Shocks kill three fixing insulation

Homeowners considering installing their under floor thermal insulation should heed warnings that they risk electrical shock and electrocution if they don't take appropriate precautions.

Three people have died this year stapling under floor insulation material into power cables.

Their deaths follow a similar fatality in 2005.

The practice of installing under floor insulation has become widespread among homeowners since the Government began promoting ways of making homes more energy-efficient.

And while people may know they must turn the power off while installing the insulation, they can still unwittingly create a death trap when they switch the power back on.

Evidence at a coroner's inquest in Huntly last month showed that entire sheets of newly-installed aluminium foil beneath homes could become electrified once jobs were complete, creating a death trap for anyone who went underneath the house.

Coroner Bob McDermott criticised the Government's lack of warnings over do-it-yourself insulation, asking why safety and awareness campaigns were not launched alongside those to promote energy efficiency.

Since the deaths, Associate Energy Minister Harry Duynhoven has issued a warning advising homeowners of the dangers.

"As with any electrical work being carried out, whether in the home or at work, it is essential that any potential hazards or risks are identified and eliminated," he says.

"A cable that has been damaged by a staple can still make the aluminium foil live when the power is turned on and create the same electric shock hazard.

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Low energy LED bulbs to last 100 years

The lighting industry is working on a 'third generation' of energy-efficient light bulbs that are designed to last a lifetime.
Already in use outdoors and in some shops and galleries, the environment friendly light-emitting diode bulbs that can go without replacement for up to 100 years will be in most new homes by 2011.
According to Keven Verdun, chief executive of The Lighting Association, the LEDs will be the ultimate low-energy bulb and will become the norm.

'By 2011, all conventional bulbs will have disappeared,' he said. 'Most people will have energy-efficient bulbs known as compact fluorescent lamps.

'But CFLs are only an interim solution. The ultimate are the LEDs and they will become standard lights for most homes.'

LEDs are used mainly outdoors or in shops, but they are not common in homes because at more than £4 each, they are not economic.

The Queen has become the most public figure to use the high-tech bulbs. Since last October, the front of Buckingham Palace has been lit from dusk with 59 LED fittings. And the paintings in its picture gallery are illuminated by LEDs, which have the advantage over other lights of not emitting heat.

Though LEDs last a lifetime, the industry does not believe it is working itself out of existence. Verdun said: 'You expect a house to last a lifetime, so why not bulbs?'

The good, bad and the LED

1. Incandescent bulb (normal light bulb). Costs from 20p for a 60-watt version, lasts up to a year.
2. Compact fluorescent bulb (low-energy bulb). Costs from £1-68 for a 60-watt bulb. Lasts six to 15 years.
3. LED bulb, already used in shops and outdoors. Costs from £4.55. Lasts from 15 to 100 years.

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Zero-carbon homes shock as national grid energy barred

Government says off-site sources ‘not eligible unless directly connected to the development’

In a surprise move this week the government revealed that homes using renewable energy provided through the national grid will not qualify as zero-carbon.

In long-awaited guidance on the government’s Code for Sustainable Homes, published on Monday, the communities department caught the housebuilding industry unawares by decreeing that off-site renewable sources of energy such as windfarms “would not be eligible unless directly connected to the development concerned”.

It was previously expected that developments would be able to purchase green power from some of the large offshore and remote windfarms being constructed in the UK.

Yvette Cooper, the housing minister, said: “The ambition for all new homes to be zero-carbon by 2016 is a challenging one. We need to work closely with housebuilders and the green technology industry.”

Chris Watts, director of sustainable construction and technology at consultant Beyond Green, said: “Does it matter where the energy is produced as long as it is renewable? There are some developers who really want to do the right thing and this just makes it an impossible task.”
By Olivia Boyd


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Eco-house is award-winner for family of ten

Architect Duncan Barker-Brown said: "The house is highly insulated and doesn't require a lot of warming up. In the summer the solar panels provide hot water and in the winter warm water which is ideal for underfloor heating.

"There is also an energy efficient condensing gas boiler but it doesn't have to work very hard. The house is a good example of what can be done with a little bit of ingenuity. A lot of our work now is on little bits of land that nobody else wants."

The house was built in structurally insulated panels (SIPS) made offsite so the house could be constructed swiftly and at the same time making the building almost waterproof. The panels are made from recycled polyurethane and chipboard and are highly insulated.

The floors are made from solid oak and the wooden cladding on one side of the house is locally coppiced sweet-chestnut.

All the windows are double-glazed to keep in the heat and natural english lamb's wool was used for insulation in the floor and roof voids. Even the breathing paper in the loft is made from recycled plastic.

The house was designed to make maximum use of a small amount of space. Where possible the building materials were locally sourced so the travelling distances and deliveries for materials were cut down to a minimum.
By Paul Eccleston

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