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BREEAM awards: close up

2012-05-15 14:35:08

Thameside Living Unit is the first building of its kind to be rated BREEAM Outstanding and was awarded a BREEAM award at Ecobuild this year.

Located next to HMP Belmarsh in Woolwich, the Living Unit is part of a new prison facility run by Serco for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The development contains ten new buildings including a sports hall, reception, kitchen, vocational training workshops and a health and education unit. Skanska was contractually obliged to deliver an Excellent rating for all buildings on site as part of the MoJâ€™s ongoing sustainability drive.

The living unit was awarded a BREEAM Outstanding rating, with a score of 88%. A four-floor, concrete-framed building, the unit comprises 600 prison cells, dining and association space and an office. It also contains building management spaces. The plant room is located in the roof.

Specifics

A feasibility study into all low and zero carbon technologies was undertaken at an early stage to establish the most appropriate technology for the type of building and the specific site requirements and restrictions.

The study looked at the demands of the building and provided analysis into payback and CO2 savings for each of the solutions. A large proportion of building materials and insulation are A/A* rated by the Green Guide to Specification.

The building is heated by biofuel boilers using waste vegetable oil from the prison kitchens. Control and server rooms are cooled using air source heat pumps while food composting and compactor facilities exist on site.

The water supply to each cell is automatically regulated. Sub-metering, water efficient sanitary ware and automatic shut-off to unoccupied areas help to further reduce consumption. Water is heated by the biofuel boilers.

The buildingâ€™s energy strategy was awarded an EPC rating of 17, with CO2 halved by the biofuel boiler and air source heat pumps.

Security and cost

The predictable but unusual issue of security had to be considered at every stage of the design. Green technologies were approached from a safety standpoint.

Ray Handy, design director at Skanska, said: â€œSecurityâ€™s paramount. Itâ€™s always a consideration. You canâ€™t have too much attached to the roof. Or something that can be damaged and used as a weapon.â€

As the new facility was charged to the tax payer, cost along with security drove the build. Handy says: â€œ(We) never set out to be super green â€“ itâ€™s a competitive market and we have to balance financial constraints. The whole philosophy was about keeping it lean in terms of government expenditure.â€

Luckily, some of the more expensive green technologies also represented potential security hazards. Thetford says: â€œRoof mounted plant such as PV panels may have been a security issue, but these also were cost prohibitive and would not have provided the same CO2 reductions as the biofuel.â€

Ecology

Built on the previous Woolwich Arsenal site, substantial preparation was needed before construction could begin. The brownfield site was marshland and contaminated by military use but has now been restored.

Thetford says: â€œThe main challenges included achieving ecological enhancements on a secure site.â€ Despite this, the site scored highly in this category, achieving 90%.

Black Poplar saplings - Britainâ€™s most endangered tree- have been planted on site, having first been grown from seedlings in a stabilised environment then transported to site.

HMP Thameside opened on 30th March and will start functioning fully this autumn.

This article originally appeared as part of a wider look at the BREEAM awards in the May/June issue of Greenbuild. For a free subscription, please click here.

The best medicine

2012-05-15 12:05:07

The NHS is undergoing a period of immense and controversial change. While politicians and medical unions heatedly debate its future, estates managers are being asked to save money, save energy and cut carbon. All on tight schedules, tighter budgets and while navigating policy.

Like most public sector organisations, the NHS is asked to cope with huge upheaval with each government. Its size means that the complexities of policy are amplified when staff attempt to implement changes.

New Labourâ€™s policy of replacing the NHS estate via private finance initiatives (PFIs) was waylaid by change of government and recession with the consequential drying-up of funds. Professor Alan Short, who lectures on architecture at the University of Cambridge and is one of a group of academics researching the difficulties involved in making the NHS estate sustainable, believes that â€œa number of trusts have been strandedâ€ as a result.

So the NHS has had much thrown at it in the way of policy and funding changes in the past. But in the next three years it is being asked to save Â£20bn. Or 4-5% of its total budget year-on-year. With an annual energy bill of Â£500m and a CRC league table to think of, NHS estates are a prime target for money-saving measures.

