Award-Winning Grand Designs Live Show Returns To Birmingham
Returning for the fifth consecutive year to the Birmingham NEC, the
award-winning Grand Designs Live Birmingham is back, showcasing inspirational design, self build, interiors and cutting-edge homewares from the 8th – 10th October 2010. Based on the popular Channel 4 TV series presented by Kevin McCloud, Grand Designs Live brings to life real home improvement projects, cutting-edge design, eco-friendly innovation, and interior design, through a series of live interactive features, across a three day event. This year’s Birmingham show will be spread over six different sections which include: The Grand Village, Grand Build, Grand Interiors, Grand Kitchens sponsored by Miele, Grand Bathrooms and Grand Gardens. With over 500 of the UK’s biggest and best brands exhibiting their latest
product ranges across the event, as well as expert advice on everything from planning, designing and building your own home to adding those finishing touches from our Grand Designs Expert Advice centre sponsored by VELUX, visitors will be able to buy, build and furnish a house, all under one roof. Six shows in one - This yer’s unmissable features include: Grand Village: Visit this year’s spectacular Grand Village hosting a range of full scale sustainable homes and some of the most dynamic and cutting-edge architectural design and buildings of the future, all open to the public to view throughout the event.
Redland Guarantees Award Winning Design
Complying with Building Energy Efficiency Standards Recent official figures indicate that at least 10 per cent of new builds in
the UK are failing to meet new energy efficiency regulations, with a much larger percentage only achieving the minimum standards required. With recent government announcements that in future all new homes
will have to be 25 per cent more energy efficient, coupled with soaring energy costs and already having the technology to insulate and tight seal houses cost effectively; Craig Paton-Ash, Construction Director of Ultra Green, explores why is this still happening? The problem is largely caught up in the conservatism of the construction industry. The majority of builders like to work with what they know and are unwilling to change. They know how to calculate traditional building costs, such as materials and labour, so it is easier to manage the process in this way. As this problem is so endemic in the industry, clean technologies
that offer energy savings will have a slow and limited uptake unless this mind set changes. One way to tackle this head on is education. We need to set up programs at tertiary institutions, providing training in alternative construction techniques which remove this reluctance to change. These programmes could be supported by commercial enterprises and
the benefits of such a scheme are manifold: • It would provide industry with access to information on eco-friendly building techniques.
• Purveyors of new 'green' technologies would have a platform to showcase products. • End users would have service providers offering a wider choice of energy saving solutions • The environment would see less strain on its resources. Another factor to consider is architects are often more concerned with design than energy efficiency and fail to research new building systems that could work in their client's favour. The educational approach mentioned above could also be extended to specifiers in the form of modules in Continual Professional Development (CPD) programmes. These could explore the requirements as well as the design of green building techniques. The final issue to overcome is many consumers are still under the
impression building a 'green' home is cost prohibitive and there is a lack of information available to tell them otherwise. Once again this information gap can be filled by education, with television having the greatest consumer reach. There is opportunity to develop TV programmes concentrating on new green technologies, helping to remove price myths and challenge homeowners' perceptions of traditional building methods.
Biomass and the Future
need to strive for Level 4 (and above) of the Code for Sustainable Homes are all reasons for house builders and developers to consider alternative sources of heat energy. Biomass is the most effective alternative and has the lowest overall cost per kg of CO2
Contemporary and traditional aesthetics are combined in the roofline of
43 affordable homes that have been awarded Gold in the International Green Apple Built Environment Awards 2010. Redland’s Richmond tiles were specified by Liverpool architects Denovo Design to help this new development blend with the surrounding slate roofs, while the roof is given a distinctly contemporary twist with brightly coloured cowls containing sun tunnels reflecting the more traditional chimneys. While the aesthetic of the Richmond tile, with its thin leading edge, was important, the technical back-up provided by Redland and supported by its 15 year Roof System Guarantee was the deciding factor. Redland's Richmond concrete tiles are designed to last for generations,
but the system guarantee gives additional reassurance when the specification is provided by Redland's Technical Solutions team. “I have to be sure that the design cannot compromise the client’s long-term RMI needs by any detail in the roof” is how architect Frank Olchowski of Denovo Design puts it. “Redland’s technical support ensured that all the recommended fixing and ventilation details specific to the tiles could be easily checked against clear documentation.” With Redland’s know-how, the roofing has been designed to accept the addition of either solar or photovoltaic panels at a later date, while the whole scheme, built by Main Contractor Lovell, for West Pennine Housing Association, meets the Lifetime Homes Criteria. A single phase of the project achieved a Silver award in last year’s event, but in 2010 the whole scheme won the prestigious Gold award, announced at an awards ceremony in June at the Tower of London. The Awards are in their 16th year and over 500 nominations were received for 2010.
chip. Wood chip requires large bulk storage, robust handling equipment and more on-site management. Wood pellets are more convenient, reliable, widely available, energy dense and consistent in quality. They can be purchased in bags and via an air pump ‘blown’ bulk tanker delivery. Their market price compares well with other fuels such as LPG, electricity and oil, and they are only slightly more expensive than gas. A wood pellet boiler heating system easily and cheaply achieves compliance with Code Level 4. The end user experience is similar to a gas or oil boiler, as systems are available to constantly feed the boiler from a bulk supply. Fast spares availability, local technical support and UK installer training are issues that end users, housebuilders and developers need to see in place, and some manufacturers offer all three. The manufacturers often have recommended installers who are trained on their equipment, and the government’s Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) scheme provides a list of certified products and installers, which is accepted as the renewable energy benchmark. The installation of small pellet boilers is covered under the building regulations in the same way gas and oil appliances are. There is a wide variety of boilers that burn pellets; the choice
ultimately depends upon requirements, but they can work with most existing systems and controls, including Building Management Systems. The capital cost of pellet boilers is high compared with standard gas and oil boilers. However, grants are available via the MCS, and local authorities may offer other forms of financial support. Following the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in 2011, energy users will be paid per kWh used, and various payment bands and assessment criteria are designed to give a good ROI (around 10%) on what is effectively a 15-year government-backed investment plan. So, with annual servicing and compliance to industry standard
requirements to enable access to Government grants and the eagerly awaited Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), biomass is financially attractive in the long term.
13 The two main versions of biomass boilers are wood pellet and wood .
Woodpecker Energy UK explains the options Rising fuel costs; concerns over security of energy supply; and the
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