Get a handle on the Government’s energy policies

Just as the House of Lords Science & Technology Committee highlighted the urgent need for Government to take a more coherent approach to the reduction of UK carbon emissions, the construction industry is being given the chance to makes its views heard and influence policy. resource05 has been chosen by EU Presidency as its main forum for debating proposed initiatives on energy efficiency and low carbon buildings. Views canvassed at the three-day conference to be held this September in Watford, will be developed into a position paper that the Government has asked BRE to write.

The conference will help delegates to get a clearer understanding of the various regulations, initiatives and policies that are currently in the pipeline. While Ministers from both the UK and the EU will outline key strategies, daily seminars and workshops will get to grips with the practical issues, helping delegates to achieve targets such as 10% renewables that come into force over the next few years.

For more information about speakers and conference programme visit www.resource05.com

George Monbiot joins the debate

Environmental journalist and campaigner George Monbiot will be joining resource05’s daily debates on the DTI Microgeneration and Low Carbon Buildings consultation document.

In his article Save us from Ourselves (New Statesman,
30 June), George highlights the importance of environmental regulation because, ‘in the absence of government action, environmentalism is, and always will be, for other people’.

Views expressed during the debate will be fed back to the DTI before the close of the consultation period. Other panellists include: Edwards Hyams, EST; Will Anderson, The Independent; Allan Jones, London Climate Change Agency; and Nick Thompson, RIBA.

Energy Saving Trust reveals £6billion worth of energy savings for UK homes

UK households can now save a collective £6 billion on their energy bills by adopting simple energy-saving measures in the home, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

The £1 billion increase, from £5 billion to £6 billion, means that individual households could cut their annual fuel bills by an unprecedented £250 by sufficiently insulating their home and adopting other measures such as installing energy-saving lightbulbs.

The Energy Saving Trust has compiled a table of some of the measures that can be implemented to show how and where money can be saved throughout the home.

Click here for more information:
http://www.est.org.uk/aboutest/news/pressreleases/ index.cfm?mode=view&press_id=397

Slow progress on carbon footprints

Progress to improve energy performance and reduce carbon footprint is mixed. There are some splendid examples where owners have specified low carbon buildings and the industry has responded with enthusiasm and professionalism. Sadly, the vast majority of the building stock languishes towards the bottom of the energy and carbon performance league.

Buildings are one of the Carbon Trust’s priority targets for improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. On Day Two of resource05, David Vincent, the Carbon Trust’s Technology Director, will be talking about the Trust’s work in this area.

www.thecarbontrust.co.uk

Green housing lift off

resource05 will be the launch pad for PassivHaus design in the UK. Chiel Boonstra of DHV The Netherlands, will introduce housing professionals to the concepts and success of Europe’s PassivHaus standard. There will also be an afternoon workshop (funded by the Energy Saving Trust and BRE Trust) that will provide housebuilders and architects with more information on the design tools involved and explain how to get involved with PassivHaus design.

Germany and Austria are among the EU leaders in low energy building concepts. In Germany the PassivHaus Institute has evolved the traditional concept of ‘passive’ buildings into an integrated design package. Dwellings complying with this use less than 15 kWh per m² per year for heating and thus have no need for a traditional heating system. Some 4000+ PassivHaus dwellings have been built in Europe, but none to date in the UK. You could be among the first.

The UK PassivHaus website will be launched soon – watch this space for further details.

Developments in CHP

Following the success of last year’s exhibition, Powergen will be showcasing their WhisperGen Micro-CHP technology and the significant developments in that market over the last 12 months.

The revolutionary energy-efficient WhisperGen Micro Combined Heat and Power system was the first in the UK. The unit acts likes a normal high-efficiency gas boiler, providing heat and hot water, but ingeniously also drives a generator that produces electricity and saves on household energy bills. The electricity can be used to power electrical appliances in the home or exported and sold back to Powergen.

www.powergen.co.uk

…joining Powergen and other exhibitors …

• MS Frise – installs underfloor and geothermal heating systems. UK agent for Roth, manufacturer of ground source pipes, underfloor and solar systems, plus heat pumps from Alpha-Innotec. MS Frise will be installing an Alpha-InnoTec Air-source heat pump system to one of the demonstration houses at resource05.
• Balcas Ltd – one of the UK ’s largest wood products suppliers, establishing an innovative bio-energy initiative using surplus sawdust and woodchips to generate electricity. Balcas will be installing two plants at resource05:
  a 2.7 MWe wood-fuelled CHP unit and a state-of-the-art, high-density wood pellet production facility.
• Geoscience Ltd – specialist Geothermal Energy Consultancy and designer and installer of the EarthEnergy™ system, which uses renewable energy stored in the ground to heat and cool buildings.
• Eclectic Energy – developers of small-scale building-integrated wind systems with technical expertise developed from extensive research with INREB.
• Altechnica – Research and Development company demonstrating a highly innovative roof-integrated PV and wind-turbine design.
• Webdynamics – designs, develops and produces a range of technical textiles including roofing breather underlays; high-efficiency synthetic loft/ceiling insulation; and vapour control layers.

Free events for exhibition-only visitors

Those not attending the main conference don’t have to miss out. Free events for exhibition-only visitors are being held on all three days of resource05, including tours, workshops, seminars and presentations from exhibitors and main conference speakers.

For full details of what’s on, go to www.resource05.co.uk/programme.jsp.

Are you involved?

One or two exhibition spaces remain in the main marquee. If you want to secure one of these to showcase your company’s services or products, call Matt Batey on 01923 664287.