green Building Newsletter
Building For a Future   |   Green Building Bible   |  GreenPro   |    News   |   Webring   |   Books   |   Forum

You are here: Site Homepage > newsletter

December 2006

Russian green builders visit CAT
CAT - The Centre for Alternative Technology has been forging links with Russian green builders. Three scientists from the Siberian eco-housing organisation Ecodom have visited CAT recently, following a CAT delegation’s visit to their premises in Novosibirsk for a seminar on energy efficient housing, sponsored by the British Council... more
back to top

Green classroom complete
A green classroom made of straw and tyres has been completed in Cumbria. The Footprint education base, at St Catherine's, near Windermere, is the first building the National Trust has commissioned made of straw bale. The foundations have been made from recycled tyres, with lime rendered straw bale walls... more   back to top

Keeping the Government on it's toes
The government may be forced to ditch its energy review, which backed a new generation of nuclear power plants. The review is to be scrutinised in the High Court, after Greenpeace claimed that it was 'legally flawed'. The Royal Courts of Justice have granted permission for Greenpeace's case to be heard in full. And Friends of... more  back to top

Solar panels put to the test
Hastoe Housing Association and Places for People Group are working with Viridian Solar to test out a new approach to solar water heating. The pilot project aims to dramatically increase the convenience and reduce the cost of using this technology in their developments... more 
back to top

Sheffield looks forward to a wood fuelled future
Residents in the Burngreave area of Sheffield will be kept warm as temperatures drop this winter by making use of one of the region's most sustainable resources - trees. Sheffield City Council’s innovative new installation of a high tech biomass boiler at the city’s Carwood Estate signifies an enormous achievement for the... more
back to top 


 

LEADER - Brown has big plans but are they achievable?
All new homes will be 'zero carbon' in less than ten years, confidently announced Chancellor Gordon Brown in his pre-budget statement recently. It certainly sounds impressive. However, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves what exactly does he mean by this and is he offering something that he will be unable to deliver? Is he fooling the nation into believing that all the problems of the environment will be sorted for us by a kindly housebuilding industry and a caring government? After all we do have short memories where politics is concerned!

Well, one interpretation of a zero carbon home was explained on Radio 4 shortly after his announcement, and this was that a 'zero carbon home' is one that exports more energy that it imports! Sounds nice and simple but in reality it is not. One also needs to ask if this idea really meets the zero carbon concept because most us know that the lion's share of our energy needs are for heating.

However, even if exporting more energy than you import was the only measure of a carbon neutral home, it is still quite a tall order with currently available technology, so perhaps Brown's statement is either naive or misguided. For instance, we import not just electricity but gas, coal, wood and a myriad of other external carbon stores into our homes for consumption and opportunities for exporting anything other than electricity from our homes are next to nil. Even exporting electricity is not yet easy to do with all the bureaucracy that abounds!

The long and the short of it is that the government is going to have to stump up a lot more money if it wants housebuilders to bolt the kind of kit needed onto their speculative homes. However, no further grant aid seems to be forthcoming other than a paltry offering of no stamp duty on carbon neutral homes. What Brown might be doing is trying to earn early greenie points with leadership and government elections just over the horizon.

Brown's paltry promise of a stamp duty tax break ("to accelerate the building of zero carbon homes for a time limited period, the vast majority of new zero carbon homes will be exempted from stamp duty"), is not going to really encourage homeowners to put their hands in their pockets to pay for the equipment needed.

What do other's think?

Well the organisations seem a little more forgiving. The Construction Products Association said they fully support the Chancellor’s desire to raise the energy efficiency of UK homes, but warns that if the government is serious about climate change, then it will have to do a great deal more. "We welcome the setting of a clear 10 year target for the delivery of zero carbon homes, although we do need to have a clear understanding of exactly what government means by this".

The Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) has also welcomed the Chancellor’s statement but Chris Herring, current Chair of the organisation said “Building zero carbon homes is a huge challenge for developers, architects, builders, engineers, building control officers – all those involved in trying to improve the energy performance of our homes. We believe that for this target to be achieved there has to be a significant investment in both research and training to produce an industry capable of producing homes that are both carbon neutral and a delight to live in.”

