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Transcript of HHIC Journal - Issue 18
AUGUST 2012 ISSUE 18
INDUSTRY COUNCIL
HEATINGHOTWATER
HHICCCO
CAROLINE FLINT MP
PROFESSOR PAUL EKINS
DR TINA HOLT
ELIZABETH LEIGHTON - WWF
PROFESSOR DOUG KING
DR ELAINE LANCASTER
01 Cover.indd 1 12/7/12 14:48:20
HHIC Camden House, Warwick Road, Kenilworth Warwickshire CV8 1THTel: 01926 513777 Fax: 01926 511923e-mail:[email protected]: www.centralheating.co.uk
SECRETARIATDirectorRoger Webb Tel. 01926 513740e-mail: [email protected]
Deputy DirectorChris Yates Tel. 01926 513744e-mail: [email protected]
Technical ManagerGlyn Thomas Tel. 01926 513746e-mail: [email protected]
Membership Services ManagerIsaac Occhipinti Tel. 01926 513742e-mail: [email protected]
Communications ManagerJodie Wiltshire Tel. 01926 513743e-mail: [email protected] Administrator Natalie Flay Tel. 01926 513741e-mail: [email protected]
PUBLISHINGPublishers & Printers Warners Group Publications plc, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, PE10 9PH. Tel: 01778 393313 Fax: 01778 394748
DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHER Juliet Loiselle
DESIGNAmanda Clare
ADVERTISINGAdvertising Sales Katrina Browning Tel. 01778 395022 e-mail: [email protected]
Production Co-ordinator Sue Woodgates Tel. 01778 392062e-mail: [email protected]
HHIC is a division of Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA)
Many moons ago, I produced a programme for BBC Radio 4 on the history of the public library. What struck me most in researching this documentary was how people’s desire for free knowledge was incredibly important. The success of the Green Deal depends on how consumers will perceive this scheme and how the trusted, information bearers deliver its benefits. This is why in this issue, I have a gathered a diverse pool of experts from academia, government and industry specialists to debate many concerns relating to the Green Deal. With the government and
WELCOMEFROM YOUR EDITOR
If you are interested in submitting editorial for HHIC Journal, please contact the Editor, Jodie Wiltshire on 01926 513743 or e-mail [email protected] Editor reserves the right to withhold or edit any material submitted for publication. The Editor’s decision is final.Views expressed in HHIC Journal are not necessarily the official view of the Heating & Hotwater Industry Council.The inclusion of advertising, circulation of any advertising literature or enclosures with HHIC Journal does not signify HHIC endorsement of any of the products or items concerned.
40
14
industry putting a serious commitment into the scheme, they really can’t afford it to fail.
Jodie Wiltshire, EDITOR, [email protected], Twitter: JodieCommsHHIC
CONTENTS
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL22_3 Contents.indd 2 25/7/12 12:14:37
Caroline Flint Caroline Flint MP is the Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Caroline is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley since 1997. She served as the Minister of State for Housing and Planning in 2008, and later as the Minister for Europe until 2009. In October 2010, she was elected to the Shadow Cabinet, and Ed Miliband appointed her Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. In October 2011 Miliband appointed her Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
Elizabeth Leighton Elizabeth is a Senior Policy Offi cer - Footprint Project Manager for WWF and her role is to paint a picture of a One Planet Scotland and engage with government and others to make it a reality. Scotland is currently living a three planet lifestyle. One Planet Scotland is a project to cut the Ecological Footprint as the UK is on a footprint trajectory that could lead to a 20 per cent increase by 2020.
Professor Doug King Doug King is an independent specialist in innovative and sustainable buildings. He has been behind the design of some of the most infl uential sustainable buildings in the world and has received numerous awards recognising his work and his contribution to the construction
industry. Doug is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor in Building Physics and was author of their reports “Engineering a Low Carbon Built Environment” and “The Case for Centres of Excellence in Integrated Sustainable Building Design.”
