Our colleagues at The Green Register are running one of their excellent courses in Bristol on 15 June entitled "Building Fabric or Renewables: which is better for delivering truly sustainable homes?"
This one-day course will look at how building fabric and renewable technologies can work together to reduce energy demand and carbon emissions for both new-build and refurbishments. Delegates will learn about the pro’s and con’s of fabric versus technology options, what floor/wall/roof build-ups might look like and solutions for different house types together with taking part in several group exercises that allow participants to explore some of the more challenging options available.
We are regularly asked why and how planning authorities can introduce conditions of planning permission to include sustainability clauses. These come in the form of:
carbon emissions improvements,
low or zero carbon or energy requirements
Code for Sustainable Homes requirements
There are several means by which Local Authorities can include these clauses under a planning permission condition for your projects.
PPS1: Delivering Sustainable development - provides the governments overarching policies for planning as important ways to help ensure new development is more sustainable. This type of policy was first introduced by Merton Borough Council and is sometimes referred to as the "Merton Rule" and has been reinforced in a supplement in 2007
PPS22: Renewable energy - published in 2004, stated that local authorities could include policy on on-site renewable energy and was further endorsed by ministerial statement in June 2006.
Regional Spacial Strategy: contains policy that states all developments should achieve Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes and any in any case social housing must reach this level to obtain grant funding.
The draft PPS: Planning for a Low Carbon Future in a Changing Climate, intends to amalgamate common areas and proposes much stronger commitments on both climate change adaptation and mitigation. Consultation finishes on 1 June 2010. Despite the change in government there is still a desire to create more energy efficient and sustainable development. Although timescales may change, the issue is not going away.
Our advice would always be to consult with your Planning and Code for Sustainable Homes Consultants early in the process to minimise the impact on your developments.
Our latest blog is an extract from the press release from CLG
In an important step at a point of fragile recovery in the housing market, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Housing Minister Grant Shapps today announced that with immediate effect, they are suspending the requirement for homeowners to provide a Home Information Pack (HIP) when selling their homes.
Mr Pickles today laid an Order suspending HIPs with immediate effect, pending primary legislation for a permanent abolition. Suspending HIPs will reduce the cost of selling a home, remove a layer of regulation from the process and provide a welcome help to the housing market during the recovery. It will also mean a saving for consumers to the tune of £870m over ten years, giving sellers more money in their pocket to spend in the wider economy.
Mr Pickles and Mr Shapps also said that the Government is determined to help people reduce their energy bills, improve our energy security and tackle climate change by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes. Sellers will therefore still be required to commission, but won't need to have received, an EPC before marketing their property, and the Government will consider how the EPC can play its part in the new drive for a low carbon and eco-friendly economy.
Housing Minister Grant Shapps said "we're also showing our commitment to a greener housing market by keeping Energy Performance Certificates and making them more relevant in helping buyers make informed decisions on the energy costs of their new home."
The revised position is:
In order to ensure that people selling their homes continue to make an Energy Performance Certificate available to prospective buyers, we have also laid before Parliament the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 which introduce a number of new requirements including:
a new duty on the seller to secure that an energy performance certificate (EPC) has been commissioned before marketing of the property commences where no such certificate is already available
an EPC has been commissioned when a Domestic Energy Assessor has been instructed to prepare the EPC and the EPC has either been paid for or has given a clear undertaking to pay for it
a new duty on the person acting on behalf of the seller to be satisfied that an EPC has been commissioned before commencing marketing
a new duty on both the seller and a person acting on their behalf to make reasonable efforts to secure an EPC within 28 days
all of the new duties carry fixed penalties where somebody fails in the duty conferred on them by the new regulations
The full press release and questions and answers are available from the link:
We pride ourselves on the professionalism of the services we offer but still keep coming across horror stories in our industry. In the last month we've seen several occurrences of Unaccredited Energy Assessors work which can have significant impacts:
three instances of out dated or superceded software being used, there have been several upgrades to the approved software and creditable Assessors will always work with the latest, current versions of software
blatant disregard for the the Assessment industry, one so-called property professional saying "I've been doing these for years, I bought the software in 2006 and have always done assessments" adding "they're not worth the paper they're written on" - he's probably correct in his case
serious technical errors including incorrect building geometry, incorrect building volume, no adjustment of u-values for semi exposed walls/floor, incorrect thermal bridging and hugely optimistic air permeability
In our experience these issues arise from undervaluing the Energy Assessors role and lack of enforcement within the industry. We can only urge you all to ensure your Assessors are Accredited Professionals and your assessments being completed by a competent person as you rightly expect and deserve.
The long awaited Approved Document L 2010 and corresponding SAP2009 documents have now been published and come into effect on 1 October 2010. There are some significant changes to both the legal requirements and the technical guidance, here's our bullet point changes:
Legal requirement for new build:
Regulation 17C applies, for CO2 emission rate calculations to be carried out and given to the Building Control Body, along with a list of specifications used in the calculations before the start of building work on the erection of a new building. This is in addition to the CO2 emission rate calculation required to be submitted after completion of the work.
