News

External Insulation for London Semis

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Admin

June 2012: South Kenton and Preston Park Residents Association (SKPPRA) recently obtained a grant from the Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF) to externally insulate a pair of semi-detached houses on the estate to show residents how this will make the houses warmer and easier to heat. Under the ‘warmhouse’ project two houses in Wembley were clad in external wall insulation and a series of detailed reports of the project have been published and are available to download from the ‘warmhouse’ website, which will provide some valuable learning for the roll out of the Green Deal in London.

Some points of interest:

  • Detailed photographic records of the retrofit are posted in the first document, setting out the level of work undertaken to externally insulate these two homes.
  • The second report provides a useful ‘scope of works’ document, which sets out the requirements of the insulation project to the contractor – a helpful template to any other similar project being considered.
  • The fourth report highlights that, via a survey of local residents applying for to have their homes insulated, annual gas bills are shown to range from just over £400 to just under £1400 (presumably down to occupation levels rather than energy efficiency levels of the various homes?) with the majority of gas bills between £850 to £1100.
  • The average annual gas consumption across residents submitting information is 21,500kWh of gas (hot water and space heating)
  • Actual energy consumption modelling over the year hasn’t been undertaken(the project timeline most didn’t allow for this) and page 33 of this fourth report sets out a modelled indicative spread of space heating (only) consumption over the year
  • Page 34 of the report then provides an indicative idea of how space heating consumption will be reduced as a result of the using external insulating walls, suggesting a >50% reduction in energy use in the home
  • However, the FAQs set out however that “Utility bills and monthly gas readings will be required after the work is done so that the effect of the insulation on your energy consumption is recorded. As part of the preparation work a forecast will be made of the effect of the insulation on your heating energy consumption and the monthly gas readings will help to assess the accuracy of the forecast computer model.”
  • Unfortunately,  the project will not undertake a full fabric approach, the FAQs saying  “No your windows will not be replaced – the grant is for the external insulation only”, but it’s possible the homes were already double-glazed…? However, it’s not immediately clear if this is the case with the two homes insulated
  • Both external (and internal) wall insulation – and also replacement glazing (see Annex 1 of the Government’s recent response to the Green Deal and ECO consultation on the full list of qualifying measures) – will be subsidised under the forthcoming £1.3 bn a year Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, which starts in October 2012
  • It will be interesting to see how the houses perform in their new insulated state, and hence post-occupancy evaluation reports from the project will be of great value.
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New Government Community Energy Strategy

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Admin

22 June 2012: Energy Minister Greg Barker tweeted (copied below) from the ‘LEAF Experience Event’ held yesterday in London that  DECC is to develop a new Community Energy Strategy, which is to be launched within months.

Further information on the Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF) on the LEAF EST pages, and DECC’s Community Energy Portal.  Details of London LEAF projects on an earlier post.