Professor Christopher TweedProfessor Christopher Tweed is the BRE Chair in Sustainable Design of the Built Environment, Welsh School of Architecture at Cardiff University. He has a general interest in environmental design in the built environment, which embraces research into reducing the demand for energy in existing buildings as well as research on the role of built cultural heritage in urban sustainability.
FEATURES
REGULARS
04
10
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IS VITAL FOR GREEN DEAL TO WORK Professor of Energy, Paul Ekins and Dr Catalina Spataru
discuss how consumer behaviour is vital for the Green Deal to work
HOME COMFORTS IN AN AGE OF UNCERTAINTY Professor Chris Tweed discusses how retrofi tting houses must result
in a better quality of life
THE GREEN DEAL MUST BE A GOOD DEAL TOO Caroline Flint MP, talks about how important the Green Deal is to the
Labour government
FORGET ‘ECOBLING’ THE UK NEEDS TO CONSUME LESS ENERGY Professor Doug King debates how the UK must build
refurbishments that actually address energy consumption
PUTTING ENERGY SAVINGS WITHIN REACH Elizabeth Leighton, Senior Policy Offi cer, WWF Scotland compares an
equivalent Green Deal scheme in the USA
NEW NAME, SAME CREDIBILITY, FRESH ENERGY Mike Foster, Chief Executive of Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA)
explains why this trade association is fi nally moving forward
14
38
CONTENTSAUGUST 2012 ISSUE 18
CONTRIBUTORS
16
30
40
20
09
45
26
MEMBER NEWS
MARKET UPDATE
MATTER IN QUESTION Roger Webb, HHIC’s Director refl ects on
how the backbone of the Green Deal is heating
\
HOMES BEHAVING BADLY Dr Tina Holt tells us more about the
HOBBS project funded by the UK government’s recent community-
focused scheme, the Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF)
DOING THE DEAL Dr Elaine Lancaster, Research & Development
Director at Ideal Heating discusses how high effi ciency systems are
crucial if the carbon targets are to be met
BOILERS CAN BE THE TRIGGER TO KICK-START THE GREEN DEAL Neil Schofi eld from the Worcester Bosch Group discusses the
importance the Green Deal has on the boiler manufacturing industry
32
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 32_3 Contents.indd 3 25/7/12 11:37:14
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL4
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IS VITAL FOR
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
“The Green Deal will be the biggest home improvement
programme since the Second World War shifting our
outdated draughty homes from the past into the future.”
Greg Barker, Climate Change Minister (June 2011)
The UK has one of the oldest stocks of residential buildings in Europe. In England 21% of dwellings were built before 1919 and 16% built between 1919 and 1945 which represent nearly one third of the total non-domestic building stock.1 The energy efficiency of these dwellings will need to be much improved to meet the UK Government’s energy policy objectives of reduced carbon emissions, increased energy security and affordable fuel bills. To pursue these objectives, the government has developed and implemented a range of policies, including regulation, information and market incentives to influence people’s energy behaviour.
4-8 professor ekins.indd 4 23/7/12 14:52:11
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 5
TO WORKBY PROFESSOR PAUL EKINS AND DR CATALINA SPATARU, UCL ENERGY INSTITUTE
“One of the most important but least understood factors related to the Green Deal is the diversity of consumer behaviour”
In 2010 the coalition government announced the introduction of the Green
Deal which will come into effect from autumn 2012. The Green Deal is a
regulatory framework that is intended to make energy efficiency affordable
for consumers with no up-front cost and provides the conditions for a
competitive market where customers can choose.2
The Green Deal will apply to owner-occupiers, the social and private
rented sectors and the commercial sector. Chris Huhne, the then Secretary
of State for Energy and Climate Change, announced on 21st September
2010 that: “The Green Deal is a massive new business opportunity which
has the potential to support up to a quarter of a million jobs as part of our
third industrial revolution”3. The Chartered Institution of Building Services and
Engineers (CIBSE) mentioned that an average of one building every minute will
need to be refurbished over the next 40 years4 to meet the national targets for
carbon emissions reduction. In fact, refurbishing one home a minute would
only upgrade around 20 million dwellings5, so to do the whole building stock by
4-8 professor ekins.indd 5 24/7/12 11:13:04
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL6
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
then would require more than one per
minute (including upgrading relatively
new buildings).
