Every new home will be zero carbon

Erik · Post by **Erik** » 07 Dec 2006, 08:54

kenneal wrote:Those who don't have "ZED" homes will probably end up sharing homes with chimneys just to try to keep warm. Those who do own ZED home will probably end up doing the same because they have a social conscience and won't want to see their families freeze.

Yes, I couldn't agree more. I think the number of people per house will increase. Less suitable homes will be abandoned and we will have to get used to sharing the most practical spaces with more people. It's not just about saving energy, it's about sharing food and skills, working together, looking after each other, and even defending each other.

Pippa · Post by **Pippa** » 07 Dec 2006, 10:01

I agree with clv101 in that it is my opinion that building homes (which we actually don't need) is one of the main things which is currently proping up our exhausted economy whilst at the same time getting us all more and more hopelessly into debt and depleting all our resources.

It makes very sad viewing to watch how we are consistantly turning over our green acres (whether that be pasture or arable land, "brown" urban sites or individuals own gardens) to offices, warehouses and more house space when very, very soon we will be wanting more space for food. Just think how many folks we could shelter from the elements in some of the new warehouses and retail outlets we are building at the moment.

On the much touted subject of insulation (and carbon reduction) turn the heat off and put a coat on, you are going to have to do that within the next 10 years anyway when electricity, oil, gas and wood all deplete and there isn't enough to go round.

Only 50 years ago we didn't need house insulation to survive and we don't now and it is considerably warmer now than it was then!

Money invested into individuals construction would be far better spent in trying to secure a reliable water supply, apply some forward thinking and stop trying to tweet a blatently unsustainable, corrupt and useless system.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » 07 Dec 2006, 10:27

Pippa wrote:It makes very sad viewing to watch how we are consistantly turning over our green acres (whether that be pasture or arable land, "brown" urban sites or individuals own gardens) to offices, warehouses and more house space when very, very soon we will be wanting more space for food. Just think how many folks we could shelter from the elements in some of the new warehouses and retail outlets we are building at the moment.

Once land has been built on in this way, it sounds like it must be an almost irreversible process - just imagine the amount of time and effort that would be needed to convert a housing development back into arable land.

As an aside, has anyone seen the new housing product, "boklok" that IKEA are now offering in the UK? I agree with Pippa that we really don't need to build any more houses, but it has occured to me though that one "advantage" offered by these "boklok" things is that they will be easier to burn

in the future in order to be able to turn the land back over to something more useful!

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 07 Dec 2006, 11:06

Erik wrote:Once land has been built on in this way, it sounds like it must be an almost irreversible process - just imagine the amount of time and effort that would be needed to convert a housing development back into arable land.

There is something in the planning system that covers this already. This is a requirement from "Supplementary Planning Guidance Low Impact Development Making a Positive Contribution" produced by Pembrokeshire County Council and National Park (http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/content ... &language=):

How the project will be reversible insofar as new buildings can be assisted in biodegrading without any adverse landscape impact or be removed to restore the land to its original or a more biodiverse state in the event of collapse of the project.

Of course it's much to scary to incorporate into national planning legislation

.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 07 Dec 2006, 12:29

Please excuse the rather long quote, but I've extracted from the Pre-Budget report those paragraphs that have the most direct impact on houses and the building industry. I think it is all excellent stuff, except that it is 30 years too late, so is now pretty worthless.

This Pre-Budget Report sets out the next stage in the Government?s strategy for tackling climate change both domestically and globally, including:

? an ambition for all new homes to be zero carbon within a decade
with a time-limited stamp duty exemption for the vast majority of new
zero-carbon homes;
? legislation to ensure householders installing microgeneration are not
subject to income tax on any payment for surplus electricity exported back to
the grid; and
? the extension of the Landlords Energy Saving Allowance to 2015 and to
corporate landlords.

Every section of society ? business, individuals and government ? has a role to play in helping meet the UK?s climate change and other environmental goals. For its part, the Government recognises it is required to take action where market failures prevent long-term economic and environmental consequences from being taken into account in decisionmaking. A key aim of government intervention is to encourage behavioural change, particularly with regard to the use of energy, waste and water. Investment to increase efficiency in these areas is often a cost-effective option for businesses and households, but short-term cost considerations and market failures can create barriers to the take up of more efficient alternatives. Intervention can correct these market failures, ensuring the implementation of the ?polluter pays? principle in which environmental costs are fully internalised in economic decisions.

