Here’s the promo video for the Sol-evo PV carport we’ve developed over the last 3 years or so. One of several reasons why this blog has suffered! I try and console myself that at least there’s a good reason.
Archive for the ‘zero carbon’ Category
Sol-evo PV carport
Posted in feed in tariff, PV, renewable energy, sustainability, zero carbon, tagged Intersolar, PV carport, Sol-evo, Solar EPC on June 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
built performance vs design performance
Posted in zero carbon on January 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Golly it’s been a while. So long that I’d almost forgotten by WordPress login. Things have been manically busy at work. We got 2MW of PV installed in Italy just under the 2010 FIT deadline, our first containerised plant room is installed in Preston, we’ve been doing DH design and our first install in North [...]
grid carbon will stay high for some time yet
Posted in climate change, heat pumps, renewable energy, sustainability, zero carbon on August 17, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Infuriatingly, it looks like the government may mothball the Environmental Performance Standard, which would have limited emissions from new large power stations. This is despite the fact that both the Conservatives and Libdems championed the policy while in opposition. As a result it’s likely that emissions from grid electricity will stay high for quite some [...]
tax ‘em all and let the market sort it out
Posted in climate change, feed in tariff, PAYS, renewable energy, renewable heat incentive, utilities, zero carbon, tagged carbon tax on March 9, 2010 | 7 Comments »
The proper way to slash carbon emissions is to tax carbon at the point of fuel extraction and let the market sort the problem out. But because there’s no political appetite for carbon tax, we end up tinkering at the margins trying to address the emissions problem in tortuous and esoteric ways. Here’s a list [...]
biodiesel backlash began yesterday in Bristol
Posted in biofuel, chp, climate change, energy, engineering, renewable energy, sustainability, zero carbon, tagged biodiesel on February 25, 2010 | 6 Comments »
Sure, biodiesel is considered “renewable” in the upcoming building regs. But that won’t stop the backlash against developers who use it. Yesterday a biodiesel generation plant proposed for Avonmouth near Bristol was rejected 6-2 in planning committee on the grounds of its impact on rainforests on the other side of the globe. Of the 1,121 [...]
two roads to solving the refurb crisis – part 2
Posted in climate change, energy, engineering, ESCO, PAYS, renewable energy, sustainability, utilities, zero carbon, tagged CLG, DECC, Supplier Obligation, UKGBC on February 22, 2010 | 6 Comments »
In Whitehall, advocates of PAYS and an expanded suppliers obligation are clashing over which mechanism should be used to refurb existing housing. This is the second post of two. If you missed it, read the first part here. Here’s a quick summary of the two mechanisms:
two roads to solving the refurb crisis – part 1
Posted in climate change, Code for Sustainable Homes, energy, engineering, ESCO, passivhaus, PAYS, renewable energy, sustainability, utilities, zero carbon, tagged CLG, DECC, HEMS, HESS, Supplier Obligation on February 14, 2010 | 5 Comments »
Hitting the 80% carbon reduction by 2050 has huge implications (and costs) for the residential sector. Two strategies are emerging for dealing with these costs, each with its own potentially severe side effects.
low carbon development: ESCOs can take on all the extra cost, right?
Posted in Code for Sustainable Homes, energy, ESCO, feed in tariff, sustainability, utilities, zero carbon on October 7, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Wrong. Unless they include extra charges. The Code for Sustainable Homes, upcoming changes to building regs, and national emissions targets are all driving the industry towards much wider use of on-site generation. Reducing carbon with on-site generation (also called “distributed energy” or just “DE”) brings extra costs relative to the business-as-usual approach of individual gas [...]
PAYS for new build doesn’t feel quite right
Posted in PAYS, zero carbon, tagged UKGBC on September 9, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Although PAYS has been conceived to address retrofit, developers and RSLs are hoping it might also reduce the financial burden of meeting more stringent upcoming regs for new build. In theory it works like this: by capitalising future energy savings, developers could afford to put in the low carbon measures they need to in order [...]
biodiesel to be recognised under building regs – but it’s no silver bullet for zero carbon
Posted in biofuel, chp, DER Calculation, zero carbon, tagged biodiesel, SAP on August 25, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Biodiesel will almost certainly be a recognised fuel under to upcoming changes to building regs, opening the door to biodiesel CHP as a way to meet increasingly stringent limits on emissions. While a number of big urban developments will breathe a sigh of relief at the news, it’s not all plain sailing.