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California agrees standards for greater use of electric heating
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California energy regulators have approved energy efficiency standards aimed at vastly expanding the use of electric appliances for space and water heating in new homes and businesses, in a shift away from using fossil fuels to heat and cool buildings.
The California Energy Commission said the revised building regulations would support the state’s efforts to combat global warming by slashing greenhouse gases over the next 30 years equivalent to taking nearly 2.2m cars off the road for a year. California has long been acknowledged as one of the main trailblazers worldwide for setting energy saving standards. Latterly, it has been at the forefront of efforts to address the impact of natural gas on climate change. In the last two years, more than over 25 California cities have introduced measures to reduce the use of natural gas in buildings.
But, unlike proposals due in England, the state’s update will not impose an all-out ban on natural gas even for new construction. However, it includes a requirement to install solar and energy storage systems in most new commercial buildings, demands that singlefamily homes be built “electric ready” to support electric vehicles and appliances and strengthens ventilation standards to improve indoor air quality.
Homes and businesses in California, which updates its building regulations every three years, account for a quarter of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. The new code will take effect in January 2023.
Heat pumps, an alternative to gas-fuelled water and space heating, are currently used in less than 6 per cent of new home construction in California. The new building code will establish heat pumps as the baseline technology when builders are designing homes to meet state efficiency standards. Significantly, homes may still be built with gas heating systems, but builders in those cases will have to find extra efficiency gains in other parts of the building such as windows or walls.
PACKAGE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICIES
EU aiming for 9% energy use cut by 2030
The European Commission has published a new package of energy efficiency policies with a goal for EU countries to collectively cut energy consumption by 9 per cent by 2030, compared with their projected energy use by that date under current plans.
To hit that goal, countries will be required to put in place measures to cut their final energy consumption by 1.5 per cent each year from 2024 to 2030, nearly doubling an existing requirement of 0.8 per cent.
Europe renovates just 1 per cent of buildings to save energy each year. Brussels hopes countries will use the EU’s €800bn COVID-19 economic recovery fund to launch a wave of green renovations, boosting construction sector jobs. The Commission also proposes that each of the 27 countries will renovate 3 per cent of all buildings owned or occupied by public bodies each year to transform them into “nearly zero-energy buildings.”
Currently, countries are required to renovate 3 per cent of central government buildings to weaker standards. But central government buildings make up less than 1 per cent of the roughly 260m buildings in the EU, while public buildings make up roughly 10 per cent.
Existing legislation will be upgraded, beginning with the Energy Efficiency Directive. Other directives set to be 2020 energy efficiency target, due to “exceptional circumstances,” a clear reference to the economic impact of the pandemic. Current national climate and energy plans for 2030 are considered far too weak -- providing a maximum 29.4 per cent reduction in energy consumption across the continent, well below the existing EU objective for 32.5 per cent efficiency.
All of these initiatives are incorporated within the EC’s “Fit for 55” programme. This is designed to deliver a 55 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across the EU27 between 1990 and 2030. Firm details of the precise programme must be negotiated with EU countries and the European Parliament, a process that can take roughly two years.
revisited include the Eco Design and the Energy Performance of Buildings directives.
The Commission argues that all revenues from carbon permit auctions under the EU’s Emissions Trading System and national CO2 auctions will have to be channelled to green investments, including investments in energy efficiency measures and renewables. These include revenues from proposed new areas of surface transport and of buildings. Efficiency requirements will have to be considered in public tenders, and governments will have to focus on increasing energy savings among vulnerable consumers, helping to alleviate fuel poverty.
The EU only achieved its earlier, more modest 20 per cent reduction by
Welsh government commits to £250m for new low-carbon homes
The Welsh Government has doubled its spending on social housing for rent, committing an initial £250m in 2021/22 for 20,000 new low carbon homes.
The plans will seek to address a rising demand for housing and the climate crisis, providing “good quality and affordable green homes” to those who need them.
All homes will be built to new quality and environmental standards with the aim for some of the stock to go beyond net zero and produce more energy than they use.
Visiting one of Wales’ first “positive energy” social housing schemes, the Minister for Climate Change who is responsible for housing, Julie James, said Wales & West Housing’s Rhiw Cefn Gwlad scheme in Bridgend was “an exemplar” for developers, housing associations and councils to follow.
The 14-home development has made use of the latest technical innovations in renewable energy, from exhaust air heat pumps integrated with mechanical ventilation, to large solar photovoltaic roof systems coupled with a Tesla battery system.
The residents who took possession in January this year, received their first negative energy bill in March, meaning the excess energy their homes have generated has already been pumped back into the national grid.