Balancing restrictive bureaucracy with challenging targets is a demanding task. The NHS Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) recommends that â€œall new buildings and major refurbishments should be designed to withstand significant climate change and weather extremesâ€.

It continues: â€œNHS buildings must be designed to promote sustainable behaviours in staff, patients and visitors and they must be adaptable to support change towards low-carbon pathways.â€

The SDUâ€™s Karl Heidel admits that newbuilds find it easier to meet energy-saving targets than older stock undergoing retrofits. He adds: â€œNew buildings of course have to come up to exacting low carbon standards and most, if not all, NHS organisations take the commitment to design low-carbon buildings seriously.â€

Short says: â€œIt is the biggest estate in Europe, maybe in the world. Itâ€™s absolutely vast. But it is surprising how little you have to do to these hundreds of buildings. The first lesson is not to throw away older buildings with thermal mass and clever ventilation systems.â€

He adds: â€œOur [group of researching academics] particular interest is to see how the buildings will perform through the next century. Climate is set to change markedly. It is very difficult to cool huge public buildings without using ridiculous amounts of energy. [It requires] three times as much energy to cool as to heat.â€

Current common retrofit measures include focusing on local user controls for heating and cooling and improving system controls and operation, installing insulation and replacing existing glazing or adding secondary glazing.

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has encountered similar problems to many NHS organisations. Its director of estates services, Phil Hudson, thinks the trustâ€™s main problems are twofold. He says: â€œ[Not] knowing the long term future of some parts of the estate â€¦ prevents investment in projects which have a payback of greater than say three to five years.â€

There is then the eternal problem of obtaining funding. He adds: â€œAs a trust it [Imperial] has limited capital funding and relies on borrowing from schemes such as SALIX. When it becomes a Foundation Trust this situation should improve.â€

When retrofitting, Imperial chose to focus on lighting, variable speed drives, building management systems (BMS) and reduced hot water storage via plate heat exchangers. The trust improved its monitoring, targeting and user awareness and feedback.

Behavioural change is also key to reducing energy usage and carbon. However, this prevents challenges due to the ever-changing occupants of a building. Unlike almost any other workplace, as well as a regular set of staff, patients and visitors also impact a buildingâ€™s energy performance.

Some NHS bodies have begun broadcasting energy usage figures to screens across a site so all occupants, rather than just staff, are aware of how much energy they are consuming. Despite work to lessen energy use, the SDU states that if an NHS organisation uses renewable energy it is often used in addition to the â€œnormalâ€ supply requirements.

Heidel emphasises the importance of measuring energy usage before upgrading a building. He says: â€œIn simple terms, put as much effort into monitoring and targeting as possible. If managers arenâ€™t monitoring their buildings closely then there is no way they can minimise energy loss.â€

Short also believes that thinking before taking action is the key to making savings. He says: â€œYou achieve these huge reductions by interfering with the fabric of buildings, not by gluing on lots of fancy renewable technologies. Policy makers think that PV cells are the solution â€“ once you reduce energy [requirements], then yes.â€

Sustainability may be key to achieving huge budget reductions, but installing green technologies and infrastructure can represent massive capital outlay. Balancing future saving with current expenditure will always present a challenge.

Heidel says: â€œSome organisations may see a reduction in funding as a threat to carbon management programmes - this in fact is viewing the situation from the wrong angle. Reducing emissions means saving money with the potential of pumping those savings into front line care. Even if the savings arenâ€™t reinvested, at least savings will have been made.â€

This article originally appeared in the May/June issue of Greenbuild. For a free subscription, please click here.

All change?

2012-05-15 11:28:25

It is less than two years since the introduction of Building Regulations Part L 2010 and we have recently seen the consultation for the next iteration of the Conservation of Fuel and Power regulations, Part L 2013, land on our desks with an almighty 300-page thud.

The three-year gap between successive iterations highlights the expediency with which the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is treating the impending introduction of zero carbon homes in 2016 and non-domestic buildings in 2019. There are a significant number of voices against such a rapid update which say that not enough evidence has been gathered from the 2010 version of the regulations to make changes and that stricter regulations will act as a barrier to growth at a time of precarious national finances.

