, finance director at Clanmil Housing, said: ‘Faced with growing demand for social housing and increasing constraints on statutory funding, our challenge is to find new funding sources that will support continued investment in social housing and make the public money available go further.’
There were 39,891 applicants on Northern Ireland’s social housing waiting list at 31 March 2011, 20,967 of which are deemed to be in housing stress.
Source - Rhiannon Bury, Inside Housing
Energy Summit News
October 18, 2011
One of the UK’s leading renewable energy companies has criticised the Government for failing to use today’s Energy Summit to promote the many benefits of renewable energy systems.
Eco Environments says that a sure-fire way for homeowners to drastically cut their energy bills is by installing one of a number of renewable energy solutions such as Solar PV, small-scale wind turbines or heat pumps.
Instead, Prime Minister David Cameron and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne called on householders to look to reduce their bills by shopping around for the best deals from energy suppliers.
They said that by actively comparing the deals on offer from the “big six” suppliers, they could make them become more competitive in their pricing.
However, David Hunt, a director with Eco Environments, said: “The Energy Summit provided the perfect opportunity for the Government to explain how a combination of energy reduction combined with generating your own energy through renewable technologies is the best route to reduce bills.
“Research has shown that there is very little difference between the big six energy companies, so price swapping has very little comparable impact. The Government has missed a big opportunity by focussing so much on the single issue of price comparison.
“Many people are already taking advantage of renewable technologies and the Government’s Feed-in-Tariffs scheme launched last year which pays you for all the energy you generate regardless of whether you use it or not. You also save money by not having to buy the electricity you have produced, while you get a further payment for the electricity you export as a surplus to the National Grid.
“We have customers who have installed solar panels on their homes who have cut their energy bills to virtually nothing. The returns on investment for Solar PV and small-scale wind turbines are mouth-watering. The range of exciting options open to homeowners is only likely to get better next year when the Renewable Heat Incentive is introduced allowing homeowners to significantly reduce their domestic heating bills as well as their electricity bills.”
Eco Environments is one of the UK’s leading renewable energy companies offering a comprehensive range of solutions for domestic and commercial customers.
The company designs, installs and commissions a comprehensive range of renewable energy and energy conservation solutions, specialising in Solar Photovoltaic (PV), wind turbines, solar thermal water heating systems and heat pumps.
The award-winning company holds Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditations for all of these technologies.
ENE 6 Amended
October 18, 2011
You may or may not be aware of the recent change to the rules regarding internal lighting (ENE3) for Code versions prior to 2010 (if your project(s) is/are more recent, then I wouldn’t have let you know because ENE3 changed to Energy Display Devices in 2010)
BRE have now also confirmed that the same change applies to space lighting under the external lighting issue (ENE6).
To clarify, ENE6 is assessed in two parts – the first credit was for providing dedicated energy efficient space lighting – i.e. fittings that are only capable of taking dedicated energy efficient bulbs (1 credit). The second was for providing burglar or security lighting with suitable sensors/timers (I won’t explain the details now). This has undoubtedly caused unnecessary expense to developers, in light of recent EU changes to the bulbs available.
What this change from BRE means is that the first part can now be met, simply by providing low energy bulbs in whatever fittings you prefer. As before, if no security/burglar lighting is provided, the second credit is met by default.
With any luck, this will save a few pennies on your respective schemes. Any queries or clarifications needed, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Ollie Westover
t: 0208 123 9016
m: 07814 021491
e: ollie@twenty16design.com
w: www.twenty16design.com
New new build sustainability tests
October 01, 2011
Housing developments are to be vetted to ensure they are as eco-friendly as developers and social landlords claim.
The Communities and Local Government department has set up a committee to ensure sustainability standards are being met and will begin testing new builds later this year.
Speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference on Tuesday, communities minister Andrew Stunell said the ‘compliance’ committee would make sure that ‘when we say zero carbon homes we get zero carbon homes’.
All homes built from 2016 should be zero carbon, although the government altered its proposed definition of this earlier in the year to include homes that meet level 5 as well as level 6 of the code for sustainable homes.
‘What the research is showing is that we’re setting standards [for] zero carbon homes which when you test the buildings are just not being delivered,’ Mr Stunell said.
The minister drew attention to a recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on a zero carbon development in York, which found homes were losing 54 per cent more heat than they were designed to.
Mr Stunell added: ‘We have to make a really determined push to make sure the standards that we say we build to are actually the standards we build to.’
Stewart Baseley, executive chair of the Home Builders’ Federation, added: ‘Significant progress has already been made by the industry towards what is a very challenging target.
Prime Minister on planning reforms
September 16, 2011
Prime Minister David Cameron has agreed to meet with CPRE and other groups like the National Trust concerned about the Government’s planning reform agenda.
His offer to discuss the implications of the Coalition’s draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) came during Prime Minister’s questions in the Commons on 14 September.