The logistical implications of such
a programme have attracted a good
deal of scepticism. In January 2012
the UK Energy Research Centre
(UKERC)6 highlighted a series of
irregularities in Green Deal design
by drawing attention to what it calls
‘key omissions and inconsistencies’
in the document. Also the UKERC is
seeking clarification on how the Green
Deal will fit with and complement
other reforms and initiatives being
proposed, particularly the Renewable
Heat Incentive, and Feed-in-Tariffs.
Under the Green Deal, homeowners
will be able to borrow up to £10,000
to pay for different measures and pay
back the capital (plus interest) through
an extra charge on their electricity
bill over a maximum of 25 years. The
Department of Energy and Climate
Change (DECC) has published a list
of measures including insulation,
boiler, glazing and heating controls
improvements. These are expected
to be suitable for Green Deal finance
with eligibility being dependent on the
calculated savings from the energy
measures being less than the bill
repayments – the so-called ‘Golden
Rule.’ However the government will not
guarantee the actual cash savings and
should the occupier move, the charge
on the electricity bill will stay with the
property and the next bill payer.
One of the most important but
least understood factors related to
the Green Deal is the diversity of
consumer behaviour. Different owners
or tenants have different lifestyles,
preferences, comfort requirements
and budgets. The Deal is taken out
for a particular property at a particular
time and the package may suit the
current consumer. However, if a
new owner or tenant occupies the
property, the Green Deal may not be
appropriate for them with implications
for the energy and cost savings. The
Green Deal tailors an energy efficiency
package for a particular consumer, not
a standard product which may suit a
wide range of people. Also, this may
cause a problem in the fluidity of the
housing market.
There have been a number of field
trials of micro-distributed technologies
(heat pumps, solar photovoltaics (PV)
and others), which have shown that
poor installation and site selection,
as well as some tool deficiencies,
were major factors leading to poorer
performance than predicted by
manufacturers. The Energy Saving
Trust (EST) studies in heat pumps7 and
solar thermal systems8 show that in
the case of heat pumps some installed
systems failed to meet the levels
studied in European field trials. In the
case of solar thermal systems, the
trial found examples where systems
were not properly configured or used.
Therefore, the performance of these
systems could be affected by user
behaviour and attitudes (how they
are controlled and used) and by the
quality of installation.
In addition most studies to date
have focused on characterising the
technologies and less on the context
of people and buildings. These latter
is particularly important in terms of
understanding behaviour diversity
and how technologies may perform
in occupied buildings. All field trials
“The Deal is taken out for a particular property at a particular time and the package may suit
the current consumer.”
4-8 professor ekins.indd 6 23/7/12 14:59:02
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 7
have their limitations but even so the main fi ndings that have emerged can still
be useful. For example, there is no evidence that demand temperatures have
risen over time and controls do not necessarily result in lower temperatures as
assumed in the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP). In dwellings with small
heat loss the parasitic power9 during start up and cooling down can mean that
condensing boilers can outperform micro-chp10 units.
Another point is that behavioural changes can be more important in reducing
electricity consumption than any energy effi ciency intervention relating to
household equipment. If heat pumps increasingly replace boilers for space
heating and hot water, the peak electricity demand could increase signifi cantly
if not carefully managed. This could well drive an increase in the unit cost of
electricity. Micro-distributed technologies where several devices provide heat in a
connected system are more sensitive to occupant behaviour. Unfortunately there
“All fi eld trials have their limitations but even so the main fi ndings that have emerged to date can still be useful.”
