Building straw houses

Fuelled by a growing demand for environmentally friendly buildings, hemp, wheat, flax and other grains are now being touted as emerging raw materials in the construction industry.

The merits of these so-called "biofibres" and their applications in Canada, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world was the basis of an international symposium that wrapped up in Kingston yesterday.

The group's tests look into what type of fibre bale, including flax, hemp or wheat, works best. They're also looking at what types of plaster, including clay or cement, applied over top of the bale, are more durable. They're even looking at the placement of the bales - flat or on edge - to find out which design is more stable.
United Kingdom-based Mike Duckett spoke about his company's work with hemcrete, an environmentally friendly building material that combines hemp and lime. It's already used in various parts of Europe.

His presentation revealed the environmental and practical benefits of using the material, including the fact that it's sustainable, lightweight, a good insulator, airtight, easy to use, and fire and pest resistant. The material also absorbs carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases.

Duckett said that each house constructed with hemcrete walls, roof and floors could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50 tonnes.
Hemcrete, which costs roughly the same as conventional building material, has been used to construct homes, office space, a warehouse and a theatre in Europe.

A building in England that has been touted as the most environmentally friendly warehouse in Europe doesn't require an air-conditioning system because the hemcrete material makes it possible to regulate the temperature inside at 14 C.
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Green energy set to be compulsory in new homes across Britain

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.

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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
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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.
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