News
Climate action ‘not tangible enough still’
The UK government is being warned that climate change initiatives are still not translating into ‘tangible action on the ground’. The warning has been issued by
the Adaptation Sub-Committee, an advisory body, in its first report to ministers on the UK’s progress in preparing and adapting to climate change. The report says one of the key
barriers to taking policy action are the Building Regulations, which still do not explicitly consider the risks of global warming. Another key barrier is inadequate climate-risk information preventing organisations from taking appropriate action on issues, such as surface water and flooding risks; and market and policy barriers preventing businesses and individuals from seeking sustainable drainage and water efficiency. The report points to five
priority areas for adapting the UK to a warmer climate, including designing and renovating buildings to cope with rising temperatures and floods, and minimising water use.
www.theccc.org.uk
Trade bodies warn against cutting
renewables funding Twenty-two separate organisations have written an open letter to the energy secretary Chris Huhne, urging him not to cut subsidies for renewable energy. The letter, written to the Guardian newspaper, came after comments by the energy minister Charles Hendry, who confirmed that the government was reviewing the £27bn of subsidies planned for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which could be reduced. ‘We need to make sure we’re using the money in the most sensible way,’ he said. The letter says: ‘Both renewable
heat and solar PV are decentralised technologies, which put the power to generate directly in people’s hands. ‘Costs come down when the
industry can plan and invest with confidence, and economies of scale are achieved – that is one of the simple aims of these policy mechanisms.’
12 CIBSE Journal October 2010
Mixed-use development for east London A new £4.5m mixed-use development aims to help regenerate Bow in east London. The six-storey building will include apartments, commercial space and a communal roof garden. Building services provider JS Wright will be responsible for heating the apartments, installing an energy-saving, whole house heat recovery ventilation system, more efficient cold water services, a gas distribution system, and above-ground soil and waste services. Wright will start work on site in November.
People need to be smart too, says study of meters
n
The UK government’s ambition to use smart meters
to reduce energy consumption in millions of homes will only work if it is part of a wider educational programme, a study suggests. Sarah Darby, a senior researcher
at Oxford University, has spent the last few years studying smart meters, and found that simply installing the technology is not enough to change people’s habits and routines when it comes to consuming energy. Darby has studied the use of
smart meters in a number of countries, including California, Italy, and Sweden, and found they are not usually used to help customers consume less energy, but as tools to provide utility suppliers with accurate bills. ‘On its own, a smart meter is just
a meter. We wouldn’t expect much from it in terms of reducing energy consumption,’ Darby said.
part of an educational process. And people do need to have feedback on energy consumption.’ Darby has also discovered
there is no universally agreed definition of a smart meter. What makes a meter smart is actually its communication’s capabilities, not any display facility it may or may not have. The UK government intends to
Sarah Darby: researching smart meters ‘But if you combine that with
a good display that people are interested in and pay attention to, I would expect some impact. ‘I think there’s a potential to use
smart meters for demand reduction – if there’s an intention to do it for demand reduction, and not just for managing peak [electricity] load. ‘[People] have got to have it as
install millions of smart meters in households in Britain by 2020 in a bid to save energy, with customers offered the opportunity to read their consumption readings via mobile, internet or a home display. The study is published in Building
Research and information, www.
tandf.co.uk/journals/rbri
n CIBSE is holding a one-day conference on Smart Metering on 18 November. Visit www.
cibsetraining.co.uk for details and to register.
A&E scare clears with puff of dirt
The accident and emergency department at one of London’s most famous hospitals had to be evacuated after a new air conditioning unit caused a scare. The drama took place in August,
at Whittington Hospital in the north of the city, with staff concerned that a fire had broken out as a huge dust cloud appeared. Firefighters were called but it soon transpired that there was no blaze. A spokesperson for the hospital
told the Journal: ‘The new air conditioning system was much more powerful than the previous one; when it was turned on, it blew 12 years’ worth of dust into A&E. ‘We had to close the A&E unit to
ambulances for three hours and set up a makeshift unit in the fracture clinic. Some more serious cases were even sent to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead. Luckily, there were only about 20 patients at the time.’
www.cibsejournal.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84