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Update on RE:NEW

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Admin

20 June 2012: A quick update on progress under the Mayor’s home energy efficiency retrofit programme, RE:NEW:

  • The Mayor recently reported that the 67,568 homes have been treated under the RE:NEW programme to date.
  • The overall ambition for RE:NEW is set out in Policy 6 of the Mayor’s Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Strategy which states that “The Mayor will work with partners to use public funds to develop commercial models that catalyse markets to offer appropriate whole-house retrofitting of energy efficiency, energy supply, and water efficiency measures to 1.2 million existing homes in London by 2015, and all homes in London by 2030.” DECC has recently pointed out in its latest Green Deal projections paper, that this number  “is equivalent to 100% of the total number of homes expected to be retro fitted in the national Green Deal”
  • The Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Strategy also states that “The Mayor’s ambition is for energy and water efficiency measures to be installed in 200,000 homes by the end of 2012 across London’s energy efficiency programmes.” [p128]
  • In August 2011, the Mayor set an  interim 55,000 homes target to be delivered under RE:NEW by March 2012, which was achieved ahead of the May 2012 election
  • In February 2012, the Mayor’s then environment advisor Kulveer Ranger outlined to the London Assembly’s Environment Committee the Mayor’s longer term ambitions for RE:NEW and that achieving the 200,000 homes “was always subject to the Green Deal helping to make that happen” and that the “figure , going forward, is subject to what happens with the Green Deal. We know the Green Deal timetable is slipping somewhat and it is not where we originally thought it was going to come in so we have to look at that figure and see what we can do. I am in discussion with Government right now, with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), with Ministers there, to say, ‚What do we do to ensure that we can continue more homes being retrofitted while we wait for the Green Deal to come along”
  • The Mayor’s manifesto in the run-up to the May 2012 election introduced a new pledge, stating “By the end of March, 55,000 homes had been helped… I will continue this drive by extending the programme to retrofit a further 20,000 homes through RE:NEW, with a further £3 million from the GLA budget. I will prioritise households over the age of 60 for the scheme” – which appears to suggest that 20,000 more households – over the 55,000 interim target – will be retrofitted through the GLA RE:NEW programme – but no mention is made of the 200,000 original target.
  • Building magazine reported only last week that “London mayor fails to secure funding for retrofit plans” stating that the Mayor “lacks funding for 86% of the energy efficiency retrofit work on London’s housing stock that he planned to deliver this year, after failing to secure financial backing from the government. As part of his election campaign, the mayor pledged to complete 20,000 retrofits of London homes this year under his RE:NEW energy-efficiency programme. But he said this would rise to 145,000 if he secured central government funding for the scheme. But the Department of Energy and Climate Change has now confirmed that while “informal discussions” took place, no funding was agreed.” Read the full article here [subscribers to Building only].
  • The Mayor has announced recently that he is undertaking a formal evaluation of RE:NEW which will include full details of the programme and that these will be published in July, and the same time that Phase II of RE:NEW begins
  • The programme spend for RE:NEW to date has been £7.8m
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Energy & Climate Questions to the Mayor

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Admin

June 2012: This month the Mayor has been asked questions in relation to: whether the Mayor will look to establish a London energy cooperative; an update on the Mayor’s carbon reduction policies; whether the Mayor will move to developing a single environment strategy; the Mayor’s activities on supporting electric vehicles in the capital; list of buildings under the RE:FIT scheme; an update on the number of homes treated under RE:NEW; delivery of RE:NEW to the over 60s; and jobs created under the Mayor’s RE:NEW and RE:FIT programmes.

Previous questions to the Mayor can be found here.

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Tower Hamlets launches energy co-operative

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Admin

June 2012: Tower Hamlets council has announced that it has established Tower Hamlets Energy  – “a large scale domestic power purchasing co-operative, which comes at a time when residents are facing huge increases in the cost of living.” The news release continues “Once the co-op is established it will provide additional benefits to members, including free and impartial advice on grants, insulation, fuel debt, and energy efficiency to help residents keep their bills down.

It will also offer access to energy efficiency resources and household renovation schemes. These plans go hand in hand with the council’s Decent Homes programme which will see all of the borough’s council homes improved to become more energy efficient and include modern kitchens and bathrooms by 2015.
The scheme is free to join, and residents will only be encouraged to switch suppliers if it offers a cheaper deal.”

To sign up visit my.towerhamlets.gov.uk
More information is available at www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/energy

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‘Ending Climate Change Begins in the City…’

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Admin

June 2012: C40 cities “infographic” on why cities are key to addressing climate change. Click here to view.

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Unlocking local leadership on climate change

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Admin

19 June 2012: The Green Alliance held an event in the House of Commons yesterday launching a new pamphlet, published as part of their Climate Leadership Programme, bringing together the perspectives of three Coalition MPs: Damian Hinds, MP for East Hampshire; Martin Vickers, MP for Cleethorpes; and Julian Huppert, MP for Cambridge. In it they give their views on how government can link two crucial aims: tackling climate change and empowering local areas. Further information and pamphlet here.

A number of examples of community-led organisations to tackle climate change were discussed at the event, including the Greening Campaign which provides some useful online resource material in helping groups engage with their local communities on climate change and sustainability issues.

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Planning and the Green Deal

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Admin

June 2012: Thinktank Future of London has added a further helpful contribution to the issue of introducing the Green Deal in London, with a short paper, building on their recent report ‘Delivering Energy Efficiency in London, highlghting how planning will have a role to the success of the Green Deal.