Changes in technical guidance:
The annual CO2 emission rate of the completed dwelling is now calculated using SAP2009 and must not exceed the target set by reference to a notional dwelling with an additional overall improvement of 25% relative to 2006 standards
The notional dwelling now includes a party wall heat loss of zero, meaning that the targeted improvement of 25% is in addition to treating party walls between connected dwellings against heatloss.
Secondary heating is counted as part of the annual CO2 emission rate of the completed dwelling only when actually provided for and credit is allowed wherever low-energy lighting is installed.
Some of the reasonable limits for building fabric and services performance specifications are strengthened.
Revised guidance is provided for avoiding thermal bridging at construction joints including the option of adopting a quality assured accredited construction details scheme approach.
There are more detailed changes in the body of the document which will have a significant impact. We’ve already highlighted the following:
U-values must be calculated in accordance with BR443 and stated u-values represent an area weighted average. In practice this means your u-values will have to be significantly better than the limiting standards to achieve the TER.
Air pressure testing will become more important since the test results used for subsequent house types incurs a increase of 2.0m³/m²hr meaning the default compliance level is now 8m³/m²hr. The improvement in emissions, in our opinion, makes the default figure of 15m³/m²hr redundant for small developments.
Thermal bridges are significant in reflecting overall thermal performance and three options will exist; quality assured construction details (in the same manner as Robust Details), non-accredited construction calculated in accordance with BR497 or to accept unaccredited details with a default of y-value of 0.15.
We will work with our accreditation body and software house to be at the forefront of the changes, look out for our updates as we near "L-Day" on 1 October 2010!
In the spring issue of Sitelines, the official LABC magazine, Steve Channon of BuildDesk Ltd reviews the importance of U-value calculation in energy assessments.
In his report Steve says "getting the basics right is always important. U-values are important indicators of overall performance, the principle here is that your choices of building fabric will be with you for 50 years or more", he goes on to say "it is important to check calculations for accuracy, has it been produced by a 'competent person' from reliable information on credible calculation software?"
We've long championed BuildDesk® software and have used BuildDesk® U and BuildDesk® ED since their launch some five years ago. We were the first On-Construction DEAs to be Accredited by BRE using BuildDesk's excellent software and continue to rate them very highly for functionality and performance.
We regularly get asked "why should we use Meadow Energy Rating as our Energy and Code Assessors", a question we like to hear.
The industry is a complex one since all manner of organisations build new houses and each has differing needs. A social landlord will have a set criteria for design and performance due to funding or location, while a developer may need to meet regulatory compliance with minimum expenditure, a self builder will have very personal goals.
At Meadow Energy Rating we welcome the diversity as a great challenge. Here's our key tips to help you choose who you work with:
Ask for a copy of all assessors accreditation details, some assessment providers don't use fully accredited assessors
Check that correct Professional Indemnity Insurance is in place
Look for SSIP “Work Safe” accreditation, Safety Schemes in Procurement embraces the core guidance on competence and training in the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007
If you need design guidance ask about relevant industry experience or additional qualifications
We're keen to highlight these issue when you compare us to any other Assessment organisation. There are some great Assessors out there and we welcome the chance to be among the best. We have:
All of our professional team are accredited; OCDEAs and CSH Assessors are accredited with BRE®, our Air Testing Teams are all BINDT® registered
We maintain full appropriate Professional Indemnity Insurance (as required by our BRE accreditation)
We are SSIP "Worksafe Consultants" independently audited by SMAS
Our key staff have 20 years industry experience and hold degree level qualification
The next time you need Energy or Code Assessments, ask if you've got the best solution for your needs!
With the growing complexity of rules and regulations our aim is to keep things simple and make your life easy. Energy and Sustainability are great "buzz words" in construction, but how do you find the real solutions to Code for Sustainable Homes Assessment?
We take time to explain things in a non-technical manner to enable our clients to focus on their core activities - building new houses. We offer a one stop shop for compliance and lead you through the maze of documentation and evidence required to take the stress out of complex process.
If you need simple solutions for complex problems, give us a call!
Due to popular demand we have added Site Waste Management Plans to our range of services.
SWMPs are a legal requirement for all construction projects over £300,000 in value and are a useful tool to gain 2 Credits under WAS2 in the Code for Sustainable Homes Assessment. We use an approved template to collate your site data from the initial estimate and advice on waste management through to completion of the plan at the end of the project.
We will also be adding a tool box talk, training log and poster for use on site to advise operatives and subcontractors the how and why we need to manage our construction waste. Look out for this in our new online shop, coming soon!
Meadow Energy Rating are pleased to announce that we have passed the SMAS Work Safe Consultant Health and Safety Assessment which is recognised under the Safety Schemes in Procurement forum.
The scheme was launched online in May and is an agreement between assessment
schemes, trade federations representing both clients and suppliers, and the HSE,
to simplify the prequalification stage of procurement, reduce duplication
and improve standards of health and safety in the industry.
Lord McKenzie, the minister for health and safety said “The SSIP demonstrates very well how partnerships can be fostered. It has not only been backed by Department for Work and Pensions and the HSE but other Government departments, such as Business, Innovation and Skills, have also supported it.”