Cameron told MPs: “I am very happy to meet anyone to discuss that, and I know that the National Trust has specifically already met the planning minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark), and has had many reassurances about what the planning changes mean.”
The Prime Minister added: “We're going to have stronger local plans that gives local people a greater ability to decide what's in the local plan and what's out of the local plan, at the same time having a presumption in favour of sustainable development will cut a lot of bureaucracy in our system.
“But we're not changing rules for Green Belt, for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty for Sites of Special Scientific Interest or for all the rest of it.”
“I do think that people need to focus on that, because we need sensible, sustainable development to go ahead without the bureaucracy and the top-down system of today, but with all the reassurances that people need.”
Meanwhile, the Department for Communities and Local Government has published a three-page ‘NPPF myth-buster’ document (See here) in a bid to counter what the department sees as widespread misconceptions about the purport of the draft NPPF.
Ministers have also issued a string of statements about the consultation exercise, the role and stance of the Planning Inspectorate and the definition of sustainable development as the administration hit back at what they insisted was biased and misleading press coverage about the planning debate.
2nd Q 2011 Residential figures
September 09, 2011
A war of words has broken out over the latest quarterly figures for residential development permissions in England. These indicate that some 25,171 new homes were granted planning permission during the second three-months of 2011.
That figure represented the second lowest number of permissions granted in a quarter over the last five years, 24 per cent fewer than were granted in the first quarter of 2011 and 23 per cent fewer than were granted in the second quarter of 2010.
The data was published by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) in the organisation’s most recent Housing Pipeline report.
According to HBF, who commissioned the data from Glenigan, the figures underlined the need for the Government’s planning reforms.
Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the HBF, said: "These new figures paint a bleak picture. We already have an acute housing crisis that is affecting the quality of life of families, young and old, across the country and the economy. Today's extremely low levels of permissions will only make things worse in the short term.
"The figures clearly reveal that while the debate about planning is currently being hijacked by irresponsible scaremongering from anti-growth groups our housing crisis is set to worsen.
"Government must stand firm and deliver a planning system that supports home building and economic growth. If it doesn't, the social and economic implications will be felt for generations.”
But the planning officer for the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), Kate Houghton, said: “The cynical attempt by the volume house builders to blame the planning system for the drop in new builds and planning permissions over the last few years is astonishing.
“This is not due to the effect of long standing planning regulations, but a direct result of the house building industry choosing not to build new houses that they will not be able to sell in a stagnant property market.
“This is highlighted by the fact that England’s major house builders are currently sitting on huge land banks, with planning permission and ready for the development of over 280,000 new homes.”
In a separate but related development, a new report commissioned by the National Housing Federation has warned that home ownership in England will slump to just 63.8 per cent over the next decade - the lowest level since the mid 1980s.
The Federation warned the housing market will be plunged into an unprecedented crisis with steep rises in the private rental sector, huge social housing waiting lists, and a house price boom – all fuelled by a chronic under-supply of homes.
Meanwhile, led by the British Property Federation, business leaders from across the property industry have urged the PM to stand firm over reforms to the planning system.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, some 15 chief executives from some of the biggest names in property have hit back at claims that the reforms will destroy England’s countryside and lead to Los Angeles-style urban sprawl across the Green Belt.
They point out that some critics have misunderstood the fundamental point of the changes proposed in the draft NPPF – that councils and not developers will have the final say over development proposals, and that the changes do not change the way that the Green Belt and other protected sites are safeguarded.
Harry Cotterell, deputy president of the Countryside Land Association, said: “The planning system is currently failing to provide either the jobs or housing the countryside desperately needs for its survival. The draft NPPF provides a streamlined and less bureaucratic way of achieving economic and social success, while at the same time protecting the needs of the environment.”
Housing Minister Grant Shapps has stressed that the proposed New Homes Bonus will incentivise councils to approve more new homes.
He added: "But we also need to get Britain building again. That's why I've announced plans to release thousands of acres of public land for house building.
“And despite the need to tackle the deficit we inherited, this Government is putting £4.5bn towards an affordable homes programme which is set to exceed our original expectations and deliver up to 170,000 new homes over the next four years."
Roger Milne
Architects appointed for new Eco Town
September 07, 2011
The architects have been appointed for a new eco town in Cornwall which will provide 5,000 green homes for the local community.
Eco-Bos, a joint venture company owned by Orascom Development, Imerys Minerals and the Eden Project, will re-develop six former china clay sites near St Austell to provide the homes. Up to 40 per cent of the homes will be made available to the local communities at affordable rent levels.
A spokesperson for Eco-Bos said the developers were currently in discussions with social landlords to find a potential provider.
This week nine architects were appointed to the scheme. All the homes will reach code for sustainable homes level four, with some reaching the top standard of code level six.