4-8 professor ekins.indd 7 25/7/12 11:39:35
8
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL
are few findings available from field studies
detailing the interactions between occupants
and energy efficiency and systems, and the
diversity of these. Additional research on the
diversity of people, controls, smart home
energy management, as well as education of
households and installers, can help in providing
more understanding of real dwellings behaviour
and the interaction with their occupants.
In addition a variety of criticisms of SAP
have been made in recent years. Many studies
have shown that SAP can overestimate or
underestimate the savings made in dwellings,
yet the government intends to use SAP for
the Green Deal. SAP was designed to assess
buildings, not to provide an accurate estimate
of the performance of a specific building-
technology-occupant-location system. A
Green Deal assessment based on SAP may
give misleading results unless it is adjusted
to take into account different occupants’
behaviour, heating patterns, different climate
locations, etc.
If the Golden Rule is going to work so that
Green Deal customers who keep their energy
haviour unchanged do not face higher energy
bills, then far more thought is required in how
to characterise occupant behaviour. Also, how
to include this in the assessments that will
work out which measures meet the Golden
Rule and should therefore be supported
through Green Deal finance will need to be
considered. Unless this is done before the first
Green Deal loans are issued, there is a real risk
that some customers who change their energy
behaviour following the energy efficiency
measures, perhaps without being aware of it,
will be disappointed to see their energy bills
rise rather than fall. And that will risk bringing
the whole of the Green Deal into disrepute.
1 English Housing Survey, Housing Stock Report, 2008 Communities and Local Government,
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/pdf/1750754.pdf
2 DECC 2010, The Green Deal A summary of the Government’s proposals, http://www.decc.gov.
uk/assets/decc/legislation/energybill/1010-green-deal-summary-proposals.pdf
3 http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn10_104/pn10_104.aspx
4 http://www.cibsemail.org/preview.php?c=904&m=0&previewtype=html 538years X 365.25 days
X 24 hrs X 60 min= 19,986,480
6 http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/support/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=1679&fullscreen=y Full version of
UKERC’s response to the Green Deal Consultation http://tinyurl.com/853zfdm
7 The Energy Saving Trust, 2010, Getting warmer: a field trial of heat pumps
8 The Energy Saving Trust, 2011, Here comes the sun: a field trial of solar water heating systems
9 Parasitic power is power used to make the machine work, but that doesn’t produce a useful output
10 Chp stands for combined heat and power. These units produce both electricity and useful heat.
4-8 professor ekins.indd 8 25/7/12 11:42:15
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 9
MEMBER NEWS
HHIC has been working
hard with industry and the
government in trying to
fi nd a solution to this dilemma. We all
accept that the Green Deal will be more
successful if SMEs are engaged, but no
one has yet come up with a defi nitive
way that ensures they will be.
Within the heating industry there are
around 60,000 installation and servicing
businesses. Most of these are small and
micro companies, often employing one
or two people.
Around 80% of gas boiler
installations are done by these small
businesses meaning that every day
around 5,000 homes are visited by
these companies.
Given that boiler installations will
almost certainly be a key driver for
Green Deal take up these 5,000 visits
could be a very effective way to market
the Green Deal and ensure its success.
So why are there doubts that this
will happen?
The current structure of the Green
Deal requires two key elements. It
requires an accredited assessor to
conduct a Green Deal assessment of
the potential customer’s property and
energy use. It also requires a Green Deal
provider to guarantee the works and to
provide any capital for the project.
This means small companies would
probably have to receive work from the
Green Deal providers once a deal has
already been agreed. The dilemma
here is that if a heating engineer
is called into a home to quote on
replacing a boiler, recommending the
Green Deal will not guarantee they get
the job. Instead, if they quote privately
they have a better chance of keeping
all the income for themselves.
If the heating engineer has a prior
relationship with the consumer it is even
less likely that they would recommend
a scheme that may jeopardise a well-
standing relationship.
Therefore the current structure
may well alienate smaller installation
companies and create resentment
amongst them for the Green Deal.
Instead, we need to look at ways
to help engage installers and fi nd a
model that fi ts their current way of
doing business.
