NEWS
Green Deal rules set out
The government has set out the secondary legislation needed to bring the Green Deal into operation this autumn. It has also set in place the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), which is designed to provide £1.3bn a year for energy effi ciency and heating measures aimed at tackling fuel poverty.
It claims that these new proposals will help an extra 100,000 households in low income areas.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey said he had ‘listened very carefully to what industry, consumer groups, and other organisations have told us. ‘Broad support for a managed, tested and careful introduction of the Green Deal fi ts exactly with our objective.’
As part of new consumer protection guidelines, Green Deal assessors will be required to declare any commission they might receive. They will also have to disclose links to fi nance providers. There have also been changes to the warranty rules including 25-year warranties for wall insulation. See Regulations, page 18
Free registration for the Deal
Anyone planning to become involved in the Green Deal will be able to register with the new Oversight Body for free, for the fi rst two years. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said there would be ‘no fees for assessors, installers and providers, who wish to get the offi cial Green Deal stamp of approval during the fi rst two years of the scheme’.
DECC said it would cover all the costs to get the Oversight scheme up and running, but fees would be introduced after two years. This move appears to be in response to criticism that very few fi rms were signing up to take part, and that smaller businesses would be locked out of the scheme. DECC has appointed Gemserv to run the OversightBody, while Ombudsman Services will operate the Green Deal Ombudsman and Investigation Service to help with consumer protection.
8 CIBSE Journal July 2012 NEW ‘EXEMPLAR’ RESEARCH FACILITY
A low carbon ‘exemplar’ project has been designed for the University of East Anglia. The planned Norwich Research Park Enterprise is aiming to achieve Passivhaus certifi cation and a BREEAM Outstanding rating, according to consultancy BDP, which is providing full engineering design.
Outbreak of legionnella blamed on the weather
Concerns raised over ‘cuts’ to fi eld inspections
Industry experts believe a combination of spending cuts and unusual weather patterns could be behind the outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease in Edinburgh. As the CIBSE Journal went to press, the outbreak had killed two and hospitalised dozens. Its source remained unclear, although six companies were under investigation. Cuts to local authority and Health & Safety Executive (HSE) staff were being blamed, along with the unusual weather.
Edinburgh City Council was
reported to have cut its environmental health staff by 20% in recent years, and the HSE to have reduced its fi eld operations division by more than 250 between 2007 and 2011. Legionella experts at the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) said the weather just before the outbreak – a period of warm temperatures followed by very heavy rain – was very similar to that of 2006 when incidents of legionella infection doubled. Simon French, a legionella expert and member of the B&ES Service and Facilities Group, said councils were ‘fast running out of money, causing cuts to the budgets of their environmental
health departments’, so reducing their capacity to carry out plant inspections.
‘I have come across a load of nursing homes with no or totally unacceptable risk assessments, but they still have full certifi cation. Who is policing this?’ French said that some local authorities were doing an excellent job of inspecting cooling towers, but there was ‘no consistency throughout the country’.
B&ES chief executive Blane Judd urged building owners to refer to the HSC Approved Code of Practice on legionella, known as L8, to identify their legal responsibilities.
New editor takes the helm at CIBSE Journal
Alex Smith is joining CIBSE Journal as its new editor from this month. The magazine’s reporter, Carina Bailey, becomes deputy editor.
Smith has 10 years’ experience working with United Business Media’s Built Environment team, including roles as web development manager and as a
contributor to Building magazine. He takes over from Bob Cervi, who has been the magazine’s editor since its launch in 2009. Stephen Matthews, CIBSE chief executive, said: ‘Our priority is to work on a twin print and digital strategy that benefi ts CIBSE members and other stakeholders who view CIBSE
Journal as an important source of information. Bob Cervi has taken the Journal from its fl edgling stages to become an established leader in the fi eld. ‘Alex Smith will be
instrumental in how it now develops even further and reaches out as an authoritative voice and reference point.’
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