However, UK climate targets are non-negotiable on the basis of financial activity or lack thereof. And the emergence of the green economy has shown that even in harsh fiscal climates, it is possible to create opportunities for business. Our buildings are still responsible for sizable CO2 emissions and everyone in the industry knows that progress needs to be made to pave the way to the zero carbon deadline.

The proposed newbuild CO2 reduction targets over the 2010 objective of 8% for homes and 20% for non-domestic buildings are a notable departure from the previously stated aim of a 25% cut in emissions for both building types. Certainly the wide gulf between the two targets is interesting. The consultation document states that non-domestic buildings will now be expected to employ renewables to hit the emissions target. Not so for dwellings. It seems apparent that government is keen not to be seen to be hindering house building, and perhaps the house builders have been more vocal in their lobbying than their non-domestic cousins, resulting in the Governmentâ€™s 2010 spending review commitment to reduce the burden on the house building industry.

If Part L 2013 results in additional costs for builders, savings will have to be made in other policy areas to compensate. But is this saving up pain for later? After all, in 2016 homes will have to hit the zero carbon target in whatever form that may take.

The introduction of an absolute fabric energy efficiency standard (FEES) to drive energy efficient built form and fabric has the potential to aid designers in trying to hit the domestic CO2 targets. The proposed standards will be tough to meet but with a bit of learning and guidance, the industry should be able to cope. If the consultation goes so far as to adopt the stricter of the proposed FEES levels, it is probable that this will do the majority of the work in meeting the new CO2 target, leaving less CO2 to be mitigated through building systems and renewables. The â€˜fabric firstâ€™ approach is one that has been advocated by many in the industry, building sustainability in from the outset of a project and avoiding accusations of â€˜greenwashâ€™ or â€˜green blingâ€™ from the use of large amounts of expensive renewables to mitigate CO2.

The proposal for FEES and targeted levels of emissions for homes from 2016 were both well researched recommendations made by the Zero Carbon Hub, a body dedicated to devising how homes will meet the zero carbon target. It is a shame a similar organisation has not been established to tackle the far more complex issue of how non-domestic buildings will meet the zero carbon goal.

The Zero Carbon Hub states that the 2016 zero carbon targets should reflect the â€˜as builtâ€™ performance, recognising that there is a gap between the predicted emissions and those that occur in practice. This has been confirmed by on-site measurements conducted by the Good Homes Alliance and Leeds Metropolitan University. It has been suggested that the performance gap xan be addressed through the use of a voluntary Publicly Available Specification (PAS) to improve construction standards and to penalise dwelling emissions which do not adopt the PAS. If it is to gain widespread industry adoption, the PAS will need to be simple and effective. If not, designers will be more likely to accept the emissions calculation penalty. The PAS has only been proposed for dwellings. The consultation document acknowledges that there are no parallel proposals for non-domestic buildings, yet the fact remains that there is a considerable performance gap. In order to further study and close this gap, large amounts of in-use data are required. This would have been readily available if the government had managed to outline a programme for the roll-out of Display Energy Certificates for non-domestic buildings in the recent Energy Act. As such, the lack of a programme and associated data highlights what a missed opportunity that was.
The final piece of the zero carbon puzzle is Allowable Solutions. These will essentially take the form of payments to fund projects aimed at reducing emissions off-site, hence offsetting the residual emissions from developments. It is very difficult to determine if the steps being made to reduce emissions on site will be cost effective compared with Allowable Solutions when the industry does not yet know what the costs of Allowable Solutions are likely to be. Consultation on this was promised for spring 2012 and it would be of use to read now, in tandem with the proposed changes to Part L.

For existing buildings, the proposalsâ€™ main area of focus is the integration of the Green Deal with consequential improvements to better building efficiency whilst other works are undertaken. Consequential improvements will now apply to all building types, regardless of size. Regardless of what the perceived flaws are with the Green Deal, the alignment of policy from two separate government departments makes a great deal of sense and represents some rare joined up thinking.