The finished project will be one of only four schemes nationally to be awarded eco-town status by the government.
Zero carbon targets unlikely
September 07, 2011
Only 160 homes that would meet the government’s definition of zero carbon were built between April 2007 and June 2011.
Government figures covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland show 129 homes received post construction certificates at level 5 of the code for sustainable homes, and 31 received certificates at code level 6.
All new homes built from 2016 should be zero carbon, although the government altered its proposed definition of this earlier in the year so that homes that meet code level 5 as well as 6 would be included.
The public housing sector has led the way in delivering low emission homes. Of the 129 that meet code level 5, 96 are in the social sector, as are 22 of the 31 that meet code level 6.
Homes can receive code for sustainable homes certificates at design or post construction stage. At design stage 431 homes met code level 5, and 316 met code level 6. Many of these may not have yet been completed due to the length of time needed to build a home to the higher levels of the code.
John Alker, director of policy at the UK Green Building Council, said the figures are not that surprising.
‘On the face of it, it looks like a small number, but there are still five years left and that is still a lot of time for further innovation, for costs to come down, and for industry to meet its targets,’ he said.
Andrew Eagles, managing director of consultancy Sustainable Homes, noted that 72,000 homes have now had design stage assessments. ‘The code is becoming more and more prevalent,’ he said.
‘As usual registered providers are leading the way with 77 per cent of homes at design stage. Although only 23 per cent of the total, it is heartening to see the private sector starting to consider this issue.’
Coalition to press ahead with Sustainable Development
September 03, 2011
The controversial new planning proposals will go ahead despite a growing revolt in the countryside. Greg Clark has said there is no backing down from the Government's intention to simplify English planning laws in an attempt to trigger growth. This heralds good news for the Code market as all development will need to be sustainable. Mr Clark said "My interests and my concerns are the same as the environmental groups to ensure that the development that we need takes place but that it does so in a way that enhance rather than undermines our environment". His voice on the matter is echoed by the Prime Minister who is convinced that relaxing planning rules is crucial to getting the economy moving again.
Hanson Formpave goes green at SusCon
August 18, 2011
Helping Achieve Highest Ever BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ Rating For An Educational Building...
Hanson Formpave, a leading UK manufacturer of specialist concrete paving products, has supplied nearly 2,000m2 of its EcoGranite paving for the construction of pedestrianised zones at SusCon in Dartford. EcoGranite is the company’s environmentally aware alternative to natural granite, with up to 77% recycled content.
Read full article here
Eco Environments sign deal with Hyundai
August 18, 2011
Eco Environments are one of our preferred suppliers and installers of Solar PV and we are delighted to report that a delegation from one of the world’s biggest companies visited Liverpool to sign an agreement with them.
Senior management from Hyundai Solar met with the company at its offices in Bootle to sign the deal which will enable Eco Environments to install its leading edge solar panels.
Eco Environments is the first company of its kind in the UK to sign such an agreement with Hyundai Solar and the company has already received and installed one container of its solar panels with more to follow.
The delegation, which had travelled from Korea and Europe for the meeting, was made up of General Manager Hyundai Solar Europe Inyeob Kim and his colleagues Andy Lee and Ko Young Hak.
David Hunt, Eco Environments’ sales and marketing director, said: “Hyundai Solar is already well established in countries like Germany and we are delighted to sign this agreement with them to install their solar panels in the UK.
“They were particularly keen to visit our offices in Liverpool in order to see us in action and they were impressed by what we had achieved as a business and our growth potential.
“We are the only company of our kind in the UK to sign such a deal with Hyundai Solar and it will give us terrific buying power as well as access to some of the most leading edge solar panels in the world. We will be able to work closely with the manufacturer which will allow us to provide our domestic and commercial customers with the best possible service.”
Hyundai Solar’s panels have a number of notable features including being the only ones on the market to be conformity certified for sea salt and ammonia corrosion, ideal for farming and coastal installations.
Eco Environments Directors : (left to right) Mike Clarke, David Hunt, Mark Buchanan
Users Now Updated
August 15, 2011
We are pleased to announce that any user can see and invite any other user in a practice onto their project(s). Simply go to Manage Members in your Project Summary screen as shown below:
When you click on Manage Members the following screen will appear :
By clicking on the above you will see a full list of all practices on the system, as below:
Simply click on the Plus sign next to each practice and the practice users will be revealed. Check the box(es) that apply and then click Update Project Users at the bottom of the screen. You will then be taken back to the Manage Project Users screen where you can see all the members of the project as well as who is the lead. This can be switched on this screen by checking the box next to the user. You can only have one lead per project.
UK Flood Barriers latest products
August 15, 2011
We are delighted to introduce the latest company to list on Codewizard. Their products are entirely relevant to the CfSH as flood risk becomes ever more relevant. See here for full information.