The government is working hard
to come up with solutions for this.
Currently it believes there are three
broad routes that could involve
smaller companies.
One is as a subcontractor to a Green
Deal provider. The Green Deal provider
would conduct the assessments and
arrange fi nance. The installer would
do the work and would be paid by the
provider to do so.
Another route is working with a
trade body or merchant chain that
may have a provider scheme that
allows installers access to Green Deal
fi nance to help them offer the Green
Deal to their customers. However a
Green Deal assessment would still
have to take place.
Local authorities may also set up
Green Deal schemes that installers
could bid to work on. However
local authority tendering processes
are notoriously diffi cult for smaller
companies to win.
HHIC believe there are some other
solutions to this dilemma.
One solution could be to use
some of the stated £200 million
the government has put aside for
encouraging Green Deal take up
to discount fi tting boilers. HHIC’s
idea would be for the boilers to be
installed outside the Green Deal
mechanism, but with the promise of a
voucher for a sum, £500 for example,
if the consumer undertakes a Green
Deal assessment within six months of
the installation.
This will allow smaller installers to
continue to sell boilers to their existing
customers and to bid for work in the
same way.
It would also boost the take up Green
Deal assessments hopefully leading to
full Green Deals by consumers wanting
to claim their £500.
This however is a short-term solution
to help remove some of the initial
barriers that may be present when the
Green Deal is launched.
Another more long- term solution is
to simplify the Green Deal process to
allow installers to also be Green Deal
assessors. This is currently possible but
the costs for doing so are prohibitive
and the process complicated.
If government were to make the
process easier and much cheaper,
installers could be trained quite easily,
potentially as part of their current regular
gas competency training to undertake
property assessments. This would allow
them to take control of the Green Deal
process and allow smaller installers to
be a one-stop shop for consumers to
get a Green Deal.
Smaller installers must feel in control
of the process and understand how it
benefi ts them, and then they are more
likely to recommend it and to push it to
be a success.
HHIC will be lobbying the
government over the coming months to
ensure this message is communicated
because we want the Green Deal to
be a success. However, we recognise
that if installers are not part of the
solution then we risk alienating the best,
cheapest and most logical route to
market the Green Deal has.
MEMBER NEWSEveryone involved in the Green Deal wants to see SMEs engaged with the scheme. However, given the structure of the Green Deal, is this realistic?
BY ISAAC OCCHIPINTI, MEMBERSHIP MANAGER
IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE PLEASE CONTACT ME ON 01926 513742
09 member news.indd 9 23/7/12 09:53:22
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL10
HOME COMFORTS IN AN AGE OF UNCERTAINTY
HOME COMFORTS in an age of uncertaintyBY PROFESSOR CHRISTOPHER TWEED, BRE CHAIR IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
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WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 11
Our homes are so familiar
to us that we take for
granted much of what
they offer. But relations between
ourselves and the structures we
inhabit have fascinated philosophers,
psychologists, architects and
anthropologists for centuries. Their
various writings illustrate the diverse
interactions we have with the fabric
and contents of our dwellings, and
yet their detailed insights barely
register outside the academic world.
Such issues gain little traction
with practitioners, policymakers
and others working at the ‘sharp
end’ of the construction industry,
where concerns about the finer
details of design and delivery are
often dismissed. This short article
argues that ideas, methods and
observations developed through
careful field studies of people in
buildings and the resulting theories
about human-environment interaction
can help us improve quality of life
and user satisfaction with the built
environment. These concerns are
at the real sharp end of designing
and building—the end of the retrofit
delivery pipe—as that is where
solutions are implemented and either
fail or succeed.
The UK Government is promoting
large scale retrofitting of its housing
stock to reduce CO2 emissions
through the Green Deal. According
to recent DECC statistics more than
7.6 million homes with solid walls
(98%) have yet to be insulated.