Questions remain over how widely the Green Deal will be adopted and also over how well domestic consequential improvements will be enforced by local authority building control departments. This is especially true for the proposed consequential improvements for minor works such as replacing boilers or windows, where building control officers do not attend the site. As with previous iterations of Part L, consequential improvement works have to be technically, economically and functionally feasible. This, some may argue, offers a loophole for people to wriggle out of completing additional works. Again, it will be interesting to see how these are adopted and policed for the domestic market.

The proposals outlined for Part L 2013 are pragmatic and well thought through. Emissions cuts implemented since 2002 essentially mean that even buildings that are only built to the regulatory minimum will still be low carbon buildings. We have had nearly five years to get used to the idea of zero carbon buildings and although the policies are starting to take shape, we need more data on buildings in-use by rolling out DECs and information on Allowable Solutions before we have a good idea of how much more work is required to hit the zero carbon target.

Dan Jestico is head of research and development at Hilson Moran

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2012 issue of Greenbuild. For a free subscription, please click here.

Greenbuild award for Wood Energy

2012-05-14 12:52:53

A subsidiary of RES, Wood Energy has won a Greenbuild award for its Green Heat Module. The module, launched at Greenbuild Expo 2011, was awarded the New Retrofit product category in Manchester on Wednesday evening.

Specifically designed to make it easy for those new to biomass heating by enabling them to adopt best practice and make the most of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), the module can typically reduce a buildingâ€™s carbon emissions by between 50% and 100% (excluding electricity).

The Salford University judges said the Green Heat Module had â€œthe potential to deliver energy savings in an innovative way.â€ They praised the way in which the pod concept has been shown to be effective in and how â€œthis extends the benefits through the application of biomassâ€.

The functionality of the Green Heat Module means the unit can be left for long periods of time without manual intervention. This makes it ideal for commercial building applications.

Commenting on the award, business development manager for RES On-site Neil Turner said:â€œWe have packed all our expertise into the Green Heat Module with all the equipment needed to fuel a public building or commercial heating system. The module places the focus directly on our customers, making it easy for them to implement their carbon savings programmes.â€

The winners of the first ever Greenbuild Awards were announced in a ceremony at Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry on Wednesday 9th May.

The One Show's Lucy Siegle revealed the winning entries in categories ranging from domestic newbuild to behavioural change. The judges included Liz Reason from the Green Gauge Trust, Kerry Mashford from the Technology Strategy Board, Paul Ruyssevelt of Ruyssevelt Consulting and a team from the University of Salford.

Greenbuild Expo 2012 opened yesterday

2012-05-10 10:24:32

Greenbuild Expo 2012 returned to Manchester with a stellar line up of speakers and exhibitors ahead of the Green Deal launch. This year, lead for environment at AGMA, Charlie Parker, opened the event with a speech. He arrived at Greenbuild Expo in a Renault Twizy, the first-ever fully electric urban compact two-seater.

Charlie Parkerâ€™s speech launched a debate around the new Government initiative the Green Deal, which intends to reduce carbon emissions cost effectively by revolutionising the energy efficiency of British properties, both commercial and residential.

Parker said: â€œWe are delighted but not surprised that Greenbuild Expo is in Manchester, given that the cityâ€™s commitment to a low carbon economy is a key plank of growth strategy for both Greater Manchester and the UK.

â€œGreater Manchester is determined to be the place of choice for growing green-building companies â€“ with our cutting edge approach to the green deal and the built environment, including portfolios of innovative and highly investible schemes across the infrastructure, commercial and housing property sectors.

â€œOur ambitious targets not only reflect our commitments as a leader in this field, but also our desire to drive growth in this sector, working closely with the Green Investment Bank and DECC as a UK low carbon hub.â€

Greenbuild Expo is on again today at Manchester Central and is free to attend.

Greenbuild Awards winners revealed

2012-05-10 08:54:21

The winners of the first ever Greenbuild Awards were announced last night in a ceremony at Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry. The One Show's Lucy Siegle revealed the winning entries in categories ranging from domestic newbuild to behavioural change. The judges included Liz Reason (Green Gauge Trust), Kerry Mashford (Technology Strategy Board), Paul Ruyssevelt (Ruyssevelt Consulting) and a team from the University of Salford. All the finalists are on display at Greenbuild Expo today at Manchester Central, which is completely free to attend.

