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Archive for the ‘zero carbon’ Category

zcc III: onsite, offsite, and the role of private wires

Posted in biomass, chp, Code for Sustainable Homes, energy, engineering, private wire, renewable energy, SAP, sustainability, wind turbines, zero carbon, tagged on January 8, 2009| 2 Comments »

From the zero carbon consultation, you can see that CLG has accepted that we need to resolve the onsite / offsite question. They have also moved away from the requirement for private wire networks or “direct connections” between generators and homes since it caused all sorts of problems.

So positive moves from CLG, but there is still a huge amount of confusion over what onsite and offsite actually mean. This is a crucial issue since only onsite energy will count towards carbon compliance, while offsite energy is only likely to count as an allowable solution.

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zero carbon consultation II: summary

Posted in Code for Sustainable Homes, energy, engineering, private wire, renewable energy, SAP, stamp duty exemption, sustainability, zero carbon, tagged , on December 30, 2008| 3 Comments »

In case you don’t fancy wading through it, this is a brief summary of the zero carbon consultation doc. While nothing will be finalised until next summer (after they’ve ruminated over the responses), the document does give some insight into the way CLG is leaning on some issues.

At the core of the document is the government’s preferred framework for reaching zero carbon. In order of priority:

  1. A minimum standard of energy efficiency will be required.
  2. A minimum carbon reduction should be achieved through a combination of energy efficiency, onsite low and zero carbon (LZC) technologies, and directly connected heat. This is referred to as achieving carbon compliance.
  3. Any remaining emissions should be dealt with using allowable solutions, including offsite energy.

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zero carbon consultation I: call to arms

Posted in Code for Sustainable Homes, stamp duty exemption, zero carbon on December 24, 2008| 1 Comment »

So the consultation on zero carbon is out. If you haven’t read it yet, you can download it here.

Deadline for responses is 18 March so there’s plenty of time to make your voice heard. If you’re wondering whether there’s any point in responding, I would say absolutely. During the recent consultation on electricity markets I had a chance to see the process from both sides and I was surprised at just how seriously responses are taken.

And this consultation is a biggie. The UK has committed itself to an 80% cut in carbon by 2050 and the built environment is going to have to shoulder at least its proportional share of these reductions, with all new homes going “zero carbon” from 2016. This consultation is crucial because it feeds directly into the long term strategy for de-carbonising new buildings. It’s a chance to have your say before the regulations are finalised, so speak now our forever bitch ineffectively down the pub.

In an upcoming post I’ll give a quick summary of the consultation document. Then, in future posts, I hope to concentrate on a few of the issues that I feel are particularly important.

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