Industries unite to tackle household emissions
A group of organisations from across the building services sector launched a joint initiative to tackle rising carbon emissions from homes last week.
Members of the G2Action campaign (the name reflects the aim of improving the energy performance of homes with a G rating on their energy performance certificate) attended a meeting with Lord Rupert Redesdale of the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group at the House of Commons. He said one billion tonnes of carbon emitted from homes over the next two decades could easily be saved with simple heating, insulation, glazing and lighting measures.
The meeting was entitled 'Domestic Carbon Time Bomb' and in a joint statement the all party group and G2Action said that programmes to improve energy efficiency in existing buildings "must be fast tracked if government wants to achieve the low carbon economic recovery it claims to support".
The campaign wants EPCs to be used more proactively: "Measures, such as making it impossible to rent a house or flat that are not as energy efficient as they could be, indicated by the energy performance certificate, should be introduced as a matter of urgency in both the business and private sector," the statement added.
"It is a frightening fact that by 2030 the amount of carbon that needs to be saved will certainly not happen under the current system," said Lord Redesdale. “A billion tonnes will have failed to be saved from domestic carbon emissions and this is equivalent to the CO2 pollution from Britain’s aviation sector over the next 25 years.
"We can either heat our homes and have hot baths, or fly, but not both. There really does need to be much tougher policies on reducing carbon emissions from the homes.”
Among the industry bodies involved are the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC); the Glass and Glazing Federation; TACMA - the Association of Controls Manufacturers; the Lighting Association and BEAMA's Domestic Heat Pump Association.
"Our objective is to develop a joint industry manifesto for improving existing homes that all political parties will sign up to. This is the first time that the four industries have worked together, so a unique initiative," said G2Action's Peter Thom, a leading low carbon heating expert.
"There is a great deal of confusing and sometimes conflicting information about what should be done and what is the best thing to do? What will save the most money? And what is the pay-back?" he added. "The fact is that all homes will need to be fully insulated, have the most efficient heating and hot water systems and controls, have efficient windows and low energy lighting. It is not about why or how; it is about when and that is now."
Meanwhile on the same day and also in the House of Commons, the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) launched its own guidance on 'Taking Control of Carbon' .
The CIPHE document points out that heating and hot water account for 84 per cent of energy use in the average home. At the same time, however, 80 per cent of homes do not have basic heating controls, 12.5 million homes have boilers which do not switch off, 8.5 million homes do not have a room thermostat, and 30 per cent of condensing boilers do not have room thermostats.
The report added that if homes were more energy efficient, householders could save up to £300 on their heating and hot water bills. It added that simply applying the minimum standard of controls to UK homes would also save more than 2,000 million tonnes of CO2 and more than 600 million tonnes of carbon every year.
The eight-page document suggests that householders should only heat the parts of the home that are being used; use a programmable room thermostat to heat only when people are at home; and convert fuel to heat more efficiently by fitting controls that allow condensing boilers to remain in condensing mode for longer.
Energy used at home accounts for more than 25 per cent of total carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, according to the CIPHE.
“The statistics are quite shocking,” said chief executive Blane Judd. “But this picture can be changed, and I’m delighted that this document raises this hugely important issue and puts practical solutions into the public domain.”