I've recently been working on the eco-renovation of two buildings in a conservation area, one of them listed. This has been a real challenge - historical buildings like these two are designed to allow the free flow of air (and with it heat energy) through the building fabric. Alter this and at best you will get condensation problems and at worst the building fabric will rot. The only way to do it effectively is external insulation and vapour protection, but this will change the appearance of the building and you can't do that in a conservation area.

This gets even worse with the listed building. All windows have to be preserved where possible, and if replaced, then replaced like for like. You can now get double glazing with the same bead size as old single glazed windows, but this is still verboten due to the different depth of each unit which you will notice if you look carefully. Secondary glazing can be put in, but you can't draught proof the outer pane or you will probably trap moisture between the two with fatal results.

Having struggled with these constraints for the last couple of months, I am now of the opinion we really need to think again. There must be a better balance between preserving our heritage and making buildings suitable for the 21st century.

If you think this is a minor issue, then just think - 5% of existing buildings are listed or have some form of conservation protection. As these are the least likely to be demolished due to that protection, they're also the most likely to survive into the next century.

Labels: eco-building, heritage, listed, water conservation

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has been suggesting we lose the fascination with green gadgets in buildings and concentrate on the much less glamorous topic of insulation.

I couldn't agree more. It is relatively easy to talk to a developer about fancy microrenewables, but they start switching off when you explain that they've got to get the fabric of the building right first. Just because it's out of sight, doesn't mean it's important. With Energy Performance Certificates being introduced in the UK, I don't think this situation will last long - insulation will, like Cinderella, finally get a chance to be the belle of the ball.

Labels: eco-building, insulation, micro-renewables

An interesting juxtaposition of headlines on edie last week:

On Thursday: Academic blasts Government's green construction rules

On Friday: Government wants tips on 'renewable' heating

Maybe Jo Williams, the academic in question, had an extraordinarily fast response to her 'blast'! Joking aside, if you do want to contribute to the Government's heat query you can at the BERR website here. I may just point out that the total heating demand is roughly the same as the amount of waste heat from electricity generation (although unfortunately the UK's population isn't concentrated around Drax, Ferrybridge etc).

Fortunately you don't have to answer the rather tricky question at the top of the BERR webpage: "What is Heat?". Answers on the back of a postcard/in the comments, please - the winner will be the wittiest, not the most pedantic.

Labels: district heating, eco-building, space heating, waste heat recovery

I'm at the Local Government Association Climate Change conference today and the Government's Communities Secretary Hazel Blears stated quite categorically that the Merton Rule was not under threat despite rumours she'd been backtracking on it under pressure from developers.

The Merton Rule, developed by the titular London Borough, requires all new developments over a certain size to source a certain amount of their energy on site, say 10%. This has the double whammy of driving down energy consumption first so the 10% renewable figure becomes technically viable.

However, Blears added a couple of vague caveats about 'one size fits all' and ducked a request from an audience member to clarify whether the rule would be applied site by site or not. We will have to wait and see how it comes out in the wash...

Labels: eco-building, energy efficiency, merton rule, renewable energy

According to the BBC, the first house designed to meet level six of the UK's new Code for Sustainable Homes has been unveiled by Kingspan Offsite. It is insulated to such a high standard that it will lose two thirds less heat than a standard new home. It also features passive ventilation, biomass heating, solar PV and solar hot water.

The Code superseded the Building Research Establishment’s (BRE) Eco-homes Scheme in March 2007. As well as the points system that Eco-homes used, the new Code has minimum energy and water standards for each of its six levels, with level six meaning "carbon neutral". The Code is currently voluntary and administered by the BRE. Non-residential buildings are still covered by BRE's BREEAM scheme.

BTW, I've put inverted commas around the "first" in the BBC's title as "earthships" have been around for a long time and they are carbon neutral having no grid connection whatsoever. BEDZED was also intended to be carbon neutral, although some technical problems have been encountered. It is not clear why these two would not meet level 6 - perhaps they simply haven't been evaluated yet.

Labels: code for sustainable homes, earthship, eco-building