We are pleased with the accreditation as it further enhances our reputation for professionalism in the Energy and Sustainability Assessment industry.
Everyone talks about the weather don’t they? Did you know this year we had 73% of the average number of rain days and 44% of the average rainfall for the month of September?
At Meadow Energy Rating we assess the eco credentials of new homes and water use is big news because of the change in our weather patterns. Any new home assessed under Code for Sustainable Homes has strict water use targets. The government have already approved changes to Part G of the Building Regulations (Sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency).
Although implementation of Part G has been postponed until April 2010, due to an EU technicality, the new Regulations will mean all new homes have to meet a minimum water efficiency target based on a detailed calculation. We'll be adding this service to our portfolio.
The consultation for proposed changes to Parts L and F of the Building Regulations and SAP2009 close this month. To stay at the forefront of our industry we have attended the BRE seminar "The Future of Sustainable Housing" held in Bristol. Similar seminars are being held around the country and are aimed at professionals with key interest in the topic.
Speakers from BRE, CLG and Zero Carbon Hub presented on the proposed changes to the Building Regulations and delegates had the opportunity to debate and vote on a large number of energy efficiency issues. We believe this consultation event is critical in our continued professional development.
Interestingly, delegates were mainly from Architectural Practices although we did see representatives from two other Energy Assessment organisations, good to see that the professionalism in our industry continues to grow.
We're launching a scheme to fix the prices of our SAP Assessments, Energy Performance Certificates and Air Permeability Testing under "Framework Agreements".
Framework Agreements are about teamwork and a collaborative approach, working to a common goal. We offer a complete service for anyone building new dwellings and understand how to optimise the potential of each design cost effectively for our clients. We will offer a discounted fixed cost for our work on the basis of guaranteed volume of orders. We're anticipating that this will be of interest to developers and housing associations who have a large number of dwellings under their control.
Please call for details and we'll put together mutually beneficial proposals.
One of our clients has been nominated in the LABC (Local Authority Building Control) West of England Region Building Excellence Awards for two categories:
Best Housing - Small Developer or Development 1 - 10 houses
Best Sustainable Project
Working closely with the Developer and Main Contractor we advised on Energy and Sustainability for the project in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The development, built using thin joint masonry and I-web joists feature air source heat pumps and rainwater harvesting among the sustainable measures. This project was a first step by the developer in building an understanding of the future challenges they will have to face.
The lessons learnt have given them an insight into future projects which will have to attain full Code Level 3 compliance and as a result are actively looking for new development sites comfortable in knowledge that they can the continue to build high quality homes which are also sustainable.
The Regional Awards take place in Bristol on 5 June 2009. Winners will be put forward to the LABC National Building Excellence Awards in London during October 2009.
After working with SAP2005 since its inception and becoming the first BRE Accredited Domestic Energy Assessors, Meadow Energy Rating have now become licenced Code for Sustainable Homes Assessors.
We've worked with independent Code Assessors on a number of projects and felt now was an opportune time to invest in the necessary training to be able to undertake Code Assessment in-house. With the onset of more stringent Building Regulations in 2010 we are ideally placed to assist by developing solutions to these requirements and thereby helping our clients to provide the low energy and sustainable homes of the future.
In addition to social housing meeting Code for Sustainable Homes requirements, more and more individuals and private developers are looking to green-up their development and can see the benefits and marketing potential of achieving a Code for Sustainable Homes rating.
After a long period of consultation Green Book Live now list all of the BRE Accredited Energy Assessors. Meadow Energy Rating are among an elite group of On Construction Domestic Energy Assessors accredited by BRE and are committed to providing highly professional service to its clients.
Green Book Live is the definitive source of information for the construction industry and enables specifiers, designers and end users to manage the environmental impact of the projects on which they work
Green Book Live brings together listings from a number of organisations and delivers comprehensive information on 'green' products and services, some approved to stringent environmental requirements and others based on information provided by manufacturers and trade bodies.
Green Book Live provides specifiers and end users with an opportunity to select products and services which demonstrate their commitment to environmental best practice.
Green Book Live is produced by BRE Global in Partnership with the Energy Saving Trust
West Business Gloucestershire’s 500 Influential People in Business
Meadow Energy Rating director Neil Morris has been nominated as one of Gloucestershire’s 500 most influential people in business. Neil says “I’m really pleased that the work we do has been recognised by this nomination into the Top 500 list”
Meadow Energy Rating are meeting the challenges of the construction industry by providing a range of Assessment and Sustainability Services for house builders of all types.
“We now offer a complete service for anyone building new houses and understand how to optimise the potential of each design cost effectively for our clients”
“With the onset of more stringent regulations in 2010 we are ideally placed to assist by developing solutions to these requirements and thereby helping our clients to provide the low energy and sustainable homes of the future”
“Our client base is spread across the South West and South Wales and I must thank them for their continued support which has helped our business grow despite the decline of the housing market, 2009 will be a challenge but things are looking positive”
The scheme was launched online in May and is an agreement between assessment
schemes, trade federations representing both clients and suppliers, and the HSE,
to simplify the prequalification stage of procurement, reduce duplication
and improve standards of health and safety in the industry. 