Government think-tank calls for UK homes to have MOT type energy check-ups.
The government's science think tank has proposed that homes in the UK should have regular MOT-type energy check ups. The think tank, Foresight, is to release a report suggesting a number of radical ways to meet the UK's green goals over the next 50 years.
The report calls for less centralised, more small-scale energy production.
It will also suggests using "intelligent metering" in homes and businesses, to show the real-time costs of different types of energy.
Energy efficiency assessments of buildings - which account for half of all energy use - would also help meet the targets for CO2 emissions.
The report says that the UK is "locked-in" to using certain forms of energy, and leading energy experts say that radical solutions are needed if the UK is to diversify its energy use, to meet its target of reducing CO2 emissions by 2020.
Buildings account for about half the country's energy use - and so should be the government's main focus in trying to reduce CO2 emissions. But it has had limited success in persuading businesses and home owners to become more energy efficient.
The Foresight report says this is down to inertia. Customers and suppliers they say are locked in to centralised energy production and inefficient consumption.
'Stick-and-carrot'
The report calls for incentives to encourage greener local energy production and more effective measures to get consumers to use less energy.
Options put forward include intelligent metering which show the true cost of gas and electricity and more regular energy efficiency assessments of homes and businesses, which the report describes as "an MOT for buildings".
"Rather than making roads safer, these would make our future climate safer," says Professor Yvonne Rydin from University College London and one of the report's authors.
"One of the problems is that people are not fully aware of the energy they are using and the cost of that energy to themselves and to the planet."
The Foresight team is led by Professor John Beddington, the government's chief scientist. He says that an MOT-type energy assessment could be tied to penalties and incentives to encourage homeowners and businesses to adopt energy-saving technologies.
"There's potential for a stick-and-carrot approach perhaps regulation that links rateable values [of homes and commercial premises] to energy emissions," he says.
'Dumb' smart meters
The report looks specifically at ways of making energy use much more visible. As well as energy assessments, the expert committee recommended greater and better use of smart metering of energy use.
But the problem, according to Professor Jim Watson of Sussex University, is that currently smart meters aren't very smart.
"You can have the most exciting digital display you like but if it can't display what the electricity or gas costs are at different times of day - which they can't at the moment - then it's a 'dumb' smart meter," he says.
"In order for it to be fully smart you need meters connected to the electricity supply network getting real-time information about energy costs."
The report also says that current regulations suit big energy companies rather than encouraging smaller, local providers - a concept they call "lock-in".
According to Professor Beddington, imaginative and radical ideas need to be explored if CO2 levels are to be cut 80% by 2050. As well as harnessing technology, he says, policy makers need to think about encouraging a cultural shift in attitudes to make wasting energy as anti-social as smoking.
"I think there is scope for changing this," Professor Beddington says.
"I think with the appreciation of the population of the real issues of climate change - and the real dangers that the failure to address it bring with it - there is a potential that you will get a change in social attitudes and I think that will be enormously important".
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British are "bored" with Climate Change
A new energy report suggests that British people are less environmentally conscious than they were five years ago.
4 out of 10 britons take no action at all to reduce their household carbon emissions, and twice as many people are now "bored" by talk of climate change as in 2005. Experts warn that green fatigue is one of the major reasons as to why there are more cars on the roads, more planes in the sky and no reductions in the mountain of packaging waste. The report reveals that too few people are making an effort to reduce their household CO2 emissions and environmentalists believe the recession is further undermining public commitment.
The report, by market researchers Mintel, shows that many of Britain's 26 million homes fail to make simple adjustments such as switching off lights, turning down thermostats, and switching off appliances rather than leaving them on standby. The findings also reveal that people are less willing to spend money on energy-efficient appliances than they were five years ago. Analysts believe the recession together with a backlash against "extreme" environmentalist pressure has reduced people's enthusiasm to combat climate change.
The report also found that resistance to saving the planet was greater among men; one in four said they think there is too much concern over the environment, compared with one in six women.
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More information on the 2016 definition of "Zero Carbon".
Housing Minister, Grant Shapps announced additional information about the new definition of "Zero Carbon".
The Government plans to investigate setting up a community energy fund which will be used to pay for district heating and renewable energy schemes.
Developers who pay into the fund will not have to install onsite renewables or microgeneration equipment. Many developers have welcomed the flexibility of paying into a fund rather than grappling with renewables on each site.
However, the full definition of 'zero-carbon' has once again been delayed. This is despite a pre-election promise to get the definition of zero carbon finalised “within weeks” of getting into office.
The new Government Housing Minister has recently announced that the coalition will review the level of on-site renewables required - before publishing the final definition of the standard, which all new homes will have to reach after 2016.
In the announcement, the Minister also re-affirmed his commitment to all new homes being zero-carbon from 2016 and confirmed the introduction of the ‘Fabric Energy Efficiency Standard' which requires a minimum standard in relation to insulation levels and air tightness and thermal bridging in buildings.
Zero carbon is required of all Code for Sustainable Homes level six homes. Clarification of what zero carbon will mean is still to be decided.
If you require assistance with your Code for Sustainable Homes level requirements, contact Ecowise - we are a fully accredited Code for Sustainable Homes assessment organisation.
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Pilot Tidal Energy Scheme for North Wales Coast
Conwy County Borough Council has backed plans for a pilot tidal energy scheme off the North Wales Coast.
The £150 million scheme at Llanddulas in North Wales would provide a testing facility for turbine designers and manufacturers, and assess the environmental impact of turbines.
The project was given approval by the council as part of a strategic regeneration strategy for the Conwy coast, prepared by consultant Capita Symonds.
Paul Terry, Capita Symonds, said: "Tidal power will play a key role in providing a sustainable energy source for future generations. The North Wales coast is an ideal place for such a scheme as it’s blessed with a good tidal range and suitable ocean depth." He added that the project could also help protect the coast from rising sea levels, storm surges and coastal erosion.
The regeneration strategy also calls for seven new visitor centres costing £30m should be built at key locations stretching from Conwy to Rhuddlan. But North Wales Tourism chairman Chris Jackson raised doubts over whether the proposals could realistically be funded in the current economic climate. The council’s approval now means that Capita Symonds will seek funding for feasibility studies and investigations to develop a business case for the scheme.
