34 A BACKUP PLAN: THE ROLE OF SECONDARY HEATING IN FUTURE HOMES STANDARD COMPLIANCE
One of the barriers to growing the use of wood burning stoves was a lack of clarity from Government, having looked at potential bans and then U-turning, which has compounded perception issues. Currently, as Dennis Milligan from the British Flue & Chimney Manufacturers Association told the other delegates, the Government is “fl ip-fl opping” about its policies around fossil fuels and electricity, including pricing, creating a lack of certainty which is making it more diffi cult for likely ‘new adopter’ housebuilders to embrace the potential of secondary heating.
As energy consultant Naomi Sadler told the group, the stigma around burning solid fuel had led to some planning departments taking a blanket approach to them, despite the advances made in the industry to improve systems: “We’ve seen examples of local planning authorities ruling out installations of solid fuel, despite them being permitted.” This was a clear example of why further understanding is needed, backed by research, and communication to the sector, from practical ramifi cations for developers to educating homeowners on how best to use wood as fuel.
Danielle Michalska-Morris said that while her fi rm was not currently pursuing secondary heating as a standard option, “it doesn’t mean we don’t recognise that it’s a lifestyle choice for some customers, and for some developers may offer a potential upgrade option.” She added, “that’s not to say it’s something we won’t ever look at; I have quite an open mind, and ultimately it’s about fi nding the right solution for us as a business and for our end customer.” Michalska-Morris added that Taylor Wimpey did “recognise the growing pressures on the electricity grid, and the potential need to manage that peak demand, and remained committed to looking at different, small, fl exible solutions to support compliance going forward.” She said that currently the industry focus is around PV, battery storage and smart controls to optimise energy, and “even that’s quite new to volume developers.”
Solutions: Sponsor questions The second half of the debate featured questions from our sponsors, Charlton and Jenrick, Jotul UK and Percy Doughty, including how the industry should collaborate in order to bring the positive messages around wood stoves to housebuilders in a more coherent and persuasive way.
Both Peter Mintoft of Charlton and Jenrick and Simon Bower of Percy Doughty homed in on this communication issue, and wanted to hear ideas on industry collaboration towards the shared goal of better information as the Future Homes Standard hoves into view. Mintoft asked “how can manufacturers and designers work together to ensure secondary heating is specifi ed in a way that balances resilience, comfort, and compliance, without undermining effi ciency targets?’
Simon Bower echoed this, wondering how the industry could “work collectively toward a sustained, proactive marketing campaign to infl uence public opinion and steer perceptions, rather than reacting defensively.” He zoomed in further on what education was needed, to counter negative stigmas among consumers, installers, designers, and local authorities, and “empower them to make informed choices about secondary heating.”
INDUSTRIES NETWORKING
Representatives from both the stoves sector and construction specifi cation were able to share their knowledge and experience (right; building consultant Naomi Sadler)
He boldly stated: “There’s a war going on. We’ve won some battles, but sometimes I think we’re not joined up together, as manufacturers. I know we’re all doing our different things, but what can we do to be a little bit more proactive and joined up?” Erica Malkin said that the industry was in danger of being “in a bubble, and becoming a bit of an echo chamber,” and there was an urgent need to reach out and preach to the unconverted. Mark Ryan of Jotul UK wanted to know what was infl uencing new build specifi ers to choose wood stoves as a secondary heating. Some delegates including consultant Naomi Sadler offered the view that there was a lack of engagement from designers around issues of secondary heating, with SAP causing issues by not currently including some carbon saving technologies, although it is about to be replaced by the Home Energy Model, under the Future Homes Standard. Sadler advocated “having a database of secondary heating options that links up with HEM, allowing the SAP assessor to select them and how they work will make the difference, in identifying whether it’s an advantage or disadvantage in the energy calculation.” Despite the challenges, she said she believed that “the simplest solution was often the easiest,” and wood burning stoves as secondary heating were an example.
She said that the endpoint of current momentum on increasingly airtight fabric was to “design secondary heating out of houses,” although she believed that such designs were “not effi cient; houses can be a lot more dynamic.” Accommodating fuel, and fuel sources generally, was also discussed, from where to store logs to their ultimate origin, and condition issues which affect performance of wood burning stoves both practically and environmentally. Woodsure’s Jason Harries advised developers: “If you’re going to build storage in, look at what are you doing right from the very start, because you don’t want to make it diffi cult for people to use.”
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