Paul King, WWF-UK's Director of Campaigns, was more enthusiastic,“This is a great breakthrough," he said "For the first time, the Chancellor has shown he really backs 'green' housing development. It is also a victory for WWF which has been campaigning for many years to bring 'green' homes from the fringes to the mainstream. The introduction of stamp duty exemptions for sustainable homes also sends a clear signal to the house building industry and homebuyers that energy efficient homes are a good investment, both in terms of up-front savings and long-term reduced running costs". Interesting, as only a year ago, King (and WWF) resigned from the steering group set up to design a 'code for sustainable homes'. At the time it was feared the government had bowed to pressure from the house building industry, who until now, it seems, has strongly resisted the imposition of any compulsory environmental targets.

To summarise then, perhaps the Chancellor would have done the environment a bigger favour if he had put an instant ban on all electrical resistance appliance for use as heating systems in homes.

  back to top

Planning review recommends
big changes

Economist Kate Barker's long awaited review of the planning system is published today and calls for far reaching changes. It claims that current restrictions are harming the economy and slowing house building. If the proposals are accepted tens of thousands of homes and shops could be built on protected green belt... more

Prior to its publishing, Friends of the Earth expressed concern that the Barker Review on would have a devastating impact on the environment and local democracy... more  back to top

New brownfield policies to benefit communities ?
England’s brownfield land is set to be used more effectively and efficiently to support communities, following new policy proposals published by the national regeneration agency, English Partnerships. The proposals acknowledge the importance of reusing brownfield land for a full range of activities, including housing... more
back to top

London eco-homes attract a crowd
A development of two houses in Bermondsey claims to be the first of its kind in the UK. The houses use materials and building methods that developers Robert Mosley and Amanda Menage hope will revolutionise sustainable developments of the future. Although constructed mainly from wood, these houses shouldn't be confused... more
back to top

Simple measures to make existing housing greener
Millions of tonnes of carbon and billions of pounds in fuel bills could be saved by simple measures like cavity wall insulation, according to new Government analysis. The initial report from the Review of the Sustainability of Existing Buildings shows that millions of homes across the country could benefit from cost... more  

back to top

 

 

Green Building

"The most popular books on green building in the UK today."

New fourth edition in two volumes! Order both books now for the combined price of just £17.00 with free delivery!

(free delivery applies to UK addresses only).

For even better value, purchase them with a subscription to
Green Building magazine
and get them for just £15.00!

'Green Building' is the monthly newsletter of the Green Building Press. In this monthly newsletter we bring you interim green building news, events and special offers on publications, forthcoming events and training opportunities.

Free Newsletter

This newsletter is a free service. We send it to you by e-mail each month free of charge. If you don't want to receive it or have received it in error then click here to unsubscribe?

Forthcoming Events

9 February 2007
Homes for Good - Weston Super-Mare

The Homes for Good Exhibition is a three day event designed to show people how buildings can be designed, built, refurbished, decorated and furnished in ways that won’t cost the earth. The event includes exhibitions, demonstrations and presentations on all aspects of sustainable building and lifestyles. It provides ... more info

27 February to
1 March 2007
Ecobuild - London

Ecobuild is the UK’s only event dedicated to sustainable design and construction. It attracts hundreds of suppliers of green building products and services and brings together professionals from all parts of the construction sector. 27th February to 1st March 2007...   more info

 

Go to events homepage
 
Green Building Forum

Post your questions on our green building forum. If other website visitors don't offer an answer then we will get you one within 72 hours.

Were cavity walls a big mistake?

Do TV programmes about being green do more harm than good?

Multifoil insulation - the mega thread continues!

HRV and heating rooms

Mainstream acceptance of strawbale

Is burning wood really a zero carbon activity?

Air source heat pump combined with heat recovery

Converting old sash windows to double glazing

Zero carbon homes

Avoiding thermal bridging

Forum Homepage...

     
The Ecobuilding Buzz
 Unsubscribe to this newsletter ?    
Contact us
Logout  

© Green Building Press