The winners are:

Domestic newbuild winner
Greenwatt Way, PRP Architects & SSE
The judges were impressed by the learning gained in the project and the commitment to sharing this through highly accessible, plain English reports.

Domestic retrofit winner
Passfield Drive, Bere Architects
This is a good example of the Retrofit for the Future programme showing what can be achieved in the refurbishment of a 1960s property aiming towards an 80% cut in carbon emissions.

Leisure buildings winner
Mayville Community Centre, Bere Architects
The judges were impressed with this considerate refurbishment of an existing community hall in the context of local authority and other constraints, making it far more comfortable for its regular users.

Education buildings winner
The standard was excellent so the judges decided to select a winner for newbuild and retrofit

Newbuild
The Green Student Village, GB Building Solutions
The judges were impressed by commitment to wider sustainability objectives delivering a high quality development that engages effectively with the student residents.

Retrofit
Kay House, Exeter University
An inventive design which provides for a variety of uses and brings a 1950s building up to modern best practice.

Workplace buildings
Once again, the standard was very high so the judges have picked three winning buildings: one for newbuild, one for retrofit and one for building management.

Newbuild
The Pool Innovation Centre, Aedas
A sustainable new building which will help support the development of the local economy whilst emitting very little carbon dioxide and reporting its performance via the online database CarbonBuzz.

Retrofit
9 Millbank, Cavendish Engineers
This is a creditable example of what can be achieved in public sector buildings with the persistent application of energy management practices.

Management
Three Piccadilly Place, Carillion FM
A team that has never taken its eye off the ball by applying an active management system to achieve year-on-year performance improvements.

Behavioural change winner
University of Bradford
Preparing 3,000 students and 150 staff for a move to a low-carbon building has maximised energy savings and illustrated what a comprehensive behavioural change programme can achieve.

Breakthrough winner
Frankland Tree Services
An innovative approach to sustainable sourcing of materials for its own HQ made FTS a clear winner, illustrating the benefits of a local approach.

New retrofit product winner
Green Heat Module, Wood Energy
The Salford University judges said the product had the potential to deliver energy savings in an innovative way. The pod concept has been shown to be effective in a growing number of cases and this extends these benefits through the application of biomass

The judges also wanted to congratulate Knauf for its Thermoshell product and Moores for its ReAction kitchen. Both entries are highly commended.

Blackpool students win international sustainable design prize

2012-05-04 16:14:52

Pupils from a school in Blackpool have been awarded an international design prize.The US based School of the Future Design Competition aims to get students to creatively plan tomorrow's sustainable schools to conserve wildlife and resources and promote health and learning while engaging their local communities.The competiton forms a part of the US Council of Educational Facility Planners International School Building Week.

Following a semi-final in Manchester, students from Highfield Humanities College were chosen to represent the UK in Washington with five other teams, all from across the US. Each team had 15 minutes to present their design to a judging panel of 22.

Highfields Humanities College received an Award of Distinction as well as $1,500 for their project, an 'Ocean Observatory'. Coming from Blackpool, the pupils chose to design a community learning spce embedded in sand dunes with the aim of attracting tourists to Blackpool's hard-hit economy.

The design features a facade of glass that can withstand wave pressure, allowing people to observe underwater life as the tide covers the building. Renewables including wave ad wind power the building which can sleep 42 students, allowing observation of nocturnal sea life.

"The students continue to raise the bar each year in the rigorous competition. this year's submissions epitomised project-based learning and demonstrated a deep understanding of the planning process and creating a sustainable future."

Schools from Arizons and Alaska won Awards of Excellence and $2,000 each while three schools from Connecticut, Michigan and Texas were presented with Awards of Merit and $1,000.

Students from Highfield were introduced to the competiton by educational design, engineering and construction programme provider Class of Your Own.

Renault's EVs at Greenbuild Expo

2012-05-04 11:50:57

This year's Greenbuild Expo will be kicked off in style, thanks to Renault Manchester. Charlie Parker, lead for environment at AGMA (Association of Manchester Authorities), will be arriving at the event in a Renault Twizy electric vehicle at 9:30am on Wednesday 9th May, before giving the opening address inside the venue.

