Green energy devices such as wind turbines and solar panels are to be made compulsory on millions of new homes and offices under government plans to boost green energy.
Housing minister Yvette Cooper is determined to push ahead with moves to force developers to cut their carbon emissions by using renewable sources of power.
New planning policy guidance will make clear that ministers stand by council planners who refuse permission for buildings which fail to generate their own energy.
The House Builders Federation, which fears the measure will be applied to housing, has been lobbying strongly to abolish it, claiming it imposes unnecessary costs on developers and is too heavy-handed.
Renewable energy companies say the rule is much more important to them than the Government's low carbon buildings programme, which provides grants but has run out of money repeatedly and had its rules changed.
But according to the Standard, ministers intend to "widen, not abolish" the rule. "In some instances, we want to see councils going way beyond 10 per cent," a Whitehall source said.
full article
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Housebuilders want greener standards - but not just yet
House-builders share a common objective with local and national government - to make new homes greener (Housebuilders win battle against green technologies, August 20). We may not want soviet-style planning, but a nationally agreed framework is the best way of ensuring all new homes are zero-carbon by 2016. Staged national delivery of improved levels of the code for sustainable homes will ensure pioneering technologies are robust, meet customer expectations and are backed by proper warranties. This phased increase in energy efficiency will also ensure the extra 240,000 homes a year to meet demand are not jeopardised. A multitude of differing targets around the country put these efforts at risk. In their dash to reach short-term targets, local authorities should not put the objective of more and greener homes at risk.
Stewart Baseley
Chairman, Home Builders Federation
full article
Stewart Baseley
Chairman, Home Builders Federation
full article
Merton Rule
A measure introduced by local councils aimed at cutting carbon emissions in new housing is coming under pressure from building groups.
Under the so-called Merton Rule, named after the council which introduced it, new buildings must find 10% of electricity from renewable sources.
While the rule has been welcomed by green groups, it has been criticised as a costly burden by the building sector.
Under the Merton rule any new building is required to cut emissions by 10%, through various means including insulation and renewable sources, in order to prepare the ground for homes to meet European Union targets of being carbon neutral by 2016.
According to government proposals, a new framework would steer away from a "one-size-fits-all" approach and expand the scope of the Merton Rule, allowing councils to set their own goals and bring in their most ambitious targets for renewable energy.
full article
Under the so-called Merton Rule, named after the council which introduced it, new buildings must find 10% of electricity from renewable sources.
While the rule has been welcomed by green groups, it has been criticised as a costly burden by the building sector.
Under the Merton rule any new building is required to cut emissions by 10%, through various means including insulation and renewable sources, in order to prepare the ground for homes to meet European Union targets of being carbon neutral by 2016.
According to government proposals, a new framework would steer away from a "one-size-fits-all" approach and expand the scope of the Merton Rule, allowing councils to set their own goals and bring in their most ambitious targets for renewable energy.
full article
Monday, 20 August 2007
Willows builder harvests success using rice straw
Two of the large buildings Benchmark constructed for the Desert Living Center were built of rammed earth, a process taking quarter-inch particles of rock from a gravel pit, and mixing it with a small amount of dry cement and enough water to where it will hold together when it's packed. Green said he has also added beach sand to the mix on a project on the coast.
The mixture is then dumped into wooden construction frames, similar to concrete forms only stronger, and pounded into short layers. Benchmark developed special equipment for the process.
Green said he can do a lot with rammed earth because of the colors of various materials. The final effect is that it looks like concrete, only it's slightly rougher and contains wavy, multicolored patterns after it has dried.
One of the challenges Green faced was transplanting all his equipment and crews to Las Vegas, along with the truckloads of straw bales. Working with large pieces of equipment and with more than 100 subcontractors in the area at once also meant he had to spend a lot of time scheduling and planning ahead.
Building with straw bales or rammed earth is more expensive, Green said. Rammed earth takes roughly four times as much labor to build with as concrete does, he added. Straw bale buildings are also more time consuming and expensive to build with than a normal stick-frame house because the framework also has to be built. More materials and time are also used to cover the straw bales with plaster or stucco, inside and outside.
Straw bales have an advantage in that they are self insulating. Green said most bales are rated at R-54, though it performs considerably beyond that. It also cools so well that at the Desert Living Center, air conditioners aren't needed, he said.
He also said it's fire safe once its built, especially after it has been covered with stucco or plaster on each side. He compares it to trying to burn a phone book all at once. It isn't easy to ignite because the bales are so compacted, and fire can't get much oxygen. A typical bale is 75 pounds of tightly compacted straw.
To illustrate how tough it is to burn a straw bale structure, he told of a police building in Visalia he built that someone attempted to burn down by pouring gasoline on it. Green said they tried three times, and either the fire went out or it didn't burn enough to cause much damage.
He said the only time he has heard of a straw bale structure burning was a home in an area that was caught in a fire storm. The fire in that case was so hot, houses exploded from the inside, out.
full article
The mixture is then dumped into wooden construction frames, similar to concrete forms only stronger, and pounded into short layers. Benchmark developed special equipment for the process.
Green said he can do a lot with rammed earth because of the colors of various materials. The final effect is that it looks like concrete, only it's slightly rougher and contains wavy, multicolored patterns after it has dried.
One of the challenges Green faced was transplanting all his equipment and crews to Las Vegas, along with the truckloads of straw bales. Working with large pieces of equipment and with more than 100 subcontractors in the area at once also meant he had to spend a lot of time scheduling and planning ahead.
Building with straw bales or rammed earth is more expensive, Green said. Rammed earth takes roughly four times as much labor to build with as concrete does, he added. Straw bale buildings are also more time consuming and expensive to build with than a normal stick-frame house because the framework also has to be built. More materials and time are also used to cover the straw bales with plaster or stucco, inside and outside.
Straw bales have an advantage in that they are self insulating. Green said most bales are rated at R-54, though it performs considerably beyond that. It also cools so well that at the Desert Living Center, air conditioners aren't needed, he said.
He also said it's fire safe once its built, especially after it has been covered with stucco or plaster on each side. He compares it to trying to burn a phone book all at once. It isn't easy to ignite because the bales are so compacted, and fire can't get much oxygen. A typical bale is 75 pounds of tightly compacted straw.
To illustrate how tough it is to burn a straw bale structure, he told of a police building in Visalia he built that someone attempted to burn down by pouring gasoline on it. Green said they tried three times, and either the fire went out or it didn't burn enough to cause much damage.
He said the only time he has heard of a straw bale structure burning was a home in an area that was caught in a fire storm. The fire in that case was so hot, houses exploded from the inside, out.
full article
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