The Housing Forum South West Regional Conference Topical Debate - Greening the Existing Stock

24 September 2009 |

The Housing Forum's 2009/2010 series of Regional Conferences continued in Exeter on 17th September 2009. Our regular engagement with the housing industry involves monthly regional conferences across the English regions which take the temperature of member concerns. Greening the existing stock and priorities for attention was the focus of the Exeter debate.

The Guest Chair was Mike Kay, Chief Executive of Yarlington Housing Group, together with a specialist panel drawn from regional industry experts

Steve Sheldon outlined the challenges posed by Greening the Existing Stock:

  • If it is a major issue to get to Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, it is even more of a challenge to achieve low carbon outcomes in the existing housing stock
  • 86% of 1996 existing housing stock will still be with us in 2050
  • The government has set its targets for carbon reduction from existing homes by 2050 from 80%
  • 5 million people and rising are in fuel poverty in the UK
  • Fuel bills are predicted to reach £5k per household by 2020 (Source; Ernst & Young report)
  • Decent Homes did not have the significant impact it could have done in terms of sustainability
  • Fuel security - the electricity national grid could break down by as early as 2013 under some forecasts unless serious reductions in emissions are attained
  • The UK has some of the "leakiest" buildings in Europe

Some of the solutions Steve pointed to were:

  • Good design and collaborative working
  • A whole house approach tackling the fabric first
  • A Hierarchal approach to reduce the energy demand and significantly reduce the size and cost of our heating & hot water solutions
  • Incorporating technologies that make best use of future proposed Feed in Tariffs (FIT's) and Renewable Heat Incentives (RHI)
  • Bringing the local community on board
  • Initiatives like the Technology Strategy Board's Retrofit for the Future campaign - and using this process to inform wider scale retrofit programmes

Andy Izod examined the role and science of building products, focusing on:

  • The importance of insulation first and foremost
  • The crucial choice of building materials
  • 50% of UK CO2 is from buildings - 28% from residential
  • New BRE jargon “Global Warming Potential” – a new way of measuring impact rather than carbon footprint in use alone. This means considering:
    • Holistic approach
    • Cradle to gate
    • Lifetime of product
    • End of life age
    • Cradle to grave
  • Of 25m homes in the UK, 9m not insulated, and many of those that are are not up to building regs
  • Recycled materials can have net negative carbon emissions

From the RSL perspective as a major landlord, Guest Chair Mike Kay raised key issues and challenges:

  • "Emperor's new clothes" – We can do higher levels of the Code, but is it achievable
  • New build is less than 2% of stock
  • How good was Decent Homes as a standard?
  • Hard to treat homes, especially solid walls in South Somerset
  • Many Tenants in or near fuel poverty
  • You could build Code 6 houses, but occupants won't necessarily like them. Consultation is vital
  • Air tightness - getting down to one air change is a technical challenge
  • Water pressure is not enough

The conference then debated these topics:

Regulation or incentives?

DECC have put out consultations, but we need clear legislation. Tax breaks or other financial incentives will work - needed to get private buy in e.g.

  • Stamp duty reduction
  • Pay As You Save (PAYS)
  • The supply chain also needs clear visibility on standards and requirements from Government.

DECC do seem to be encouraging innovation. Need to incentivise or penalise at some point and Government need to do more to educate.

Photovoltaic Technology - is it value for money?

The question put was whether photovoltaics will work technically and be viable. The panel thought that the feed-in tariff will work on mass. We will still need to insulate as much as possible first for photovoltaics to be effective. www.fitariff.co.uk

Learning from Europe

This is not new technology, there were 3,000 heat pumps installed in the UK last year, and 500,000 in Europe.

The Governments in Europe are more prepared to provide fiscal incentives in Europe. UK Government initiatives start with social housing but the private sector needs to be tackled.

Comments were made that in Sweden and Finland where there is more extreme weather, installing technologies is a more simple process. They have designed for timber installation at -12°C and are geared up to factory production.

In France planning is primarily interested in functionality, so buildings are economical and are built faster.

Where will the business benefit for the supply chain come from?

The panel responded that this would be when there is a larger volume than just pilots. There is a need for involvement from financial institutions and a clear lead from government - up to 10 different Departments/Divisions advising Government on energy. One consistent voice is needed on energy.

Can Case Studies/Demonstration Projects be useful?

Demonstration Projects should show what is achievable so time is not wasted on reconfiguring the process. The project officers should be available to talk to. Well distributed examples across the area which feature feedback and interaction from occupants should be highlighted.

Raising the Game Politically

Views were that there could be a "War Cabinet"/UK Coalition for sustainability that transcends individual Governments.

  • Local interpretation of government legislation can block delivery - e.g. conservation areas
  • Planning - so many demands from planners on top of environmental agenda
  • Advice is out there for large schemes, but what about for individual homes
  • Utilities need to get involved - OFGEN intervention needed.

The Housing Forum is grateful to the panel for their time and knowledge on this subject.

  • Related:
Bookmark and Share