The Renault Twizy, the first-ever fully electric urban compact two-seater, has been supplied by Renault Manchester, along with the Renault Fluence and a Kangoo â€“ two other electric vehicles, which will be on show outside Manchester Central for the duration of Greenbuild Expo.

Charlie Parkerâ€™s speech will launch a debate around the new government initiative the Green Deal, which intends to reduce carbon emissions cost effectively by revolutionising the energy efficiency of British properties, both commercial and residential. Parker said: â€œWe are delighted but not surprised that Greenbuild Expo is in Manchester, given that the cityâ€™s commitment to a low carbon economy is a key plank of growth strategy for both Greater Manchester and the UK.

"Greater Manchester is determined to be the place of choice for growing green-building companies â€“ with our cutting edge approach to the green deal and the built environment, including portfolios of innovative and highly investible schemes across the infrastructure, commercial and housing property sectors.

â€œOur ambitious targets not only reflect our commitments as a leader in this field, but also our desire to drive growth in this sector, working closely with the Green Investment Bank and DECC as a UK low carbon hub.â€

To find out more about Greenbuild Expo 2012 and for free registration visit www.greenbuildexpo.co.uk.

Green as the valleys

2012-05-04 11:22:18

A new energy efficient hospital in Cynon Valley, South Wales has been completed. The Â£70m development is intended to act as a catalyst for regeneration of the area while providing rehabilitation and intermediate care, pediatric services, supporting therapies, outpatient clinics, dental services and mental health units for out-patients and elderly patients.

The development curves around the river bank and is integrated into the landscape with a configuration of low-rise green roofs. This lessens its impact on the valley, which is overlooked by traditional terraces. The hospital is positioned for the best views of the surrounding countryside while the landscaping of the 16 acres it sits in fosters biodiversity.

The interior follows a format of internal courtyards while energy efficiency is central to the design. Naturally ventilated wards make the most of daylight and passive climate control through the buildingâ€™s thermal mass. A biomass hot water system further reduces the facilityâ€™s carbon footprint as well as operating costs.

Architects HLM have designed the building to be flexible in the future, able to adapt to changes in patient care standards and accommodation.

Jonathan Jones, associate director at HLM, said: â€œThe buildingâ€™s scope for adaptation ensures that it has the ability to change in future and thus keep pace with the future evolution of care.

The hospital was commissioned by Cwm Taf Local Health Board and the project team included: HLM as architects, landscape architects and interior designers; Arup as structural engineers; Buro Happold as M&E engineers; Capita as project manager; Gleeds as cost consultant; and VINCI Construction as contractor.

Cynon Valley Hospital replaces the outdated Mountain Ash and Aberdare hospitals, with the existing sites scheduled for redevelopment in the near future.

A modern 'garden city'

2012-05-04 11:07:12

A modern â€˜garden cityâ€™ of sustainable housing part-funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has been created in Letchworth. The mixed-tenure scheme of houses and apartments are designed to Code for Sustainable Homes level 4 and are available for social housing, shared ownership and sale on the open market.

Commissioned by social housing provider, North Hertfordshire Homes, sustainable architects Cole Thompson Anders designed â€˜Tomorrowâ€™s Garden Cityâ€™ so that primary rooms face south or west to maximise the use of natural light. Air source heat pumps provide low energy heating to the apartments while rain water harvesting, low flush toilets and spray taps reduce the water consumption of the properties.

All of the homes feature predominantly flat roofs, some of which are green roofs. In addition, each roof design features a south facing sloped section, which accommodates either solar or photovoltaic panels.

Keeley Hale, development project manager at North Hertfordshire Homes commented: â€œThe feedback weâ€™ve had is unanimous in its praise. The residents weâ€™ve spoken to say their homes are really warm and comfortable; theyâ€™re very pleased with them.â€

Natural Building Techniquesâ€™ (NBT) Pavawall and Pavaroof systems were chosen for the building envelope because of their airtight values while the thermal mass of the systems means that the dwellings will benefit from effective protection against summertime overheating.

The Pavawall system comprises a continuous layer of high performance woodfibre boards installed on the outside of the timber frame structure. The woodfibre boards are manufactured from 95% wood waste, which itself comes from trees from sustainably-managed forests.

