NEWS All the latest news from around the building industry In Brief
CARBON ABATEMENT CASH The Technology Strategy Board is to invest up to £4.5m to support the development of carbon abatement technologies, primarily focusing on innovative demonstration projects. A competition will make the bulk of the money available to projects that have already demonstrated the feasibility of their projects.
www.innovateuk.org
HELP WITH APPRENTICES Taking on apprentices should be easier following the announcement of a range of new government measures. Following a review by the CBI, the Employer Reference Group and large businesses including BT, firms that contract directly with the government to take on apprentices will benefit from simplified payment, reporting and assessment requirements.
SUSTAINABILITY ‘ROADMAP’ A sustainability ‘roadmap to a resource-efficient Europe’ in 2050 has been produced by the European Commission. The document calls for more ‘green’ taxation that targets pollution and the use of natural resources such as energy, water and materials.
http://ec.europa.eu/ environment/resource_ efficiency/
index_en.htm
SOLAR-PANEL ‘ROOF LEAKS’ An increase in roof leaks on houses has been blamed on the increased popularity of solar panels. The National House Building Council says the problems can be blamed on British weather – and the fact that instructions are generally written with southern European countries in mind.
www.nhbc.co.uk
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Lib Dem minister lambasts build quality of eco-homes
l Compliance on providing ‘zero carbon’ dwellings needs tightening, says Stunell
A stinging attack on house builders and designers has been made by the Building Regulations Minister, Andrew Stunell, who told the recent Liberal Democrat annual conference that more compliance with the rules was needed to make low carbon homes a reality. Pointing to a study on zero carbon homes last
year by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Stunell said that ‘we already have the evidence that the existing standards [for new homes] aren’t being met’. He added: ‘Although the residents [in the study]
were comfortable and pleased with their lower heating bills, the homes were losing 54% more heat than designed [for].’ Stunell said the need for sustainable dwellings was obvious because ‘a two- thirds cut in CO2 emissions produced in our homes would save more carbon than taking all the country’s cars off the road’. The minister said that, as part of the
Andrew Stunell addresses Lib Dem conference
next upgrade of the Building Regulations in 2013, ‘I have urgently called together an Advisory Committee on Compliance to look into what more we can do to make sure standards are met, and that carbon reduction in the built environment becomes a reality’. His speech came as a policy thinktank warned
the government that the planned Renewable Heat Incentive, which will provide subsidies for installation
‘ Existing standards for new homes are not being met’
of green technologies, is the ‘wrong’ approach. In its report, Warmth in a Changing Climate, the Institute for Public Policy Research says the emphasis should be on making homes more energy efficient. Another report claims that UK companies are slipping back on progress made in cutting carbon emissions and
in their energy ‘instensity’. Sustainable Business 2011, published by ENDS, says that ‘radical action is needed, including rethinking of business models’.
For more information visit:
www.libdems.org.uk www.ippr.org;
ends.co.uk
Library for building information modelling
A free-to-access online library for building information modelling will go live in November. The National Building Information Modelling (BIM) Library is designed to allow building services engineers, architects, contractors and other construction professionals to locate and download generic and proprietary BIM objects for a range of systems and products. With the government suggesting
this summer that BIM will be made mandatory for all public sector
8 CIBSE Journal October 2011
projects from 2016, the library is regarded as an important part of the growing BIM ‘culture’. The library has been set up by
NBS, the specification system provider, working in partnership with the BIM Academy at Northumbria University, which was launched in June. NBS said it would include property definitions for systems and products to aid the development of a common approach to quality standards. Stephen Hamil, director of
design and innovation at NBS, said the library would be maintained ‘in line with changes to standards and best practice’. The generic BIM models will
initially be delivered in Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and Autodesk Revit formats, but the intention is for the information to be made available through a variety of alternative formats in the future. To register for updates about the National BIM Library, visit:
www.theNBS.com/NBL
www.cibsejournal.com
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