A number of interesting points are raised including:

  • There are around 600,000 homes in conservation areas in London, roughly half the national total (reference cited in paper here)- which will potentially be a  significant issue for the mass role out of Solid Wall Insulation (SWI) – a key technology promoted by the forthcoming Green Deal and te £1.3 bn Energy Company Obligation (ECO)…
  • …and around 60 per cent of all homes in the capital are solid wall

Download the paper ‘The Green Deal in London: Planning Q+A

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‘London’s Picture of Sustainability’ Photography Competition

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Admin

18 June 2012: ““London is changing; with every day that passes, the actions of people are slowly transforming our city into a more sustainable place. From urban gardens to transforming our homes, remodeling businesses to volunteering in groups, the work to build a sustainable future goes on. Can you capture ‘London’s Picture of Sustainability’ in just one shot?”. Further details of competition at:  www.apictureofsustainability.com

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London and the Green Deal

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Admin

June 2012: The Green Deal Impact Assessment, launched earlier this week, highlighted how London is proposing to be a key player in the ‘New Green Deal Market’ under the Mayor’s plans for the RE:NEW home retrofit programme:

“The Greater London Authority’s (GLA) ‘Delivering London’s Energy Future’ strategy states its intention to retrofit 1.2m homes in the Greater London area by 2015 (this is equivalent to 100% of the total number of homes expected to be retro fitted in the national Green Deal). The GLA intends to do this by working with all the London boroughs to build on the success of RE:NEW, its refurbishment programme, that has retrofitted 11,000 homes to date. The GLA is working to integrate RE:NEW with new energy efficiency and energy supply funding streams, such as the Green Deal and the Feed-in Tariff, so retrofitting can be offered to all London homes by 2030.” [page 49]

Download DECC’s ‘Final Stage Impact Assessment for the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation’ here.

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Mass-retrofitting of a low carbon zone

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Admin

June 2012 A very detailed piece of analysis undertaken by researchers at Edinburgh University (and published in the June issue of academic journal Energy Policy) which studies the work being undertaken in Sutton on adopting an area wide retrofit scheme in Hackbridge.

The conclusions highlight some really interesting findings relating to Hackbridge  which are also very relevant to other areas of London. These include:

  • housing built pre-1918 on average consumes 56% more energy and emits 41% more CO2 than houses built post-2001;
  • the older housing stock is the worst performer in terms of energy efficiency; the most laborious and costly to improve;
  • within the regeneration footprint, this type of housing makes up less than 20% of the housing stock. Nearly 40% of the housing stock having been built post-1970 is already benefitting from many of the measures proposed to save energy and reduce carbon emissions;
  • almost one third of Hackbridge residents live in areas which rank within the top 25% most income-deprived in England, renting their homes from the Local Authority, Registered Social Landlords, Housing Associations or the private-rented sector. Homes in the social-rented sector that have been shown to consume less energy and to emit less CO2 than other housing types of a similar age in Hackbridge. Indeed, using the Government’s Standard Assessment Procedure for the energy rating of dwellings (SAP), the local authority housing in question is shown to out-perform the national average ratings across all dwelling types.

The study also includes: “…while policy analysis over the past decade has done much to highlight the potential contribution mass retrofits in the housing sector can make to reduce the rates of energy consumption and levels of carbon emissions, they also serve to illustrate how little is currently known about the institutional arrangements towns and cities are currently putting in place as integrated solutions to the problems climate change pose.“

Unusually for Energy Policy, the article full downloadable free of charge here.

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Mayor to encourage community energy projects

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Admin

June 2012: The Mayor has published revised ‘early minor alterations to the London Plan’ aimed at ensuring that the London Plan is fully consistent with the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (published March 2012).

Page 30 of the ‘Early Minor Alterations’ document sets out a proposed revision to Chapter 5 of the London Plan – which addresses planning and climate change – to support community-led initiatives renewable and low carbon projects through neighbourhood planning. The exact amended text (in bold) follows below:

5.41 The Mayor’s supplementary planning guidance will set out broad guidelines to assist boroughs and, where appropriate,neighbourhoods, to define locations where stand-alone renewable energy schemes would be appropriate. The increased use of renewable heat will also significantly depend on the growth of heat networks. The Mayor and Boroughs will also encourage community-led initiatives for renewables and low carbon energy and examine how they can be supported through neighbourhood planning.” [page 30]

The supplementary planning guidance referred to is on renewable energy (which is also referred to in para 5.40 of Chapter 5 – see link above) and has, as yet, not been published by the Mayor. A major renewable energy study for London has however been completed and was issued in January 2012.

Further information to the background on new neighbourhood plans can be viewed here.

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