NO PRICE PREMIUM FOR HYDROGEN-READY BOILERS
Boiler companies agree price promise
The big four boiler firms have joined forces to vow a new price promise, meaning consumers will save a total of £2.3bn if they upgrade to an ecofriendly hydrogen model in future. The commitment is that installing a new hydrogen-ready gas boiler will cost no more than the gas condensing boilers these could replace. Around 1.8m gas condensing boilers are installed in British buildings each year.
New gas condensing boilers are set to be phased out ahead of the 2050 net zero target, probably by 2035. The new hydrogen boilers from Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Baxi and Ideal will save thousands of tonnes of emissions being pumped out from gas which is used now.
However, the concern has long been that replacements would cost thousands of pounds more. Currently, gas condensing boilers are being installed at around one-quarter of the price levied. Experts previously estimated they would be at least £100 more.
Mike Foster, chief executive of the boiler industry’s trade association, the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA)
who brokered the deal, says the pricepromise is a major boost to consumers and the fight against climate change.
Foster, a former Labour government international development minister said: “Consumers want to do their bit to reduce the impact of their homes and help deliver a greener future but are seriously concerned about the cost. If the Government commits to its own rumoured legislation, this could mean that low-carbon homes could be a reality for everyone in the UK without homeowners facing gargantuan price tags.”
His association’s research had found that most of the public are entirely unwilling to pay more than the standard price of a new boiler for any new green alternatives.
Ministers now seem prepared to sign off moves to guarantee energy firms a minimum price for hydrogen, through subsidies created via changes to the “contracts for difference” mechanism, which helped expand penetration of renewable generation into the electricity market. Overall demand for electricity in Britain has fallen heavily over the past fifteen years and is now 30 per cent lower than Government forecasts has assumed it would be. But the National Grid is anticipating that it may recover much of its original size over the next 15 years.
A new campaign championing women in energy efficiency is highlighting the expertise and insight they bring and encouraging more to join the industry.
The initiative, from Elmhurst Energy, celebrates and raises the profile of women working in different roles in what is traditionally a male-dominated sector, and seeks to give them a greater voice, increased visibility and more networking opportunities.
Elmhurst’s business development manager, Fiona Wilson (pictured), who is leading the campaign, said: “We know from our survey that a lot of our female members didn’t start out in the energy efficiency sector, but now have thriving careers and businesses. They have told us they like the flexibility and variety of the work, but it also offers security as there’s a lot of business available.”
As part of the campaign, Elmhurst surveyed its female members and discovered a number of trends – including experiences of being the only woman on a training course. To help address this the company is creating a Women’s Forum, which will run twice a year, and has set up the industry’s first Women in Energy Efficiency Facebook group.
Around one in eight Elmhurst members are women, so the company is also aiming to raise the profile of energy efficiency as a viable career path, with member case studies demonstrating the traditional and more unusual routes some have taken to get into their current jobs.
“We also know they find being a woman in energy assessment is an advantage in a lot of ways,” added Wilson. “For instance, some find that older or lone female residents seek them out, as they feel more comfortable having a woman inspect their home. “Energy efficiency is a fascinating, important and rewarding sector to be part of, and we hope that by launching this campaign and providing new platforms for networking and discussion, we can encourage many more women to join us, whether they’re at the start of their careers or looking for a change.”
In Brief
Welsh council invests in efficiency upgrades
Torfaen County Borough Council is on track to save millions of pounds and significantly reduce its carbon footprint and impact on climate change after investing in over 45 energy efficiency upgrades across the borough.
Torfaen council has implemented a range of decarbonisation and sustainability projects over the last five years aimed at cutting its energy consumption including street lighting upgrades, LED lighting overhauls and the installation of numerous Building Energy Management Systems (BMS) in public sector buildings.
Worth over £1.9m, the projects, which were funded with the help of interest-free funding administered by Salix Finance in partnership with the Welsh Government, are set to save Torfaen Council over £302,000 annually.
Speakers announced for industry debates
The Rumford Club has announced a strong line up of speakers for its autumn and winter dinners.
The club was founded to encourage debate and discussion around technical issues such as air movement in buildings. The topics for discussion have expanded but the remit is still to host regular dinner meetings with keynote speakers discoursing on particular topics around the industry.