Microgeneration
7.30Microgeneration technologies, such as solar heating and micro-wind, have the potential to contribute to both improved energy security and lower carbon emissions. In order to stimulate demand for these new and emerging technologies, the Government has introduced reduced VAT rates and the Low Carbon Buildings Programme to encourage their adoption by individuals. Budget 2006 announced an additional ?50 million to fund Phase Two of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme which aims to stimulate the market for certain microgeneration technologies so that, at the programme?s close, they can be commercially supplied to the market at a lower price than at present. Public sector organisations and charitable bodies will be the recipients of the grants under this scheme, which aims to be up and running by December 2006.

7.31 Surplus electricity generated by microgeneration technologies can be sold back to energy suppliers. To further reduce the barriers to adoption of these technologies, the Government will legislate in Finance Bill 2007 to confirm that, where an individual householder installs microgeneration technology in their home for the purpose of generating power for their personal use, any payment or credit they receive from the sale of surplus power is not subject to income tax, and they are not required to include it in their income tax return.

Reducing emissions in the household sector
7.41 Households account for over a quarter of UK energy consumption and carbon emissions. Many household energy efficiency measures can reduce emissions cost-effectively but are not taken up due to a variety of market failures. New policies have been introduced by the Government to help reduce short-term cost barriers and send effective signals to the marketplace.

Energy Efficiency Commitment
7.42 In 2002, the Government introduced the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) which requires energy suppliers to achieve targets for installing energy efficiency measures in the household sector, particularly among the most vulnerable. The current phase of the EEC, over 2005-08, roughly doubles the activity of the first phase; combined, these should deliver savings of nearly 1 MtC a year by 2010. Budget 2006 announced that suppliers could count extra work carried out in this phase of EEC towards their targets in the next period. As a result, five suppliers agreed to carry out an additional 250,000 subsidised installations of home insulation under the current phase, bringing forward annual carbon savings of 35,000 tonnes and reducing household bills by around ?20 million. The Government believes that activity in the third phase of EEC (2008-11) could save a further 0.9-1.2 MtC a year by 2010, whilst recognising that the scheme needs to remain cost-effective and practical and the overall policy framework needs to continue to take account of wider social considerations. As set out in Chapter 5, the Pre-Budget Report announces new investment of ?7.5 million to improve the coordination between, and effectiveness of, Warm Front and the Energy Efficiency Commitment. This will fund projects using an area-based approach to identify households and provide the right coordinated set of advice and measures for them.

Code for sustainable homes
7.45 To lower the carbon impact of new development and encourage energy efficiency in housebuilding, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) will shortly publish the Code for Sustainable Homes which will set out levels for sustainability in homebuilding and challenge developers to go further in meeting these standards. The Government will also continue to drive forward improvements in the sustainability of new housing through tougher building regulations. Alongside the 2002 update to regulations, the new Part L building regulations, which came into force on 6 April 2006, will increase the energy efficiency of new homes by 40 per cent. This will mean that the fuel bills for an average threebed semi-detached home with gas central heating built to the new 2006 building regulations will be ?120 a year less than its equivalent built in 1997. These new standards (including measures for boilers announced in April 2005) will deliver a saving of 0.98 MtC per year by 2010. Going forward, and incorporating the new Code for Sustainable Homes, the Government will also be setting out a consultative timetable for progressively strengthening building regulations in England and Wales to reflect the energy efficiency levels set out in the Code.

Zero-carbon homes
7.46 It is the Government?s ambition that, as a result of this strengthening, by 2016 all new homes will be ?zero-carbon?, meeting the highest Code standard for energy efficiency. To bring forward progress towards this aim, the Pre-Budget Report announces that a stamp duty exemption for the vast majority of new zero-carbon homes will be introduced in 2007. The exemption, which will be time limited, is designed to incentivise demand for zero-carbon homes among homebuyers, recognising that in order to raise energy efficiency standards significantly beyond where they are now the industry will have to modernise production methods and innovate through employment of new materials and technologies. Full details will be published at the time of Budget 2007.

Billhook · Post by **Billhook** » 07 Dec 2006, 12:58

biffvernon wrote:
Billhook wrote:say what the rational price of a tonne of firewood should be ?
A lot depends on how wet the firewood is. I buy oak offcuts from a sawmill at about ?25 per tonne deliverd in a bulk tipper lorry with a moisture content of 20 to 30%. If buying thin wood it's traditional to buy by volume rather than weight, the cord being the traditional measure. That's a heap 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and 4 feet high.

