Sitting at the Green Architecture Day at the University of Brighton – meeting lots of interesting folks and especially our good friends from Organic Roofs – www.organicroofs.co.uk (sorry the picture is back to front – used Photo Booth on my laptop!).

We have been coming here for the last few years and always interesting to meet new people, and see a few old friends!

Lee from Organic Roofs given me some inspiration for the forthcoming Eco Technology Show at the AMEX stadium in June.

We’ll be exhibiting on The Green Building Partnership booth – http://www.ecotechnologyshow.co.uk/ on June 15th & 16th – see you there!

You can see Britain at the top of this Graph and Germany at the bottom. Quite a difference?

And the Germans have brought their tariff down now, and are only planning to reduce it by 9% per annum for the next few years based on the level of new installations – seems like the UK Govt are not comparing apples with apples?

I think its most important to realise that no one has fundamentally disagreed that the rates had to come down, but by bringing the whole deadline forward 4 months to the 12th of December – not only were they acting illegally, but irresponsibly.

If you own a company in troubling economic times the last thing you need is further uncertainty.

As the self professed champions of industry and the “greenest government ever” the ConDems have really shot themselves in the foot.

So – one of the major aspects has been the closing of the Green Deal Consultation – see here for our response to the DECC:
GreenDealConsulation – response

As you may notice from here this has been submitted as The Green Building Partnership – a new co-operative of local companies who are coming together to make Brighton & Hove an exemplar Green Building City – www.greenbuildingpartnership.co.uk – visit the new site to see what they are all about.

I will be updating some of our recent projects again soon…

Hmm… do the figures really stack up – personally I am starting to think people need their own plan on how to improve their homes, reduce their bills, add value and comfort… relying on a Government back scheme will once again be a red herring.

Our client has a 1870-80′s Victorian terraced house in the very heart of Brighton near Brighton Train Station. Of course this is a conservation area, protecting the character of the area, however it comes to improving the thermal efficiency of a property this presents its own difficulties and limitations.

With our Architect and Sustainable Building Consultant and one of our comprehensive home energy reports, the client was able to first analyse where her house was leaking energy. What improvements could be made to tie in with her own aspirations, and which of the myriad of alternatives on the market would suit this exact situation.

By demonstrating all of the options available and talking them over in detail a long term plan was devised so that all of the improvements that could be made to the house will be completed in a suitable timeframe, to a high standard and produce the sort of results that were expected from them

A priority was to improve the ramshackle garage (and invaluable off street parking), and at the same time to reduce the heat lost into this ‘external’ space. So we had the contractor – LT Carpentry & Building Services insulate all of the internal walls with 100mm PIR insulation between studs, and insulate the ceiling (floor of the living room above) to the underside with SuperQuilt – a multifoil insulation that is an excellent insulator in places where space is extremely tight.

Then a new platform was built making the most of the available space above the car for storage and a new set of stairs and a new garage door to finish off this area.

Then upstairs in the living room we removed all of the wall lining to expose what we expected – a solid brick wall with no insulation at all! So – following our instructions and with a couple of meetings to explain the significance – once again with the trusty PIR & multifoil – Jason from LT insulated the internal surface of the wall – redoing all of the window reveals, cills etc.. relined and redecorated… this i will make a fantastic difference to this once freezing space.

Next – we coordinated the installation of a wood burning stove – including all of the Building Regulations issues (a big deal for Fire Regs and a possible stumbling block for the inexperienced), getting the chimney swept – a new chimney pot fitted and a lining, not to mention the hard work needed on the hearth itself.

But I think anyone would agree – the final effect is beautiful – and just in time for Christmas.

This year we plan on cork external wall insulation and replace the windows to the rear of the property – we’ll keep you updated.

great news – just found out that we were voted as runner up in the Best Newcomer and Best Eco Home Blog at the www.Primelocation.com best blog awards for 2011.

Great news – and thanks to everyone who voted for us.

Alex

using sketch up to show the clients how things might look in the future (the actual roof will be much prettier)

Well its been a little while since I have updated this blog, but there has been a flurry of activity recently with a number of projects all happening at the same time – the weather gets a little colder and people start thinking again of how to improve the comfort of their house.

removing the existing covering of tiles lowers the existing weight

One of these projects is progressing along as we speak, but stage 1 is complete – a newly insulated main roof, cavity wall insulation and a new warm roof above an existing extension with what will be a beautiful grass meadow roof.

