Energy Efficiency

HECA saved

21 June 2011: The government had announced that as part of their ‘one in – one out’ policy on regulations, the introduction of the Energy Bill, currently going through Parliament, would result in the abolition in the Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA) 2005. Baroness Maddock – HECA’s original’s proposer – announced today (at the Microgeneration UK conference) that she had received notification from DECC that the Government had changed its mind and would now withdraw their plans to remove HECA off the statute books.  Further information on the future of HECA  and the Government’s proposals to link it to the Green Deal offering is provided in today’s Energy Bill Committee debate (see column 365 onwards).

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Mayoral Update on RE:NEW programme

22 June 2011: Speaking today at the BASE London Conference the Mayor provided an update on the RE:NEW programme stating a further £6 million will be invested in RE:NEW (announced earlier this year) to retrofit 55,000 more homes across London by May 2012 and “subject to leverage of additional funding a further 200,000 homes are to retrofitted by the end of 2012, which is the Mayor’s target under RE:NEW.

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First CSH Level 5 Homes in London

21 June 2011: According to the Homes and Communities Agency, Croydon is the first  local authority in London to have built and completed Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) level five homes, based in a new brownfield development in New Addington. Croydon’s press release comments that “All of the homes … are fitted with a range of devices like solar panels and low-energy heating systems that mean tenants do not use many resources and the buildings have a low carbon footprint. The green technology and insulation included in the homes is so advanced that tenants could potentially have no energy bills if used correctly.”

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Housing ‘eco-retrofit’ completes

13 June 2011: Gifford engineers have completed a comprehensive retrofit project in Harrow that will now be monitored to see how effectively the country’s existing housing stock can be converted into energy efficient homes to achieve deep cuts in carbon emissions.
“A whole house solution for everyday living” has been delivered by Gifford’s Sustainability Team at a 1960s semi-detached house in Harrow, North West London. The team designed a number of energy efficiency measures for the property, including super insulating the building envelope and sealing it to reduce heat loss, a ventilation system coupled with heat recovery, low energy lighting with specialist LED fittings, solar thermal panels, a room-by-room control system and a ‘last man out’ switch to stop appliances being left on stand-by. Read more here.

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Waltham Forest Home Retrofit Project

June 2011: Profile of a home energy efficiency refurbishment project being undertaken by Waltham Forest. ‘Green Home’ case study available here.

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Londoners in the dark over efficiency cost savings

6 June 2011: According to new research from energy company E.ONBrits place saving money on their energy bill as their top household budgeting priority, however, many people are in the dark when it comes to understanding the true savings that can be made“. E.ON’s ‘Energy Saving Savviness‘ survey indicated that only 30% or so of Londoners correctly identified the financial savings from being energy efficient

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Energy Efficient High Rises

31 May 2011: Article in today’s Daily Telegraph highlighting how developers and designers are working to improve the sustainability credentials of new high rise developments. The example discussed is the Silvertree tower in the Royal Docks where apartments will be rated 4 onthe Code for Sustainable Homes scale.

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Mayor’s responses to London Assembly energy and climate change questions

May 2011: The Mayor’s responses to the London Assembly on energy and climate change questions questions included:

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London Needs a better Green Deal

28 May 2011: Darren Johnson, London Assembly Green Party member, argues that more needs to be done to ensure the Government’s Green Deal programme delivers a step change in improving energy efficiency measures in London’s homes.

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Energy Saving Trust to become social enterprise

23 May 2011: With the announcement made by DECC last week as part of their Delivery Review that core funding of the Energy Saving Trust (and Carbon Trust) is to stop at the end of this financial year, the Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust, Philip Sellwood, has announced that the EST is to now become a social enterprise and will seek charitable status. Core to the Trust’s activities going forward will be a number of regional energy saving programmes, with the trust looking to expand such initiatives.

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FOE – Cuts to local government funding could decimate councils’ ability to tackle climate change

19 May 2011: Friends of the Earth have today published a short and useful study (undertaken by local government expert, Prof. Tony Travers, of the LSE) providing a summary of the changes currently being applied to local government and the likely adverse impacts that will arise in relation to council action to tackle climate change.

 

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Harrow Climate Change Strategy

19 May 2011: Harrow adopted its climate change strategy in September 2009. In October 2010, Cabinet reviewed the Strategy and agreed to consult on the revised Action Plan. The consultation took place in January/February 2011. The Cabinet today considered responses to this Public Consultation.

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