ECOBUILD CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
Missing the target In a seminar on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, Ian Taylor, partner at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, reminded the audience that all public buildings had to
be nearly zero by 2019 (private buildings by 2021) and that to meet the EU’s long-term target on CO2
than 3kg/CO2 /yr. Taylor said: ‘Hardly anybody will hit this
target by 2020. Politicians have taken their eye off the issue, blaming lack of affordability – this is not acceptable.’ Using data from Carbonbuzz, which
government departments were pulling in different directions on regulation, creating complicated legislation: ‘We need to focus on in-use performance not virtual carbon.’ Those fearing that the Building
Hardly anybody will hit this target by 2020. Politicians have taken their eye off the issue, blaming lack of affordability – this is not acceptable Ian Taylor
Regulations may be watered down would have been alarmed by Building Regulations Minister Don Foster’s reference to the competing pressures of affordable housing and sustainable development. As well as expressing a wish to streamline regulation, Foster said he wanted to see more research to help close the performance gap, and announced £380,000 of funding for the Zero Carbon Hub. The chairman of the Good Homes Alliance, Pete Halsall, described the performance gap as a chasm. He suggested government could incentivise the construction industry by lowering stamp duty for better performing buildings. ‘We can’t look at regulations in isolation – we need tough love to help them deliver this stuff,’ he added.
Industry concerns over domestic RHI raised
Fears that the renewable heat industry could fall into hiatus within weeks grew after Greg Barker MP was unable to confirm that the promised domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) would be out by the summer.
A member of the audience asked the Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change to restate that the scheme would be available within weeks – or face the very real prospect of an industry in hiatus. An interim measure, the Renewable Heat Premium Payment, was due to close at the end of March. Barker said he wasn’t in a position to announce anything, but that something would be announced ‘soon’. He explained: ‘Bringing
24 CIBSE Journal April 2013
forward a domestic RHI proved much more difficult than we anticipated. Really it was like starting from a blank piece of paper. ‘Part of the problem with a universal RHI is the extraordinary span of technologies that have very, very different features. I think the mistake we started with was the approach – a one-size-fits- all approach, which had at its heart a desire for simplicity. ‘Trying to force those very different technologies into one universal type of incentive I don’t think works.’
He added: ‘I fully take on board your point – we need to avoid a hiatus, I’m just not in a position to make an announcement.’
records actual building performance, he found offices exceeded targets by 50% on average, schools by 100% and universities by 300%. CIBSE’s technical director Hywel Davies
said that by managing buildings properly, energy demand could be cut by 20% within five years and 35% in 10-12 years. Rob Pannell, director at the Zero Carbon Hub, said industry should not forget that
global temperatures were predicted to rise by 2050. He said: ‘We may need a green deal for shuttering in 2050 when it gets so warm.’ Bennetts Associates director Julian Lipscombe said that councils’ rigid enforcement of the Merton renewables rule had made it difficult to minimise buildings’ energy use before considering renewables.
Baffling landscape The merits of various ratings schemes was the subject of a debate led by Cundall partner David Clark. His own research revealed no correlation between energy performance certificates (EPCs) and actual energy consumption. ‘Unfortunately, EPCs are used in most rating tools to measure performance of buildings,’ he said. ‘We need real information.’ Clark added that government reneging on its promise to roll-out display energy certificates (DECs) to the private sector ‘was a huge missed opportunity’. Deloitte partner Miles Keeping said the number of rating systems created a ‘baffling landscape’. He said that chief financial officers would only occupy a green building if there was a link between high ratings and productivity. Speaking of BREEAM, Aecom’s regional
director of sustainability Dave Cheshire said too much paperwork was required to
demonstrate compliance. He added: ‘Less than 5% of buildings are assessed by BREEAM. They should all be assessed, but maybe we need to lose some of the rigour.’ CJ
www.cibsejournal.com
, buildings had to produce less /m2
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