The U-values for the walls and roofs of the properties are 0.13 W/m2K and 0.13 W/m2K respectively. Airtightness tests undertaken on the properties returned impressive figures of under 3m3/hr/m2@50Pa, greatly outperforming the Building Regulationsâ€™ requirement of under 10m3.

Armstrong Integrated steps into Green Deal non-domestic shoes

2012-05-04 10:41:15

The likely delay to Green Deal for non-domestic projects has been bridged by a private sector service.

Armstrong Integrated aims to get a higher proportion of energy efficiency upgrade projects off the ground by helping site owners and occupiers gain access to finance. Instead of battling to raise capital to fund upgrade projects, Armstrong Capital Assist enables customers to pay for the upgrade out of the resulting savings in energy costs.

The end customer benefits from immediate savings without any capital outlay and in many cases the energy savings that Armstrong solutions can achieve will be more than the customerâ€™s monthly payments. This can enhance the site owner and occupierâ€™s cash flow and asset management options.

Funding for improvements is made available via a partnership between Armstrong Integrated and Solutions Asset Finance, a specialist asset finance company with extensive experience in public sector projects.

By enabling sites to pay for HVAC system upgrades out of operational budget instead of having to raise capital investment funding internally or from external organisations, Armstrong Capital Assist can bring projects to fruition.

It can be an ideal solution where there is a risk that equipment may become obsolete without prompt replacement, or where cost of maintenance is escalating due to the age of the equipment. As well as being self-funding through energy and maintenance savings for public sector sites, it can also be used to increase the value of building stock, or to improve the letting potential of commercial property.

Richard Strode, managing director of Armstrong Integrated said: â€œThe economic climate has made it increasingly difficult for organisations such as NHS trusts and local authorities to raise the finance to achieve their carbon reduction and cost saving objectives, even where the potential energy savings make a compelling justification for investment.â€

Greenbuild Expo opens next week

2012-05-04 10:15:56

There's still time to register for next week's Greenbuild Expo, taking place at Manchester Central on 9th and 10th May.

The free event features over 100 seminars and workshops on all aspects of a sustainable built environment, as well as exhibitors showcasing the latest products and solutions for green buildings.

At the centre of the exhibition hall will be the Green Deal debate area, which will feature expert speakers from organisations such as BRE, Kingfisher, Plumb Center and NICEIC, as well as representatives from DECC, UK-GBC and the Cabinet Office, discuss the imminent launch of the government's flagship green policy. Other highlights include the training hub, sustainable cities, regulation Q&A and the Greenbuild awards finalists.

The exhibition and conference is aimed at anyone working in the built environment, including facilities managers, planners, architects, energy managers, contractors, commercial landlords, developers, housebuilders, local authorities, housing associations, surveyors, installers and estates managers.

For free registration visit www.greenbuildexpo.co.uk .

National sustainability campaign for SMEs

2012-04-30 14:37:33

A national campaign has been launched by to offer all UK SMEs free sustainability advice. The 7-days to Sustainability campaign by Planet Positive will enable SMEs to kick-start their sustainability programmes and experience the business benefits this can bring.

Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 99% of all Britainâ€™s enterprises. But these 4.5m businesses often miss out on the benefits of sustainability because they lack the resources to cope with perceived costs and complexities.

The campaign will help SMEs and suppliers to overcome these hurdles and experience benefits such as resource efficiency and cost saving, new business advice and the ability to answer tenders, marketing differentiation and employee & customer engagement.

The 7-days to Sustainability campaign is being supported by corporations actively supporting sustainability schemes such as Tesco, Alliance Boots, M&S and Deloitte.

Steve Malkin, Planet Positive CEO, said: â€œOur goal is to help SMEs experience the business benefits of sustainability, such as saving money, generating new business, engaging employees and, of course, being good for the planet.â€

SMEs can register for the 7-day programme online on the campaign website www.7days2sustainability.com. The first SMEs will start their 7-day Sustainability programme on 1st May and SMEs will participate weekly thereafter for the remainder of 2012 and beyond.

