The NaREC headquarters

Certainly we are seeing a shift in perspective of the end user with an increasing number of us changing, or at least beginning to think about the way we generate and consume energy in our homes. Overall however, sustainable energy in the form of distributed generation, micro-renewable technologies and innovative energy saving techniques remain the territory of those who can afford these measures, or who feel bound to consider them out of a moral or ethical choice. None of these sustainable building techniques are a matter of practical necessity for the vast majority. However, changing the way we live and work in such a significant way will take a long time to realise, and is a gradual process.

Government legislation is already playing a major role in changing the building industry and its initiatives will grow progressively tighter in order to steer the industry into achieving the energy reductions needed to reach the UK’s greenhouse emission targets in 2050. What we now see in the advisory Code for Sustainable Homes, equivalent to the higher levels of the Part L Building Regulations, will eventually become the benchmark for the industry over time. The industry must recognise that today’s desirables will become tomorrow’s requirements, and that sustainable development is a business opportunity as well as a challenge. Those who are quicker to embrace the sustainable revolution will undoubtedly reap the rewards in the future.

In order to make sustainable building happen, developers must address the initial challenge of reducing the energy requirement of a building at the outset, therefore reducing the need for renewables and energy efficiency further down the line. Incorporating renewable technology into a structure at the outset also helps to make the optimal use of the renewable energy resource available.

The key to unlocking the puzzle of reducing energy usage in buildings is unquestionably one of design – and whilst retrofit options for the existing building stock are essential, their implementation will follow the examples set by the new build industry. Architects and building designers are now beginning to vary the early design principles which underpin a new project and considering in depth how
a building interacts with its environment, and its users, in order to create a more effective solution. It is also essential that future proofing be considered at the design stage, so that even if low carbon
building technologies are not to be applied, window positioning and pitching the roof in a south facing direction will make retrofitting photovoltaic panels a much more viable option for the homeowner, when the cost of photovoltaics falls.

We have seen through the various flagship building projects, that the higher levels of the Code for Sustainable Homes are achievable with some of the microrenewable technologies and innovative energy efficiency techniques already available. The challenge of bringing these flagship projects into the mainstream industry, is cost reduction, and an increase in the effectiveness and performance of these energy saving techniques.

One of the best demonstration projects around this year was a full-scale modular home called Organics, displayed by Eco-tech at the Building Research Establishment’s Offsite 2007 exhibition. The house is designed to make sustainable homes accessible to more people. The timber framed building is an affordable, low maintenance, well designed alternative which can be mass produced. The house meets level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, with the potential to become zero carbon with future modifications. Modular solutions for sustainable building are extremely viable for the UK market, given that many housing developers implement standardised projects with only minor modifications to design, and where the same materials and specifications are prescribed to the building contractors.

This is how the gradual change to sustainable building is beginning, with the leaders in the industry pushing the boundaries of design and specification, exploring new alternatives and aiming for the higher standards in sustainable building. In turn the lessons learnt from these flagship projects will become practical solutions adoptable for the mainstream industry. As sustainable building is practiced more and more frequently, costs will be reduced and eventually, buildings with low energy features will become as commonplace in the building industry as cavity wall insulation and double glazing are today.

Legislation will work to foster more adaptation in building design. The advisory notes for architects and planners do recommend that solar gain, and passive ventilation, for example, be taken into account, but these facets are so difficult to measure that developers can only be obliged to consider them – as part of impact assessments – rather than absolutely apply them in building design. The government needs to become more involved in the equipment and materials supply chain – to demand more from them in order to give developers and designers more choice, and give greater clarity to the supply chain in identifying market needs. The fragmented nature of the construction industry means that suppliers are very gradually widening the range of products to address sustainable building and this is in part due to some of the challenges of cost-reduction and manufacturing, as well as a lack of clarity over what the industry needs.

The lack of an industry wide accreditation system in place for renewables, which could regulate the quality, effectiveness and performance of micro-renewable technologies, means that the emerging industry is expanding in many different directions in a bid to create the solutions the building industry needs – but without focus, it is difficult for technology providers to create solutions which are truly fit for purpose.

Other key factors are affecting the move to sustainable building – land prices, the buoyant housing market and the shortage of affordable homes all detract from the sustainable building strategy and in some cases directly affect it. The cost of land for example is currently a significant problem for UK house prices. There is a concern that the new 10% renewables rules being adopted by many local authorities will increase the overall build cost when coupled with the fixed cost of land, but with developers unable to pass on these costs to property buyers. The industry needs to focus on why applying a 10% rule would increase build cost – by addressing what they need from the supply chain.

The allocation of responsibility for sustainable building does not make matters easy. At European level, the EU Directive states that a buildings’ energy usage needs to be monitored – but there is not currently any legislation at EU level dictating renewable energy content in buildings. It is at the national policy level that the link is made directly between micro-renewables and energy savings that is not seen at EU level. However, the responsibility for implementation sits within the regional spatial strategies at local level. Each local authority sets its own benchmark for sustainable building. This makes it difficult for the building supply chain to create winning solutions which will be effective and in demand across the UK. The size of the building at which energy usage needs to be reconsidered also varies across regions. Having the target figures for sustainable building at the local level makes it difficult for the industry as a whole to address the issue.

NaREC (The New and Renewable Energy Centre) is working with microrenewable technology developers to address some of the challenges of integrating renewable technology into the built environment. NaREC has been working with several small wind technology developers seeking to overcome the challenges posed to small scale wind by the behaviour of wind patterns around a building envelope.

Research has shown that vertical axis wind turbines have a tendency to perform better than horizontal axis turbines in the turbulent wind conditions which are typical in urban environments. Whilst horizontal turbines need to track the changes in wind direction, vertical axis turbines are not affected by fluctuations in wind direction. Rugged Renewables is a UK company currently developing a reliable and robust vertical axis turbine for the UK market. Using NaREC’s purpose-built electrical laboratory, the technology developers are monitoring the performance of the turbines and their interaction in a grid network, in order to create a new proven technology more suited to the urban environment and to the needs of building developers.

Cellspace Energy Systems is the UK distributor of an American manufactured Architectural Wind turbine, and is currently carrying out performance research and development at NaREC’s testing centre. The turbine system is designed for urban commercial buildings being small and quiet and not needing a tower mount. Designed to specifically harness a building’s own aerodynamic properties to generate electrical power, the modular turbines are scaleable so that as the need for renewable generated power increases, more systems can be added to a building. This means buildings could use over 100 turbines on one site, and makes the technology particularly suitable for commercial organisations. NaREC is working with Cellspace Energy Systems to fully investigate the performance and interaction issues of the turbines ahead of the full launch of the system into the UK building industry.

Combining pioneering technologies with inventive aesthetic and practical application will not only maximise the uptake of renewables, but also ensure their positive impact on our lifestyle, and living environment. Renewable and energy efficiency technology developers must move to provide the industry with what it needs to make low carbon building practical, and at the same time the industry must be clear on what it seeks. Much of this is a case of embracing new legislation, and being prepared for the future government initiatives which will likely be introduced to push the industry towards low carbon.

For more information about NaREC visit www.narec.co.uk

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