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How will we deliver low-carbon retrofit of the housing stock?
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The Carbon Plan sets out the government's vision towards a low-carbon future. Its current draft form invites the industry to submit comments with a ‘live’ version to be published in October 2011. It builds upon the Low Carbon Transition Plan published in July 2009 and outlines in broad terms how the government intends to decarbonise our homes, our businesses, transport, land management and waste processes.
In many ways this plan is just a timetable, outlining the initiatives government intends to take over the coming years, without giving much in the way of details, methodology and, perhaps most importantly, assurance. Those working in the built environment sector will have become accustomed to uncertainty and delays in regulation, planning policy and initiatives from the reworkings of the Zero Carbon definition, the early review of the Feed in Tariff that has stalled the solar industry to the delayed Renewable Heat Incentive which was finally announced this month.
The announcements in this plan are mostly things we already knew, such as the expansion of nuclear, carbon capture and storage and the revisions to Part L. However within the report we can draw some interesting observations on what the detail might hold.
Energy demand
The plan mentions that under many scenarios in the DECC 2050 Pathways Analysis, electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050, due to increased demand from transport and heating. We would surmise that an increase in electric heating is being predicted, though given the difference in carbon factors between electricity and gas, unless there is to be a fast and significant decarbonisation of grid electricity, which is reflected in future Building Regulations, it is hard to see how electric heating is going to increase significantly in the short term. Of course, in the long term as gas supplies dwindle this will become necessity. The report does mention an expected increase in the use of low-carbon heating sources such as heat pumps, which are only low carbon if powered by low-carbon electricity. Is this where the expected increase will come from and if so will these technologies only be allowed if powered by low-carbon electricity?
Around 40% of commercial floorspace that will be in use by 2050 has yet to be built. However to date the focus has been primarily on residential and, apart from a reaffirmation of the target of zero carbon for non-domestic buildings by 2019 and the proposed extension of Display Energy Certificates (DECs) to commercial properties, we have yet to see much detail on a delivery plan and timeline. A firm delivery plan is required to inject some momentum into the non-domestic sector.
Localism commitment
There are plans to develop robust sustainability standards for local authorities to use if they want to set higher standards than Building Regulations. The Code for Sustainable Homes is highlighted as an example framework suggesting it might be retained in some form.
The plan reaffirms the coalition’s commitment to localism mentioning that "local communities will be encouraged to host renewable energy projects". It was suggested in another statement that DECC will work with the DCLG, to allow communities that host renewable projects to keep the additional business rates they generate.
There is a lot of mention of the Green Deal, the government’s funding mechanism for low-carbon retrofit. PRP is currently working with the Technology Strategy Board on a research project looking to establish a framework for the delivery of low-carbon retrofit to all existing homes in the UK looking at the technical solutions, legislative requirements, customer acceptance, financing and quality assurance.
Water efficiency measures are also likely to attract funding. Will reductions in hot water usage finally be counted as reductions in carbon emissions through Building Regulation SAP software? Work with potential delivery partners to facilitate early precursors to the Green Deal has begun and is due to be completed by June this year. In October, consultation on secondary legislation to enable the Green Deal will begin, including the new obligation on energy companies. The commercial sector is to be brought into the Green Deal and in line with the extension of DECs, the smart meter programme is to continue with 50m smart electricity and gas meters to be installed.
The £1bn investment in the Green Bank is reconfirmed with an incubation phase beginning this year and being fully operational by September 2012, soon after the Green Deal is launched. Are the two going to be related and if so how?
The plan reaffirms a lot of what we already know and gives hints to a lot of areas we are still waiting for details on. This plan was never meant to give those details so can’t be faulted on that and its greatest use is understanding timescales announced for the introduction of the host of initiatives contained within. Now for the detail......
David Altabev is sustainability consultant at PRP Architects .
This article originally appeared in the April/May 2011 issue of Greenbuild magazine. Click here for a free subscription.
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