EPC BLOG

In previous posts I have noted the lack of enforcement throughout the UK concerning the issues of many commercial building premises not holding a valid Energy Performance Certificate, and until relatively recently there was little or no effort to regulate these buildings. A recent survey by National Energy Services has illustrated that nearly three quarters of all commercial buildings in Britain that are on the market for sale or rent do not hold a current Energy Performance Certificate.  Recent figures shown from the EPC index have shown that almost 75% of properties marketed for sale or rent do not hold an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate). The EPC index was introduced further to original surveys and investigations carried out by National Energy Services earlier this year when it was discovered that only 25% of commercial property agents were able to supply the mandatory Energy Performance Certificate for any of the properties that were being marketed. It is a legal requirement that an EPC must be supplied by the seller or landlord, before a contract is entered into to sell or rent the premises; it is also the responsibility of the local authority to enforce the EPC requirement. The National energy savings research carried out earlier this year discovered that many property agents said they were not aware of the requirement, they would obtain an EPC at point of sale or they ‘believed’ an EPC was in the process of being undertaken.

Last week saw the U.S celebrating 54 years of the Wilderness Act which protects approx 9 million acres of federal land, the original act was passed in 1964; the act aims to permanently protect and preserve the area permanently. With increasing awareness of the issues of climate change it seems that many countries are taking notice, for example Canada is tackling climate change by protecting one of the world’s best natural defenses against global warming. Canada’s Boreal forest makes up almost 77% of Canada’s total forest land an also makes up an amazing 35% of Canada’s total land area. There are a proposed 250m acres to be protected from logging, mining and oil drilling, the boreal forest not only is an essential habitat for thousands of natural flora and fauna but also stores a massive 186 billion tonnes of carbon (equivalent to 913 years of greenhouse gas emissions) the estimated figure means that the Boreal forest soaks up almost 22% of the carbon stored on the earths land surface. Needless to say the decline of the forest would mean an environmental catastrophe and that its global value for carbon storage should not be underestimated. Canada’s decision to protect such a valuable ecosystem and what is effectively a ‘carbon storage bank’ shows Canada as a leader in preserving its natural resources.

Last weekend saw 181 countries united in what was the largest day of environmental action in the world, there were over 5200 events held worldwide as people called for strong action and bold leadership on climate change. The 24th of October this year heralded a international day of action, organized by 350.org a company founded by U.S author Bill Mckibben who is best known for being one of the first authors to write and release a book on climate change and with several other colleagues the 350 org originated out as series of campaigns called step it up, which held rallies at various iconic locations in the U.S. The 350 organization is representative of the number which leading scientists say is the ’safe’ upper limit for carbon dioxide, and the organization wanted to spread the message world wide for action on climate change. Similar to the original but nationwide rallies in the U.S the 350 organization also wanted the worldwide rallies to feature important locations, and on the 24th of October over 19,000 photos were taken, hundreds of hours of video footage was recorded and all of this will be shown to the secretary general of the United Nations.

As I have written in an earlier post the Global Green Challenge in Australia has been taking place where various vehicles from all over the world (eco friendly) have been competing over an 1800 mile course, and one of my favorite electric cars the Tesla set a new distance record for production electric vehicles by traveling over 300 mile on a single electric charge. The distance is well above Tesla original specs of 220 miles plus the Tesla reportedly still had a further 3miles worth of charge in its batteries, the distance broke the previous record for production electric vehicles which was 241 miles set by Rallye Monte Carlo d’Energies Alternatives in the previous year. The Tesla was driven by Simon Hackett and is the only Tesla owned in Austrailia managing director of Australian broadband company Internode with co driver Emilis Prelgauskas. The Tesla illustrates that electric vehicles are not only practicle but also could be the future of eco friendly vehicles. Another commendable milestone in eco friendly vehicle technology was the solar powered vehicle from Tokai university, the vehicle using Sharp compound solar powered cells covered approx 3,000 kilometers at an average speed of 100 kilometers per hour and finished well ahead of the second place finisher. The Global Green Challenge finishes on Saturday and has been showcasing some of the best performance in eco vehicle technology, but anther notable mention must go to one of the most efficient vehicles attending was a slightly modified electric Honda, developed by the team at Deep Green research, their vehicle managed a long distance run of approx 360 km that equates to 85 watt hours per kilometer. Making the Honda the “most efficient road registered vehicle in Australia”.

 On average most buildings tend to fall around grade D on the energy performance rating, although not terrible the average rating is not anything to write home about either. However I came across a commercial building set to be completed in April next year, that impressed me with its outstanding predicted ‘A’ rating. The team of architects responsible for the design of the new offices won the UK’s highest Building research establishment environmental assessment method (BREEAM). The offices achieved the highest predicted energy performance grading of an A (rating of 22), and the predicted emissions are 14.2kg of CO2 per sq meters per annum, these emissions are 55% under the Buildings regulations and are achieved through the use of wood pellet biomass boiler for space and water heating, photovoltaic’s and natural ventilation (windows and skylights controlled by a building management system) and the materials are BRE green grade A are used throughout the building. The innovatively designed building is proof that even large commercial premises can have the smallest of carbon foot prints so hats off to the architects of Stride Treglown Cardiff for their innovative design.

The car scrappage scheme is a government incentive which began in May this year the incentive means that any motorists who trade in their old vehicles will get £2000 discount towards the cost of a new vehicle. The scheme enables car or van owners to trade in their vehicles (provided they are under 3.5 tons) for the discount, the first £1000 will be in the form of a government grant and the further £1000 will be matched from the manufacturer, the scheme can apply to all vehicles registered before the 31 August 1999, the scheme is voluntary however nearly all major UK manufacturers have signed up. Although the original scheme was criticized for encouraging an increase in car manufacture and lack of enforcement on the fuel efficiency of the new vehicles a recent survey has shown that new cars purchased through the scheme emitted less co2 than other new cars bought that weren’t involved with the car scrappage scheme. The survey also illustrated that buyers under the scheme were more likely to purchase the ’smallest’ class of car for example the mini or the smart car. It has been suggested that the government should place further incentives on the car buying consumer to purchase more fuel efficient cars or vehicles that have eco friendly fuel technology.

As winter draws nearer and the weather grows colder and more bitter homeowners increasingly depend on their central heating, and as fuel prices rise the increasing issue of fuel poverty is never very far away from the headlines, although the UK does in fact run many schemes to help those at risk consistent rising fuel prices and lack of funding/awareness seem to be an issue, it is estimated that by the end of this year almost 4.6 million households will be living ‘fuel poverty’(figures published by the department of energy and climate change). However the government currently runs several schemes and grants to help homeowners who want to improve their heating and energy efficiency, in England the scheme is called the Warm front scheme, Scotland it is known as the Energy assistance package and in Wales it is known as the Home energy efficiency scheme. You will be eligible for a warm front scheme if you own your own home, rent from a private landlord, are 60 years or over, in the receipt of certain benefits, if you have a child or children under the age of sixteen or are receiving such benefits as disability allowance. The warm front scheme can provide up to £3,500 for heating and insulation measures, however if oil, low carbon or renewable technologies are recommended the scheme will provide up to £6000. However many feel that the only way to really address the fuel poverty issues is a street-by-street refurbishment of homes throughout the UK to improve their energy efficiency. The energy and climate change minister David McKinley said  “We recognize there is still a mountain to climb on fuel poverty because of significant increases in fuel bills, and that is why we are determined to redouble our efforts