January 14, 2009 by Casey Cole
According to the Guardian, most domestic turbines are only generating 5-10% of the manufacturers’ claims. Dramatic stuff but maybe not a huge surprise. I think there’s been a growing realisation among professionals in the built environment that small wind in built up areas rarely works.
But it’s important to remember that in most cases this poor performance is not the fault of the turbines themselves; they’ve just been placed badly by designers and over-hyped by manufacturers.
Located somewhere with decent wind (on the back of a sailboat, on top of a tall mast on a windy hill, etc) they’ll do the job. But bolted to the chimney of a Victorian semi in Surbiton? Almost definitely not. Even Ashenden House, a 13-storey tower in Elephant and Castle, hasn’t proved to be a salubrious place for turbines.
So blame the engineers and architects, blame manufacturers for short-sightedly over-hyping their own products, but don’t blame the turbines. It would be a mistake if we were to dismiss the technology as a result. Small wind still has an important role to play, even if that role is more limited than many people hoped.
Posted in energy, engineering, renewable energy, wind turbines | Tagged BWEA, Encraft, micro-wind, small wind turbines | 3 Comments »
January 9, 2009 by Casey Cole
CLG drop quite a few hints in the zero carbon consultation that they’re prepared to set the carbon compliance requirement at 70%. In other words, new schemes would have to achieve a reduction of 70% in regulated emissions relative to 2006 regulations. But if you look a little closer, it soon becomes clear that this figure isn’t what it seems.
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Posted in climate change, Code for Sustainable Homes, renewable energy, sustainability, zero carbon | Tagged zero carbon consultation | 1 Comment »
January 8, 2009 by Casey Cole
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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Posted in biomass, chp, Code for Sustainable Homes, energy, engineering, private wire, renewable energy, SAP, sustainability, wind turbines, zero carbon | Tagged zero carbon consultation | 2 Comments »
December 30, 2008 by Casey Cole
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:
- A minimum standard of energy efficiency will be required.
- 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.
- Any remaining emissions should be dealt with using allowable solutions, including offsite energy.
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Posted in Code for Sustainable Homes, energy, engineering, private wire, renewable energy, SAP, stamp duty exemption, sustainability, zero carbon | Tagged CLG, zero carbon consultation | 3 Comments »
December 24, 2008 by Casey Cole
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.
Posted in Code for Sustainable Homes, stamp duty exemption, zero carbon | 1 Comment »
December 19, 2008 by Casey Cole
Posted in uncategorized | Tagged random | 3 Comments »
December 10, 2008 by Casey Cole
Just to warn you, this post is a bit trite and must have been done before, but here goes…
I reckon if you chipped all the Christmas trees in the UK and fed them into a biomass CHP , you’d provide enough zero carbon heat and electricity to supply about 25,000 new homes for the entire year.
If you can be bothered, here’s how I got there:
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Posted in agriculture, biofuel, biomass, chp, climate change, renewable energy, sustainability | Tagged energy from Christmas trees | 3 Comments »
December 8, 2008 by Casey Cole
At the end of last week, I was happy to hear that Jonathon Porritt had joined the board at Wilmott Dixon. It’s particularly poignant timing, given the beating the industry has taken in recent months: Wilmott Dixon is underlining their commitment to achieving the carbon reductions that will be required in the built environment in the runup to 2016 and beyond.
Ok, you could argue that he’s only going to be a non-executive director, so his influence will be limited to board level. That might not sound like such a bad thing, but working with a couple of developers of similar size, I’ve been surprised to find genuine support for low carbon measures among the board only to run into a brick wall at operational level. One is no good without the other. But in WD’s case, let’s assume that vision is going to translate into action.
The point is, Wilmott Dixon have made this move at a time of low morale and deep skepticism in the construction industry. Many developers find themselves saddled with projects whose land values were agreed at the height of the property boom. In some cases, even where there’s a solid case for development, the banks refuse to offer credit. The zero carbon housing deadline in 2016 is looming and we haven’t even decided yet what “zero carbon” means or how it should be achieved. Who can blame developers who’ve sunk into a funk and dismiss those who talk about zero carbon as having their heads in the clouds?
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Posted in climate change, Code for Sustainable Homes, energy, renewable energy, sustainability | Tagged Jonathon Porritt, Wilmot Dixon | 5 Comments »
December 5, 2008 by Casey Cole
We’ve got a new design here at Carbon Limited. Many thanks to design wizard Matthew Gould for his work on the logo. Also thanks to Sadish for the Misty Look theme. Let us know if you like it.
Posted in other stuff | Tagged Matthew Gould | 2 Comments »
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