First of all it is important to check that the structure of the roof is able to support the new weight of the insulation and the ballast/soil needed for a grass roof (especially when its wet), so any sensible installer will insist on a structural report from an engineer. In this case we had this confirmed, and as a precaution it was decided to remove the existing tiles on the roof.

100mm of Xtratherm added to roof to create a 'warm' roof

The next stage is to add 100mm of Polyisocyanurate insulation (PIR) which has a K value of 0.022W/mK and offers a high performance insulation which is BRE Green Guide rated A+, and takes the U value of the flat roof from a poorly performing U= 0.6W/m²K to a well insulated U= 0.16W/m²K.

the detailing around the edge of the the PIR insulation is an essential part of the fitting of a grass roof

This is slightly complicated by the downpipes and wast pipes that run down through this flat roof, but with some careful detailing this is resolved.

This process creates a ‘warm roof’ where the structure of the roof becomes protected by the insulation, and so maintains a more stable temperature throughout the year, and protects it from mechanical damage.

The next stage is to add an EPDM – a rubberized covering to maintain the weatherproofing of the roof – this material is product guaranteed for 25 years, and by adding the grass roof on top it has been shown to last far longer by protecting it from the variations in temperature, exposure to UV etc. that a normal roof covering would have to cope with.

moving the balast and soil up onto the roof is one of the least pleasant jobs, but saves on a gym membership!

On top of that goes a geotextile root barrier layer, and then comes the unenviable job of shifting all the substrate and ballast up onto the roof, and then spreading this out across the roof completes the basis for what will be a beautiful summer meadow.

the substrate all ready for planting in the spring

Our specialist installation partner Organic Roofs – www.organicroofs.co.uk – will come back in the Spring to complete the planting to increase local biodiversity and create an aesthetically beautiful roof, and this way our clients get the benefit of the insulation over the worst of the winter!

There is more information on the benefits of grass roofs by clicking here and watching the Organic Roofs video.

In the words of the DECC -

“The scheme is being introduced in two phases.

In the first phase, long-term tariff support is targeted in the non-domestic sectors, at the big heat users – the industrial, business and public sector – which contribute 38% of the UK’s carbon emissions. Under this phase there is also support of around £15 million for households through the Renewable Heat Premium Payment.

The second phase of the RHI scheme will see it expanded to include more technologies as well as support for households. In light of the later than expected launch of Phase 1, as a result of changes required by the European Commission, we are reviewing the timetable for introducing Phase 2. We will be able to confirm the exact timing early in the New Year.”

But on the back of the changes to the FiT, there is at least still a commitment to introduction of renewable technologies – so perhpas if PV no longer appeals to you on your house you should consider some other alternative technologies?

saving energy is something we will all have to do

The Government’s proposed Green Deal, set to launch in October 2012, is designed to offset the upfront cost of energy-saving retrofit in existing homes through pay-as-you-save financing.

The cost of improvements is repaid to investors through a charge on the householder’s energy bill, and the idea is that the Green Deal’s ‘Golden Rule’ will mean that the charge to borrow the money up front cannot exceed energy-cost savings.

The costs  will be met by Green Deal ‘Providers’ (usually high-street companies) who will then receive repayments from you through your energy bill, subject to the “Golden Rule” that the repayments you make must be smaller than the savings from reduced energy costs.

Importantly, the bill for the work will also be attached to your energy meter, not to you personally, so if you move out of your home at any point after the work is done, it will be the next tentant or owner of the property that will take up the repayments.

Click here for the government leaflet on the Green Deal.

However, questions remain about the scheme’s practical application, and levels of interest have not been set, accreditation has not been agreed and there is still much ongoing debate. For more info see: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/green_deal/green_deal.aspx

Bright Green Homes is keeping up to date with the events surrounding the Green Deal and please get in touch with us if you have questions.

Our own cost benefit analysis looking at the annuity factor of the capital investment (estimated from our own recent experience) versus the annual benefits when your electricity price is currently £0.14/kWh (on the upper end here in the south), and energy prices are increasing at a (conservative) estimate of 7% per year.  Our calculations show that the median annual return of an average sized system for a typical home in the UK drops from £706 per year to £208 – a 71% decrease!!

This effectively means that the payback period on an £8,000, 1.8kWp (10m²) PV system facing south on the south coast would go from 10 years to a whopping 32 years!!

Comments please?

Solar PV: a cost benefit analysis of the new FIT rate in comparison to today's rate