AIMC4

The Government-backed

Technology Strategy Board is to support a ground-breaking £6.4 million programme to build 12 world-class energy-efficient houses without using renewable energy technologies. The unique project - entitled

‘AIMC4’ - will see the Technology Strategy Board partner a major consortium of three leading developers (Stewart Milne Group, Crest Nicholson Plc and Barratt Developments Plc), H+H UK Ltd, BRE and Oxford Brookes University. The AIMC4 project will take a

'fabric-first' approach to the construction of the new homes with the aim of achieving a 44% reduction in carbon emissions. Only specific building materials, components and systems will be used which will increase the energy efficiency of the houses throughout their lifespan. This holistic design-

based solution has not been attempted before and marks a significant step forward in the journey towards cost-effective, zero carbon homes. The test homes will be constructed in three conventional developments and lived in by ordinary families with their performance monitored over several years to ensure they continue to achieve reduced emission levels. The £6.4 million project, in which

the Technology Strategy Board will invest £3.2 million, will see three different construction types evaluated, one timber, one masonry and a third hybrid option, each capable of longer-term volume delivery. Announcing the project at the annual conference of the UK Green Building Council, Housing and Planning Minister John Healey said: “Our zero carbon homes from 2016 will make green living a reality for everyone who buys a new home. It will [also] support the transformation of existing homes by nurturing

aspirations about what green living can look like and by boosting the supply chains of the new technologies that will be needed.” “The project is responding to the

target set by the Government to reduce carbon emissions from homes by 2016. Meeting this challenge will need innovative materials, products and designs. This exciting initiative will bring together the best of the UK’s building developers and material suppliers and I'm delighted that the Government is able to partner with this unique consortium." Minister for Science and

Innovation, Lord Drayson, said: “It is the Government's policy that all new homes will be zero carbon from 2016. To meet that goal we need innovative new designs and products which is exactly what this pioneering project will deliver.” The Technology Strategy Board’s

Richard Miller, who leads the organisation's Low Impact Building Innovation Platform, added: “This is a very exciting project and we are

delighted to be so closely involved. Achieving such a major reduction in carbon emissions through a ‘fabric- centric’ approach, without relying on renewable energy technologies, is extremely clever thinking. Using efficient fabrics will increase energy efficiency throughout the lifespan of a building and, as new renewable energy technologies are developed, the goal of zero carbon buildings can be achieved". Speaking on behalf of the new

Consortium, Stewart Dalgarno, Group Product Development Director of Stewart Milne Group, said: “AIMC4 is a ground breaking and challenging research project, bringing together the UK’s premium developers and suppliers to pave the way for the delivery of sustainable homes. This support of innovation will yield a variety of building systems, each capable of volume build, reducing carbon emissions and driving delivery of the Government targets while creating desirable and sustainable communities.”

Boiler Scrappage Scheme – A Breath of Fresh Air?

Dr Daniel Stefanini, Technical

Director of Hydropath Holdings comments on the Government’s boiler scrappage scheme. “Heating engineers and boiler

manufacturers may be delighted with the announcement of the Government’s boiler scrappage scheme. Yet it is not all quite as rosy as the spin doctors would have us believe. Although the allowance proposals are on the surface well intentioned, most acknowledge that it will have only a small positive impact on domestic CO2

emissions

in practice because only G rated boilers are covered.

“The boiler scrappage scheme

allowance is £400, but that still leaves potentially well over £2,000 for

the householder to find. The reality will probably be that the total installation bill is likely to be much higher, because additional work may be needed to conform with Building Regulations. “Of course, a cynic may say that

anything the government ‘gives’ in terms of an allowance will be more than recouped in terms of VAT revenue. The reality is that it is likely to be only certain sections of society that are still using these boilers, so Alistair Darling’s strategy for using the tax system to get house holders to help combat global warming is likely to have little impact, particularly if the allowance is not easily accessible.” Dr Stefanini continues, “Although

Government Delivers Raw Deal

Ed Milliband has recentily

indicated that householders installing low carbon electricity such as Photovoltaics will receive a feed-in tariff of 5–8% of their total initial investment for up to 25 years. Similarly, he announced the Renewable Heat Incentive to commence in 2011 to provide guaranteed income to householders installing renewable heat technologies. The STA (Solar Thermal

Industry) welcomed these bold

any person concerned about CO2 emission levels will agree that inefficient boilers should be replaced with an HE boiler, to be able to maintain that efficiency one of the major issues that should be addressed is lime scale build up. “A large proportion of the British Isles is affected by layers of corrosive hard lime scale and a consequence is energy being wasted heating up the scale (which is an insulator) before it can heat up the water. 1mm of scale will decrease the efficiency of the boiler by 10%. The problem is compounded by the design of condensing boilers because they have two heat exchangers. The water is heated through two stages and scale will be

steps to embrace and extend the use of renewable technologies, but were disappointed that solar thermal technologies were singled out to receive a rate of return half that planned for other renewable heat energy sources. The STA outlined their belief that this has been driven by a lack of understanding of solar energy per se and a similar lack of ambition for progressing solar solutions. Howard Johns, Chairman of the Solar Trade Association said: "It is

extremely disappointing that despite numerous discussions with Ministers and civil servants during the last year they patently do not recognize the huge opportunities for solar thermal in the UK. It is the only zero carbon heat technology available and had yet again been underestimated by the policy makers. There are in excess of 100,000 of these systems out there already, far more than any other renewable heat technology. We will be urgently seeking meetings with DECC(The Department of Energy and Climate Change) to

precipitated in both stages. “When replacing these old G

rated boilers we would encourage heating engineers to be clear about the need for protection against lime scale and resulting corrosion that can affect boilers. We would strongly recommend a physical water conditioner –which has been approved by British Gas, this patented technology benefits the householder by helping to maintain the efficiency of the boiler, resulting in fuel bill savings, as well as prolonging the life of other appliances Alastair Darling’s vision to combat some of the global warming through a householder’s efficient boiler may achieve some resonance after all”.

express the concerns or our members who have invested heavily in order to grow the market and are yet again not being recognized." Solar thermal systems within homes have the potential to provide very low cost hot water and heating. The scheme announced today will provide an income stream for householders, but in the view of the STA does not place all renewable energy technologies on a level playing field.

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