The world's largest sustainable building show was in town earlier this week. Well, that town being London, or more specifically Earls Court. It is amazing to see how the show has grown over the last five years. It is huge, taking over both halls of Earls Court exhibition centre, including upstairs.
Well this year we had the opportunity to exhibit, and it was a hectic but very fruitful three days. As one of the highest accredited renewable energy installers in the UK we had a good deal of interest from all angles, architects, developers, self builders, and of course others in the trade. A few companies promoting themselves as experts in all forms of renewables, but with only one MCS (microgneration certification scheme) qualification, for a single technology! tut tut. So buyer beware, if you want to benefit from the incoming FIT (Feed in Tariff) Scheme, or next years RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive) then you will need to make sure you use MCS approved products, installed by an MCS approved supplier, for the technology in question obviously!
Others a little naughty; well plenty of manufacturers reinventing themselves as 'green' some genuinely, but many questionably. How green can concrete be!!! And plenty of the big brand names, with new 'green' products, on a big stand with several gigawatts of inefficient lighting and plastic a plenty! Some people just don't get it do they!!! This isn't a ploy, a marketing exercise, it is the way we need to change to have a chance of survival. Buildings and how we build are instrumental to this. And of course how we generate and use energy. The Code for Sustainable Homes is a wonderful piece of legislation, leading up to zero carbon homes by 2016. Since being planned it has led to great innovation from architects, product developers and installers such as ourselves, to create buildings that are energy efficient and self sufficient. From our point of view the integration of technologies such as wind, solar PV, solar thermal, heat pumps and rainwater harvesting. Combined with new building materials and construction methods. Zero Carbon homes are achievable now. BUT there will be public challenge and dissent. You can't build a zero carbon house and expect it to look and be exactly the same as we have been building for the last 30-40 years or more. To me that is a good thing, not just because of the greater use of microgeneration and renewable energy, but because I love some of the designs that architects we know are working on. I'm a traditionalist, and a history buff to boot, but we can't live in the past. We just have to build differently in the future.
For all that though many of our enquiries were from those looking to renovate or improve an existing property or home. Not without its challenges, but it can be done. To varying degrees and with varying costs you can improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of older homes. As proof in point on our website you will see the case study of an Edwardian Manor house that is now practically self sufficient, a combination of wind power, solar PV, solar thermal and an air source heat pump. All integrated, all supporting each other. Of course insulation and lighting were addressed too.
This week we got the go ahead on twelve new build properties for a social landlord. The developer was struggling to get below Code 3 (Code for Sustainable Homes), but after coming to us, with just replacing the gas boilers with Air-source heat pumps we delivered the solution to meet code, reduce the running costs of the homes by 30% and reduce the co2 emissions from heating by 50%. That is just one technology. When you integrate others you can make a huge difference, and that is where we come in, fully capable and qualified to integrate a range of technologies to achieve what is required for new build and renovation projects.
Look I'm rambling again! Just wanted to say we went to Ecobuild, and we had a great show. Look forward to seeing you next year at Ecobuild 2011, at Excel in London.
