NEWS
Insulation will need to double, warns climate change body
l CCC also stresses that the fall in emissions is mainly due to the economic slowdown
The rate of cavity wall insulation will need to double to more than a million homes a year during this decade, if the UK is to meet its carbon reduction target. That’s the view of the Committee on Climate
Change (CCC), an independent government advisory body, which also argues that a 34% cut in the 1990 levels of carbon emissions is required by 2020. In its Third Progress Report to Parliament, the
CCC says that expected levels of loft and cavity wall insulation have taken place, but that the aspirations were too modest. The CCC found that emissions have dropped by 8.6% over the past year, but that this was due mainly to a reduction in economic activity caused by the recession, coupled with increased energy prices. The CCC also calls for more clarity on funding for
the national programme to encourage energy efficiency measures in homes. It says the government should specify how householders will be incentivised to make their homes more energy efficient, and what role energy companies, businesses, local authorities and private landlords will have in helping to achieve this. The report also notes that ‘limited progress’ was made in 2009 on solid wall insulation, energy efficiency
The commission highlights insulation as a key issue
improvements among small businesses, and renewable heat generation. It says work in these areas will need to be accelerated to meet the 2020 target. CCC chairman Lord Turner said: ‘The recession has
created the illusion that progress is being made to reduce emissions.’ He added: ‘We are repeating our call for new policy approaches to drive the required step change, in order that the UK can ensure a low carbon recovery. Given new approaches, we are confident that individuals and business will respond, taking advantage of the affordable opportunities available to reduce emissions.’
For more information visit:
www.theccc.org.uk
GOVERNMENT TO TRIAL GREEN DEAL INCENTIVES
Measures to help home owners and landlords save energy by retrofitting houses are to be trialled as a precursor to the government’s Green Deal programme. The proposed trials include:
l A subsidised loft-clearance service to reduce costs and encourage owners to make improvements to their insulation;
l A trial to investigate the effect of behavioural feedback on consumer energy use;
l A trial testing the impact of offering rewards for residents who buy energy-efficiency measures; and
l High street businesses, including Homebase and B&Q, teaming up with local authorities on some of the trials. According to ministers,
the Green Deal will ensure that home owners can invest in energy efficiency improvements at no upfront cost, with improvements being repaid through anticipated savings on energy bills.
BIM roll-out ‘will make key savings in the long term’
A roll-out of building information modelling (BIM) for public contracts could cost £4m, but should save at least 5% on building costs, according to a report by the BIM Industry Working Group. The adoption of BIM would allow
those working in the construction industry to design, build and operate a building ‘virtually’ on a
digital prototype, allowing more accurate cost modelling and the opportunity to iron out problems before construction takes place. A report, The Government
Construction Client Group Building Information Modelling (BIM) Working Party Strategy Paper, recommends a ‘push-pull’ strategy between suppliers on one side and clients
on the other. The government, it says, should support all suppliers ‘to reach a minimum performance in the area of BIM use in five years’. Clients need ‘to specify, collect and use the derived information in a value-adding way over a similar timescale’. The report puts forward the idea of an implementation group, with
members drawn from industry, which would identify demonstration projects and put together a funded plan for the roll-out. Separately, a BIM Academy has
been launched by Ryder Architecture and Northumbria University to train students and provide support to construction professionals ahead of the expected roll-out.
www.cibsejournal.com
August 2011 CIBSE Journal
9
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