Each SME will be sent a planning pack and then receive seven daily activities:

1. Sustainability Plan; Employee engagement & Behavioural Change
2. Switch on to switching off - Energy Efficiency
3. Waste & Recycling
4. Travel & Transport
5. Food & Water (+ Health & Well-being)
6. Procurement & Supply Chain
7. Success â€“ Marketing and Winning business

Energy and climate change minister Greg Barker said: â€œSaving energy goes straight to the bottom line, helping businesses save money and increase competitiveness as well as cut carbon.â€

Business leaders to support the campaign include Willie Walsh from IAG, Paul Polman from Unilever, Ian Cheshire from Kingfisher and Deborah Meaden from BBCâ€™s Dragonâ€™s Den, who said: â€œI would recommend that every business joins the campaign.â€

Planet Positive has committed to continue the campaign for three years and aims to help 2,102 businesses in 2012.

Passivhaus goes head-to-head with Code for Sustainable Homes

2012-04-30 12:52:27

A housing association will monitor and compare the performances of Passivhaus and Code for Sustainable Homes houses.

Saxon Wealdâ€™s new Â£4.7m development in Horsham, East Sussex is comprised of 38 houses and apartments. Of these 38 homes, 12 meet Passivhaus requirements while a further 26 will comply with level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. It is the South Eastâ€™s first affordable Passivhaus scheme.

Saxon Weald plan to test and compare the performances of the two types of building for two years in order to select a standard for future developments.

Five dwellings will be home to adults with learning difficulties and one apartment will house an on-site carer so that residents with learning difficulties can love independently in a mixed community.

The development is orientated to make maximum use of daylight and optimise solar thermal (fitted on the Passivhaus homes) and solar PV (fitted on the Level 5 homes) generation.

Increased levels on insulation in walls, roofs and floors matched with triple-glazed windows and doors ensure that air tightness levels are of a high standard while reduced water consumption, heat recovery and ventilation units and low energy light bulbs decrease energy requirements and so lessen the load on the renewable sources.

All the homes have been constructed using InnovarÃ© Systemsâ€™ Structured Insulated Panels system, which have been developed to respond to Passivhaus air permeability requirements of 0.6m3/m2/hr at 50pa as well as providing U values at 0.10 Wk/m2K with minimal cold bridging.

The developmentâ€™s biodiversity has been taken care of with abundant planting and green transport is catered for with cycle storage as well as a residentsâ€™ parking area.

Osborne were the principal contractor on the build. Director of the homes team Paul Ensch said: â€œWe have demonstrated here that it is possible to build homes of this standard on a large scale and to a tight budget and hope that this will help more housing associations meet higher sustainability targets while also fulfilling demand from residents for new homes.â€

Devon sailing club finds PV solution

2012-04-30 11:58:03

A Devon sailing club is generating its own electricity with a multi-roof PV system. Exe Sailing Club will now be able to reduce its running costs as well as cut its carbon. Its site is relatively large with three roofs and so required a bespoke solution to make maximum benefit of the space.

SunGift Solar, who installed the panels, custom designed the system to fit across each roof. Power optimisers were included in the design allowing each panel to work independently and so minimise the effects of shading from nearby buildings and provide the club with real-time figures on how well each panel performs and how much income is generated.

The club's commodore Rex Frost said: â€œThis is a huge step forward in terms of securing our future energy needs. Weâ€™re not a small club, and a large amount of our running costs are spent on electricity and fuel for our boats, so the solar PV array will help us control some of those costs, while providing valuable additional income.â€

Whereas many solar PV systems feed their excess electricity back into the national grid, the sailing club will make maximum use of the electricity it generates as it has a constant need for power throughout the day.

Frost added: â€œWe use electricity â€¦ throughout the club house so weâ€™re really making the most out of the green energy we generate, as the energy that the panels produce is free and we get a healthy government payment for producing it.â€

Exe Sailing Club is by no means the only community group to invest in renewables as a safe-guard against energy prices. Gabriel Wondrausch, founder and managing director of SunGift Solar, said: â€œWith rising energy costs, weâ€™re finding that many more local groups are looking to generate their own electricity and heat from renewable sources, rather than having to buy it from energy companies.â€