CW Update
July 28, 2011
We are please to tell you that a few minor amendments have been made to the system to make it more user friendly. When entering target credits into post construction stage, it now returns you to the PC tab rather than DS tab. We have also re-designed the evidence required section. We hope you will notice a difference in speed as well. Any comments just let us know. Bye for now.
Draft NPPF Paper released
July 28, 2011
UK-GBC welcomes the role of planning in delivering radical greenhouse gas reductions, but urges greater clarity on the definition of sustainable development.
The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) welcomed yesterday’s publication of the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and its emphasis on delivering reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through planning.
However, UK-GBC believes that the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ needs further clarification in order to provide greater certainty to developers and ensure that developments meet the highest standards of sustainability.
Paul King, CEO of UK-GBC commented:
“We welcome the publication of the draft NPPF. We support its intention to simplify the planning process, and applaud its emphasis on the need to achieve ‘radical reductions’ in greenhouse gas emissions through both new developments and through support for the refurbishment of existing buildings. We also welcome the proposals for local authorities to work across boundaries to ensure that the delivery of sustainable community infrastructure is strategic.
“However, we would like to see greater clarity around what constitutes ‘sustainable development’, in order to ensure that the highest possible standards of sustainability are reached in each local authority, and in order to provide certainty to the development industry. Experience suggests that when the industry has clarity on what it needs to achieve, it is more than capable of rising to the challenge and delivering world-class projects like the construction projects for the London 2012 Games.”
The draft paper can be found here
Lag time on accessing Assessments
July 25, 2011
Apologies for the slight time delays when accessing an assessment. We are currently upgrading the server and will have this resolved within a few days. Regards, CW
Live Webcam Construction- Code 6 ICF House
July 20, 2011
Zero C are building a Code 6 , UK house from ICF with a Sips roof at The Glove Factory, Yeovil. Watch the construction on their live webcam. Go to http://81.174.166.92:82/index.htm to see it.
Watch the construction of the Zero Carbon code 6 house on our live webcam. This home will potentially have zero energy bills. Free energy from the solar panels on the roof will supply enough power to run the energy efficient appliances and lighting within the home. In addition to this, approximately £1,000 a year for the next 25 years will be paid to the owner of the house by the Feed in Tariff, the government scheme to encourage the use of renewable technologies. Overall, the home should have a neutral or even negative total energy bill, depending on the residents’ behaviour.
Flue Gas recovery system for levels 3 & 4
July 12, 2011
With the launch of the Multifit GasSaver and HeatSaver heat recovery technologies, BDR Thermea has extended its vast range of low carbon solutions for new build and retrofit social housing and private new-build projects.
Designed for use with Baxi and Potterton (2005) Band A combi boilers, the Multifit GasSaver is a passive flue gas recovery system which reduces boiler energy usage by up to 37% and as its listed in SAP Appendix Q, they can make a significant contribution for specifiers seeking to achieve the energy saving targets required on their schemes to meet Levels 3 and 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.
Codewizard is Free for All!
July 12, 2011
We are delighted to announce that CW is now free to all users. Due to the success at Greenbuild in suppliers wishing to promote their products and services through both The Code Store and Codewizard, we are able to do this. We havent gone completely mad..! We have had to have a reasonable limit on the file storage allocation - 3Gb - which is more than enough for a good few assessments we think! So whats stopping you! Register now!
Flexi-Pave comes to the UK
July 11, 2011
KBI has been a leader of pervious pavement solutions in the US for years with their flagship product, Flexi™-Pave. Now we are excited to be bringing this creative, dynamic and green solution to the UK market place.
Fifteen years ago while working in the industry of installing rubber surfacing, the founder of KBI identified a significant opportunity within that industry utilising recycled passenger tyres.
Many products have been developed from the tyre waste stream, but by far the largest consumer of tyre waste goes up in smoke every day as tyre derived fuel for power plants,cement kilns, etc. This waste material is created by our own population and can indeed help solve one of our planet's major problems – the conservation of our most valuable resource… water!
Although KBI Flexi™-Pave has been cleaning mother earth for years with its large consumption of recycled passenger tyres, it’s now been proven to gently improve water quality as well. Water Quality Control After KBI initiated a one year water quality study on their product KBI Flexi™-Pave, an independent civil engineering and environmental firm has found that the product greatly reduces the amount of Nitrogen and Phosphorus being recharged into our aquifers. Reducing Nitrates by 83% and Phosphorus by 88%,
Flexi™-Pave is the ONLY pervious paving solution that can provide these proven results. We encourage you to view the nutrient reduction summary, as well as the full study and report conducted by Mallard, Inc.
Pervious Pavement Solutions The ongoing problem with run off rain water in the UK over powering our drains and the emphasis on using Sustainable Urban-Drainage Systems (SUDS) has caused for more and more creative ways to harvest our water and prevent flooding.
