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(Outdoor animals) Energy Consulting For Eco Homes

By Dominic Donaldson

 In this tumultuous political climate, a time when banks are collapsing, house prices are falling and the planet is warming up; the issues surrounding new housing developments have become entwined with affordability and green living. The Government have set targets for new builds to have a sustainability level rating of six by 2016. This essentially means that these buildings will have to be carbon neutral by using renewable energy, and they will have to be built in a way that minimises energy loss. Embarking on an era where solar panels and wind turbines power our homes, government regulations mean that we are more likely to be calling upon the services of an Energy Consultant than an electrician.

The prominence of Energy Consultants in the construction industry is a reflection of the changing times of energy awareness. Climate change is being discussed in primary schools, and global warming has become a familiar household topic. Recycling cans and glass and composting organic waste has become second nature for most British households, and is a direct response to energy awareness campaigns. As the information filters down to the public, and becomes part of everyday life, the role of the energy consultant takes a turn towards the domestic sector. Energy consulting entails advising clients on how they can save money by saving energy, and how they can help save the environment by using energy from renewable sources.

The new Eco Towns as proposed by Gordon Brown are to be constructed from ecologically friendly materials and the architecture is designed to make them as energy efficient as possible. One such development in Nottingham called the Hockerton Housing Project has been a major success and provides a practical template for future energy efficient communities. By using materials with a high thermal performance, heat can be stored and released efficiently minimising the energy consumption of the household. Using solar panels and wind turbines to generate energy for electrical goods eliminates the need to be hooked to the national grid, and ensuring that all appliances are low energy, the need energy, even from renewable sources is reduced dramatically.

The Hockerton project is the result of a community self-build project. A group of people, with common interests in a low impact living put their enthusiasm and knowledge together to create a sustainable community. The project began in the early 1990s, before most people were aware of the impact our western lifestyle could have on the climate, and before eco-friendly became the buzz word du jour. The members of the project had the knowledge to create a sustainable low energy homestead using thermo-efficient materials and renewable energy technology. The eco-villages and towns that are being proposed by Gordon Brown are not projects initiated by people with a common interest in greener living. There will not be a wealth of experience for sustainable living to be drawn upon should anything go wrong with the system.

Despite the ever increasing interest in sustainable living, these towns will function like any other; they will be reliant on technology that requires professional maintenance and management. This is why energy consulting is going to be so prominent in the domestic sector. In the homes of the future, home owners are more likely to be worried about the house springing an energy leak than a water leak, and if the lights don’t come on the chances are you will call for the services of an Energy Consultant, not an electrician.

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the engineering industry.

Find out more aboutabout energy consulting and how an expert on renewable energy could help save you money.

Green Building Design - Not Just For New Builds
By Dominic Donaldson

 Economic and climatic changes are afoot resulting in some major upheavals in engineering and construction legislation. An attitude shift in a greener direction when it comes to development is being welcomed in the industry. Recently, one of the most coveted awards available in architecture was awarded to a group who combined their knowledge to build sustainable housing on a brownfield site in the UK. The use of energy saving materials and energy saving methods combine to produce accommodation that has a chance of being rated as carbon zero.

The targets set by the British government for domestic builds are to meet sustainable development legislation by 2016, and for commercial premises to adhere to the new rules by 2019. The current housing minister reportedly said that half the UK’s carbon emissions are from buildings; so theoretically, if designing greener buildings is made a priority, the country should be well on the way to meeting EU carbon emission reduction targets. By focussing on insulation and ventilation, ways to re-use water, and using energy from sustainable sources, engineering companies are designing green buildings with the future in mind.

Existing developments have proved that opting for green building design does not necessarily equate to being a costly development scheme. In fact, by utilising energy saving methods to produce energy saving buildings, it is likely that cost will be reduced in comparison to traditional builds. For those builds that are costly to implement, it has been estimated that the return on investment could be seen within three years. If Britain is serious about meeting targets for sustainable development, then a look at green building practices from around the world could shed light on good practices.

Working towards a greener future in building design is not confined to new builds; the upgrading of existing buildings can in itself be the first foot on the carbon zero ladder. With existing buildings making up the majority of carbon gushing properties, relying on environmentally sound new developments to combat emission levels could be a fallacy. Implementing changes through retro-fitting in commercial and domestic premises will help to reduce emission levels. This tactic is already being deployed in the Netherlands and there is currently a major project underway in Nottingham in the UK.

Rather than use an existing house as a starting point, researchers have re-built a 1930s house and plan to upgrade it in stages. The reason for this is to assess each upgrade for effectiveness in a way that mimics the reality of a domestic upgrade. It is expected that the work will be stretched out over three years and in that time an existing house will match the requirements for carbon zero legislation expected from new builds.

This affordable and creative approach to sustainable building design is the attitude that is needed in the construction and engineering industry as well as from the Government. The public are ready and willing to embrace the changes that are afoot, but implementation of governmental policy is needed to make it happen. With a system that saves money for constructor and consumer and has the potential for saving the planet too, up to date building designs for old and new properties will see brownfield sites blossoming into greenbelt havens.

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the environmental engineering industry.

Find out more about green building design in the environmental engineering industry at URS Corp.

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Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 6:15 pm and is filed under environmental. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.