Green and Sustainable Building

Everyday we read in the press about our need to reduce our CO2 emissions. Here are some facts about the building industry:

50% of all materials produced annually around the World are used in construction
45% of all energy is used in buildings
40% of all water is used in buildings
46% of all CO2 emissions (the main cause of global warming) come from buildings

Measuring the environmental impact of materials can be divided into three areas:

The energy required to extract the raw material from source, engineer the material to produce the final product and transportation to end user.
The amount of toxins & CO2 emissions generated during extraction, manufacture, use & disposal
Impact on resource depletion; potential for re-usability/recycling; biodegradability.

The amount of energy used by the product in its life cycle of production, use & disposal/reuse is known as embodied energy.

The government is encouraging us to increase the insulation in all buildings both commercial and residential. This will enable us to reduce our energy consumption, thus conserving valuable resources and cutting carbon emissions.

The Feed-in Tariff

1st April 2010 heralds the start of the Feed-in Tariff. This is money which will be paid by the government via the electricity supply companies to everyone that installs renewable electricity generating equipment that generates less than 5MW. This could be wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, micro CHP, small hydro or anaerobic digestion.

For employing photovoltaics, 41.3 pence will be paid for every kW hr of electricity generated and used. An additional 3 pence per kW hr will be paid for extra electricity which is generated and fed back to the grid. This rate is for retrofit. A slightly lower tariff of 36 pence per kW hr will be paid for new build installations. This is because PV panels will be cheaper to install on new build projects. The contract period of the feed-in tariff will be different for each technology. For Photovoltaics it will be 25years (the estimated life expectancy of pvs - although many claim that they will last twice as long). As a guide, the pay back time is estimated to be eleven years for a domestic 3 kW pv installation with a supply and fit price of £4,500.

All installations put in since July 15th 2009 qualify for the full FiT. Systems installed before this date and registered under the Renewables Obligation will also qualify but at a reduced rate or 9p/kWh.

Tariffs will increase according to inflation during the contract period. However, new installations carried out in three years time will be subject to degression. This means a reduced tariff will be offered. This is because equipment is predicted to come down in price over this period.

In order to qualify for the Feed-in Tariff, you must use an installer and equipment that is certified by MCS - Micro generation Certification Service: For full listings visit: www.microgenerationcertification.org

Because of the introduction of the Feed-in tariff, grants will no longer be available for renewable electricity generation. However it is expected that loans may become available to purchase renewable electricity generating equipment. This loan will belong to the property and will therefore be passed on to the new owner when the property changes hands thus giving owners more incentive to embrace the technology.

The government needs to encourage as many people as possible to generate renewable electricity in order to meet their EU target of 15% electricity generated by renewables by 2020.

Grants however will still be available for renewable heat source products such as:

- providing they are MCS certified microgeneration technologies by certified installers. Under the UK Government's Low Carbon Building Programme, grants of up to £2,500 per property are available. The grant covers a range of buildings including households, community organisations, public, private and the non-profit sectors.

1st April 2011 will see the start of a tariff paid for heat generated by a renewable source. This may replace the grants at present offered for the above. To keep up to date with the Low Carbon Buildings Programme visit: www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk

You may wish to visit the Eco Zone at The Building Centre in Store Street WC1E 7BT. It is dedicated to the promotion of ecologically sound technologies. A variety of sustainable products, from thermal insulation, wind turbines, air & ground source heat pumps, flood resistant paving, rainwater collection and recycling, energy efficient boilers, solar water heaters and photovoltaics are showcased here.

To support the products on show, The Building Centre has many sustainable product manufactures’ technical brochures available in hardcopy or electronic format on this website.

You may wish to purchase our Essential Guide entitled ‘Green Building’ which gives you vital information on products to include in an eco-friendly home. Most alternative energy technologies are included, as well as ideas for water saving, natural and recycled products.