Tag Archives: Data

Government Guidance on GHG Emission Factors

1 September 2011: DECC and DEFRA have issued their latest 2011 GHG Conversion Factors Methodology Paper for Emission Factors which, amongst many fuel types, includes detailed guidance on the important issue of grid (electricity) emissions factors: these represent the average CO2 emission from the UK national grid per kWh of electricity used at the point of final consumption (i.e. transmission and distribution losses are included). Much more in the paper.

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Approvals for new homes in London drop

August 2011: The Home Builders Federation have just issued an update on the number of residential planning permissions granted across the country. It’s not pretty. The HBF comment “These new figures paint a bleak picture. We already have an acute housing crisis that is affecting the quality of life of families, young and old, across the country and the economy. Today’s extremely low levels of permissions will only make things worse in the short term.”
The numbers are dismal everywhere, but London looks particularly bad when compared to previous quarters. Close to 20,000 units secured planning approval in Q1 2006 in London: the latest figures for Q1 2011 show that only 2,692 were approved – the lowest level recorded in the research for London over the past five years.

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London Lags on Lagging

5 August 2011: Data released today provides further evidence on the extent that London is short-changed in relation to insulating its homes. The local authorities that have seen the lowest percentage of the housing stock insulated over the past three years through the Government’s main energy efficiency policy mechanism, CERT, are all based in London. They are: City of London (<0.1%); Westminster (0.3%); Kensington and Chelsea (0.8%); Hackney (1.3%); Hammersmith and Fulham (1.6%).

The figures, published by the Energy Saving Trust (EST), are released on a regional, council and constituency basis. They show how much loft and cavity wall insulation was professionally installed under the Government’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) up until 31 March 2011. The CERT places requirements on energy companies to help consumers cut their emissions through energy efficiency.

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Energy Consumption in London’s Homes

29 July 2011: DECC’s latest Energy Consumption in the UK release includes data and factsheets on the use of energy in the  industrial, transport, domestic and service sectors. Some of the findings from the domestic sector factsheet include:

  • In 2010 domestic consumption was 32 per cent of total UK final energy consumption
  • The majority of energy consumed in the domestic sector is for spacing heating which in 2009 represented 61 per cent of total domestic consumption.
  • Water heating and lighting appliances accounted for a further 18 per cent each with cooking accounting for a further 3 per cent
  • Electricity consumption for lighting purposes represented 33 per cent of electricity consumption by household domestic appliances, followed by cooking (32 per cent) and cold appliances (14 per cent)

No other official data providing a breakdown to this level of energy consumption in homes exists. No regional breakdown is provided or breakdown by dwelling type, hence this is the best available dataset to use in relation to energy consumption in Londoners’ homes. See the following Ofgem factsheet for information on typical total domestic energy consumption.

 

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London Energy Prices

4 July 2011: DECC have just published their latest data sets on UK energy prices(PDF report and tables also available in spreadsheet format), which includes a regional breakdown of gas and electricity prices for domestic and non-domestic consumers. London’s statistics reveal that:

  • London ranks second lowest in terms of paying electricity bills by direct debit, hence missing out savings offered by suppliers, as direct debit payment typically attracts suppliers cheapest tariffs  (Table 2.4.2)
  • The average annual London electricity bill is £435 (which is also by coincedence the average for the UK). Bills are calculated assuming an annual consumption of 3,300 kWh (see Ofgem’s Typical Domestic Energy Consumption Figures factsheet for further information).  The question does arise whether such a consumption figure is suitable for London with its higher levels of flatted accommodation…If the consumption figure were lower, it is possible that electricity bills were actually higher for Londoners than reported by DECC
  • The average annual London gas bill is £687 (slightly above the UK average of £681). This based on an annual consumption of 18,000 kWh.
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NEED – Analysis of Household Sector

30 June 2011: DECC has today published some initial analysis on the domestic sector from its National Energy Efficiency Data (NEED) Framework. The initial report covers:

  • How take up of energy efficiency measures has varied between types of property and household.
  • Statistical comparisons of gas and electricity consumption in 2008 by property and household types.
  • Analysis of the savings made by households that have installed energy efficiency measures(for example cavity wall insulation or condensing boilers).

The analysis report finds that  “There are large differences for insulation measures with only 4 per cent of properties in London receiving insulation measures compared to the national average of 13 per cent.

The initial analysis report and two accompanying spreadsheets are all downloadable from DECC’s Energy Efficiency Statistics webpage. A summary of the findings are provided in an article in the June issue of DECC’s Energy Trends journal.

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Home Insulation Levels in Great Britain

17 June 2011Statistical release by DECC on the estimates of home insulation levels in Great Britain (April 2011). No regional information is provided unfortunately, however, this release does include an estimate of the number of homes with Solid Wall Insulation (SWI) for the first time – a significant issue for London due to the high proportion of solid wall homes.

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Housing: A Growing City

June 2011: GLA report looking at housing trends in London, from the demand/supply imbalance to the consequences for affordability and housing need.

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Indices of Deprivation 2010 – A London Perspective

June 2011: Greater London Authority briefing on the key findings for London from the CLG Indices of Deprivation 2010 (ID2010), the Government’s primary measure of deprivation for small areas in England. The most deprived areas within London are concentrated to the north and east of the City, from Newham to Islington and from Tower Hamlets north to Enfield and Waltham Forest. Over 26 per cent of London falls within the most deprived 20 per cent of England.

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DECC regional energy statistics

8  June 2011: Latest release of DECC regional energy (gas/electricity) domestic and non-domestic consumption statistics including detailed data for London.

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    Is there a “heat or eat” trade-off in the UK?

    8 June 2011Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) research presents detailed household level expenditure data from older households merged with historical local weather information. The report looks to test “whether there is a  a heat or eat trade off: do households cut back on food spending to finance the additional cost of keeping warm during cold shocks? We find evidence that the poorest of older households are unable to smooth spending over the worst temperature shocks.”

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    Carbon emission factors from the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory

    May 2011: DECC published data which, if you really want to get into the detail, on the ‘Regional Gas Data‘ tab on this spreadsheet, provides a specific ‘Carbon dioxide emission factor for natural gas‘ for London (or ‘North Thames’ as gas companies like to regionally identify London).

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