The speakers are: • 14th October 2021: Chris Marsland, Eurosite Power Ltd; • 17th November 2021: Ian Pillay, Development Director, Clean Power Hydrogen Group Limited (CPH2); • 2nd December 2021: Isobel Sheldon, Chief Strategy Officer, BritishVolt; • 20th January 2022: Simon Wyatt, Partner, Sustainability Cundall; • 23rd February 2022: Ruth Carter, CEO CIBSE; and • 17th March 2022: Sharon Duffy, Head of Engineering Delivery Optimisation, Transport for London (TfL),
If you are interested in becoming a member and attending any of the dinners, you can apply through their website; www.therumfordclub.co.uk. Membership starts at £30 per annum with subsequent costs for each dinner of £65 (with alcohol) and £55 (without alcohol).
One in ten firms measure carbon footprint
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce has found that only one in ten businesses, of more than 1,000 surveyed in the UK, are measuring their carbon footprint.
This falls to 9 per cent for small businesses, and 5 per cent for microbusinesses, with fewer than 10 employees. By contrast 26 per cent of larger firms, with more than 50 employees, are measuring their footprint.
The research also showed only one in seven (13 per cent) have set targets to reduce their emissions – down from one in five (21 per cent) when firms were surveyed before the pandemic in February 2020.
In addition, almost two thirds (64 per cent) of businesses surveyed say they don’t see net zero targets as a high priority in the wake of the pandemic, although half (49 per cent) admit their customers are worried about the environment.
The findings also show that one in five businesses (22 per cent) don’t fully understand the term ‘net zero,’ and almost a third have yet to seek advice or information to help them develop a net zero roadmap or improve their environmental sustainability.
With the impacts of the pandemic and other priorities weighing heavily on small and medium sized businesses, the research found that smaller firms were far more likely to be behind on climate action. When it came to setting carbon reduction targets, 27 per cent of larger firms have done so, compared to just 9 per cent of microbusinesses.
Food companies agree new climate change targets
Food and drink companies have agreed to new targets to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and food waste, after conceding a previous flagship commitment was not ambitious enough.
After months of talks with food and drink companies and trade bodies, WRAP, a charity working with governments, businesses and citizens around the globe to create a world in which resources are used sustainably, announced it was side-lining its Courtauld 2025 Commitment, launched in 2015, with a new set of promises backed by dozens of the UK’s biggest food retailers and suppliers to plans to cut emissions per capita by 20 per cent by 2025.
WRAP said the previous 20 per cent per capita target on emissions was “no longer seen as an ambitious vision”. It added: “Having a medium-term target that extends further to 2030, with milestone targets in interim years, will help to ensure the industry is on a trajectory to achieve longer-term net zero commitments.”
In recent months industry bodies, including the Food and Drink Federation, have announced plans to target net zero emissions by 2040. WRAP said the new target would work alongside such agreements to spearhead industry action – despite admitting far more needed to be done by companies to ramp up reporting and transparency on emissions.
MAJORITY OF LONDON OFFICES IN D TO G CATEGORIES
Many London offices could be unusable as they struggle to hit EPC rating
Analysis from professional services and investment management organisation, Colliers, shows that only approximately 20 per cent of central London offices can be classed as A and B on the EPC rating scale, with the majority (57 per cent) falling into the D to G categories.
It also found that 10 per cent of London’s office stock may become unusable in 2023 due to low EPC rating.
Tom Wildash, co-head of the West End Leasing team at Colliers, said: “London’s landlords are going to have to take a long hard look at their stock and need to take action now to bring their space up to a higher standard.
“One benefit of the pandemic is that it has brought the environmental and wellness credentials of offices to the fore among investors, owners and occupiers alike. It is imperative that those owners of offices with low EPC ratings spend the next 18 months on comprehensive refurbishment plans to avoid being left behind and unable to attract new tenants. With a lack of new build stock in the pipeline and a growing level of demand for best in class space, the refurbishment of London’s offices could do a lot to ease this supply/demand equation.”
Guy Grantham, London Research director at Colliers, added: “There is evidence of appetite for refurbished space which is encouraging for landlords and developers looking to upgrade existing stock. There is also a mismatch between supply and demand as when looking at the overall delivery of development space by square footage in 2018-2020, refurbished schemes only accounted for 23 per cent of the market.
“Hopefully this number will increase as the EPC deadline looms. There is also plenty to be said for far better green credentials of refurbished space as opposed to demolition and complete rebuild from the ground up, the recycling of existing stock offers stronger green credentials in the short to medium term than potentially newly built BREEAM Outstanding projects.”
take “bolder” action to prevent an environmental disaster from climate change.
Its most striking move is a new industry-wide target to bring about a 50 per cent absolute reduction of GHG emissions associated with food and drink by 2030, replacing far weaker