Biff - yes, I'm up on the factors in firewood pricing, but I don't know the delivered coal price from which to find the ?/MW pot.l (coal),
from which to calculate a rational price /tonne for barn-dry firewood.

Thanks though,

regards,

Bill

simonrichards912 · Post by **simonrichards912** » 07 Dec 2006, 15:29

How many new houses do we think will be built in 10 years time?

I reckon not many, so it should be relatively easy to meet Browns target.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 07 Dec 2006, 15:48

Billhook wrote:but I don't know the delivered coal price from which to find the ?/MW pot.l (coal),
from which to calculate a rational price /tonne for barn-dry firewood.

Last time I bought some house coal was a few years ago, at about ?130 / tonne but I think it's around ?200 now.

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 07 Dec 2006, 15:49

Also Gauleiter Brown said SOME of the new houses would be Stamp Duty exempt .. is that 99% or 1% of these houses?

Adam1 · Post by **Adam1** » 07 Dec 2006, 18:07

7.31 Surplus electricity generated by microgeneration technologies can be sold back to energy suppliers. To further reduce the barriers to adoption of these technologies, the Government will legislate in Finance Bill 2007 to confirm that, where an individual householder installs microgeneration technology in their home for the purpose of generating power for their personal use, any payment or credit they receive from the sale of surplus power is not subject to income tax, and they are not required to include it in their income tax return.

...a radical idea from HM Treasury?

I agree Biff that we shouldn't be cynical about all government initiatives but this one has the feel of fiddling while Rome burns. There's not much point in moving in the right direction at 10 mph if the problem you are escaping from is coming towards you at 1000mph.

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 08 Dec 2006, 03:45

Only 50 years ago we didn't need house insulation to survive and we don't now and it is considerably warmer now than it was then!

I agree, partially, but I can remember 40 years ago doing my homework in my bedroom with a coat, hat and gloves on, sat next to, and I mean right next to, an electric convector heater. Meanwhile my parents were sat in the living room in front of a huge coal fire. In view of the fact that the coal and electricity may not be available in the near future, the insulation might be a good idea.

Also Gauleiter Brown said SOME of the new houses would be Stamp Duty exempt .. is that 99% or 1% of these houses?

The ones costing less than ?100,000?

Silas · Post by **Silas** » 08 Dec 2006, 10:27

Wow on sheeple, Gordo tells us we are in the midst of the longest term of continued economic growth in history, He says we will grow economically at least 3% next year and seems to imply this is possible for evermore, airport expansion is going ahead, 100's of thousands of new homes are going to be built, we can even use some of that nice green belt land if we like, our economy is expected to boom for ever more, Oh get yourself a house quick before they average ?500.000 then ?1 million, get a digital TV an SUV have a flight for free...it's business as usual...burn everything.

Thats the message Im picking up from the government, its going to be fine.

So all together..."Always look on the bright side of life de dum dedumde dumde dum"....etc

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 13 Dec 2006, 13:18

Ruth Kelly announces the end of carbon (well, not quite):

http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp ... iceID=2320

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 27 Dec 2006, 04:38

It is government policy to build 200,000 new houses a year for the next 25 years. There is no reason why these cannot be economically built to a standard that requires virtually no space heating and certainly no central heating system, by insulating them properly. This should be done immediately so that at least these house occupiers will not swell the number of hypothermia and heat stroke cases in the future.

If the houses are insulated properly we can always bolt on solar technology later. If they're not insulated properly from the start, they can't be economically refitted later. So it should be a no brainer what to do first. The problem is insulation can't be seen, so there's no spin in it for Bleh and Grasping Gordon.

There is no point in phasing the new insulation regulations in gradually as it will only confuse the industry. Most Architects are going to have to learn how to build to a higher insulation standard as it is, so they might as well be trained once, and that goes for all the trades as well.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 27 Dec 2006, 15:08

kenneal wrote:It is government policy to build 200,000 new houses a year for the next 25 years.

Just because it's government policy that doesn't mean it's going to happen. 200,000 new houses a year for the next 25 years will only be built if the builders see a profit. A post-PO economic recession might just change the builders' outlook.