14 THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE
Why green electricity makes economic and environmental sense
As the construction industry struggles to lower its carbon- dependency, Max Halliwell of Mitsubishi Electric explains to Jack Wooler why ‘green electricity’ – with a particular focus on heat pumps – will prove to be the most efficient and secure energy source for the foreseeable future.
consultation, which includes part L of the Building Regulations, is not diluted,” he says, in regard to one way in which Government is set to step in. “The targets outlined in the consultation can all be achieved using technology that exists today.” In his opinion, this existing technology
revolves around electricity, which we are well placed to utilise: “The electric economy makes so much sense to the UK – we are an island which has access to a huge wind power resource as well as other renewables and low-carbon forms of electricity.” He explains that by utilising such
The UK construction industry, both domestic and non-domestic, are responsible for a very large percentage of
UK C02 emissions – the heating of our homes alone reportedly being responsi- ble for 13 per cent of the UK’s greenhouse gas output. While this has not gone altogether
unnoticed by the Government, many in and outside the industry have questioned the likelihood of meeting its carbon targets, and how much the housebuilding sector in particular has so far done to meet them. “We know the Government has very
ambitious plans to get the country to net zero by 2050,” says Max Halliwell, communications manager at Mitsubishi Electric, a strong proponent of an electricity-first approach to decarbonisa- tion. But, he points out, the construction industry remains a “very large” polluter. Max argues, as the Government has
been pushing, that “we should not be burning fossil fuels in buildings in the long term.” He believes instead that we must now
move towards a low-carbon electric grid if we are going to address this issue, and that it is vital that the industry moves towards alternatives products such as heat pumps that can utilise this clean energy, the technology “being able to massively reduce building emissions.”
THE ELECTRIC ECONOMY According to Halliwell, the grid is in fact already decarbonising at a fast rate – “which is great news,” he notes – but there is still much work to be done. “We are hoping that the future homes
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK
sources, the country could make its economy not only low-carbon, but shake its reliance on other “potentially unstable” sources of fossil fuels. “No matter your view on climate
change,” Max says, “everyone agrees with the strategy of a secure energy supply.”
LOW ENERGY HOUSING When discussing what steps the house-
building industry as a whole needs to take next, he argued that it must embrace this “fact that the UK needs to move to low- energy sustainable housing.” He continues: “If anything, Part L of the building regulations and the decarbonisa- tion of the UK housing stock timetable should be accelerated if we have a chance of hitting our net zero targets.” Many developers are however already
embracing fully electric homes, and according to Max, social housing providers are even further ahead: “They recognise the need to lower the carbon footprint of their stock and build low carbon cheap to heat properties for their often vulnerable tenants.” He believes that the area which needs
to be replaced “as a matter of urgency” is those people who heat their homes with the highest carbon fuels – “oil and LPG.”
ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES For housebuilders and developers, it is in the specification process that some of the easiest and most effective changes can be made.
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
