 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Registered Company No. 6506463 | V.A.T. no. 927 6938 72 | Email: info@energyreporter.co.uk | Call (0151) 727 5235 |
Recently it seems that every politician and his dog has jumped on the 'green issues' band wagon.
Often these noises are designed to catch favourable headlines rather than bring about a change
in our domestic energy consumption. The truth is that despite improvements in the building
regulations relating to the energy efficiency of new builds, the vast majority of the UK housing
stock remains massively inefficient.
The concept of energy conservation first emerged as a significant factor in UK as a result of the
OPEC oil crisis in the 70's and not as a result of the concerns some scientists were having about
our environmental impact on the planet. The crisis began when the OPEC members decided that
they would no longer export oil to nations that had supported Israel in its conflict with Syria and
Egypt. This included the United States, its Western European allies, and Japan. The continued
restriction of supply led to the price of oil rocketing, and national governments had to look for
ways to reduce their energy consumption. In Britain this meant tightening the Building Regulations
that applied to the energy efficiency of houses. At first fairly low levels of insulation where required
to be installed as standard in all new properties. This has gradually increased over the last few
decades and has dramatically changed the efficiency of newly built properties. Whilst Victorian
properties have may have many aesthetic advantages (lime plaster, old brickwork, original sash
windows and seasoned timber) modern houses are undoubtedly much warmer.
Despite the higher efficiency standards for new build houses and the rising price of fuel, our level
of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have continued to rise. The Department of Trade and Industry
estimated that in 2004 over 30% of all energy use in the UK was spent on housing and the
Building Research Establishment estimates that over 60% of that was spent on central (space)
heating alone. Clearly, heating our homes represents a large proportion of our energy use and
that is why governments have sought to target not just improvements in new builds but to upgrade
the existing housing stock.
The Energy Performance Certificate is designed to give house buyers and sellers a measure of
their properties energy use by rating it in terms of its energy efficiency per m2. "Even now, over
75% of cavity walls remain uninsulated, more than 60% of loft spaces have less than 100mm of
loft insulation and many heating systems remain poorly controlled" - National Home Energy Rating
(NHER). The fact is that governments are unable to force homeowners to improve the energy
efficiency of their properties. Their theory is that in showing people the clear financial benefits of
installing energy efficiency measures they will choose to implement them for their own financial
gain. Of course you can never rule out the possibility that future governments will not use these
ratings as a method to raise additional revenue by penalising inefficient homes, however we are
assured, (for the mean time) that this is not the case.
To learn more about the European laws and targets that relate to the energy performance of
buildings click here.
Often these noises are designed to catch favourable headlines rather than bring about a change
in our domestic energy consumption. The truth is that despite improvements in the building
regulations relating to the energy efficiency of new builds, the vast majority of the UK housing
stock remains massively inefficient.
The concept of energy conservation first emerged as a significant factor in UK as a result of the
OPEC oil crisis in the 70's and not as a result of the concerns some scientists were having about
our environmental impact on the planet. The crisis began when the OPEC members decided that
they would no longer export oil to nations that had supported Israel in its conflict with Syria and
Egypt. This included the United States, its Western European allies, and Japan. The continued
restriction of supply led to the price of oil rocketing, and national governments had to look for
ways to reduce their energy consumption. In Britain this meant tightening the Building Regulations
that applied to the energy efficiency of houses. At first fairly low levels of insulation where required
to be installed as standard in all new properties. This has gradually increased over the last few
decades and has dramatically changed the efficiency of newly built properties. Whilst Victorian
properties have may have many aesthetic advantages (lime plaster, old brickwork, original sash
windows and seasoned timber) modern houses are undoubtedly much warmer.
Despite the higher efficiency standards for new build houses and the rising price of fuel, our level
of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have continued to rise. The Department of Trade and Industry
estimated that in 2004 over 30% of all energy use in the UK was spent on housing and the
Building Research Establishment estimates that over 60% of that was spent on central (space)
heating alone. Clearly, heating our homes represents a large proportion of our energy use and
that is why governments have sought to target not just improvements in new builds but to upgrade
the existing housing stock.
The Energy Performance Certificate is designed to give house buyers and sellers a measure of
their properties energy use by rating it in terms of its energy efficiency per m2. "Even now, over
75% of cavity walls remain uninsulated, more than 60% of loft spaces have less than 100mm of
loft insulation and many heating systems remain poorly controlled" - National Home Energy Rating
(NHER). The fact is that governments are unable to force homeowners to improve the energy
efficiency of their properties. Their theory is that in showing people the clear financial benefits of
installing energy efficiency measures they will choose to implement them for their own financial
gain. Of course you can never rule out the possibility that future governments will not use these
ratings as a method to raise additional revenue by penalising inefficient homes, however we are
assured, (for the mean time) that this is not the case.
To learn more about the European laws and targets that relate to the energy performance of
buildings click here.
National perspective
| Energyreporter Ltd is registered with the PCCB as a subscriber to the HIPcode |