This will have a major impact on
people’s homes and yet much of
the debate surrounding retrofit
is about the merits of particular
technical solutions for upgrading
the building fabric and renewable
energy systems. Focusing solely
on the technical aspects of retrofit
ignores the need for users to operate
their upgraded homes effectively
to achieve the intended carbon
and energy savings. This is crucial
to achieving the carbon emissions
reduction targets required by 2050
and is not amenable to purely
technical treatment. It requires
an understanding of how people
behave in their homes that is so far
absent from current proposals.
One approach to studying how
people engage and interact with
the environment stands out. The
ecological psychologist, J.J. Gibson,
emphasised the need to consider
organisms and environments
simultaneously, since the way they
interact depends on the properties
of both. Just as the energy and
environmental performance of
unoccupied buildings is relatively
meaningless, so treating people in
the abstract, devoid of any particular
context can be equally misleading.
Gibson’s approach highlights the
need to understand people in
buildings and reminds us not to
rely on generalisations about what
people do outside a given situation.
His major contribution is a pair of
related concepts: affordance and
effectivity. An affordance is what an
environment offers people (for good
or for ill) and depends not just on
the properties of the environment
but also on the capabilities of
those immersed in it. In short,
buildings support various activities
and amenities, but only for those
with the appropriate effectivities.
This interrelationship between
affordance and effectivity alerts
us to the unavailability of building
functions to users, for example, with
reduced mobility.
Affordances and effectivities,
then, are a better way to describe
what buildings offer occupants
than the generic notion of building
function, which is independent
of who will use the building and
their abilities. It would be limiting,
however, to think of affordances
as unavailable to those who lack
an ability or have a “disability.” An
interesting corollary of the study
of affordances is the realisation
that users must possess certain
skills to be able to engage with a
building effectively and to access its
intended functions. This is becoming
increasingly evident as buildings and
“The experience of getting warm in front of a glowing fire almost encapsulates the very idea of home in our climate.”
10-13 home comforts.indd 11 12/7/12 14:14:39
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL12
HOME COMFORTS IN AN AGE OF UNCERTAINTY
their systems become more complex.
In other words, people have to have
certain skills if they are get the most
out an environment.
The theory of affordances
sketched above questions
the conventional approach of
separating people and buildings
in much contemporary design and
construction, including retrofi tting.
There is a further assumption to be
challenged, which is also supported
by detailed studies of how people
engage with buildings.
Most current efforts to reduce
energy consumption in buildings
reduce the end user experience in
a refurbished building to a single
‘comfort’ temperature. There is no
detailed consideration of thermal
comfort criteria and the models
of thermal comfort embedded in
energy calculation software are
usually quite crude. Observations
of how people create and maintain
thermal conditions in their
homes suggest the outcomes of
refurbishment may be diverse and
differ from the assumed model of
user behaviour markedly.
“Just as the energy and environmental performance of unoccupied buildings is relatively meaningless, so treating people in the abstract, devoid of any particular context can be equally misleading.”
People’s behaviour and actions,
for example, appear to be driven
as much by wants as by needs.
As Henry Petroski noted, “luxury,
rather than necessity, is the
mother of invention.” Once basic
needs are met, people are mainly
interested in the experiences they
can have in a given environment.
In certain conditions this may
be straightforward, such as the
physiological need to maintain
a core body temperature. But to
assume such a need is the main
driver for thermally related behaviour
in the home, underestimates the role
that emotion and feelings play in
our everyday lives. As an example,
consider the change in methods of
heat delivery that is taking place in
low energy buildings.
10-13 home comforts.indd 12 23/7/12 10:03:15
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 13
Heat and warmth are primal
forces for people living in northern
and cool temperate climates. Fire in
its raw and tamed forms have been
central features within the home for
centuries. The experience of getting
warm in front of a glowing fi re almost
encapsulates the very idea of home
in our climate, but conventional
theories about thermal comfort are
largely blind to our preferences for
the way in which heat is delivered to
us in space and time. Low carbon
solutions, whether new build or
retrofi t, tend to introduce new forms
of heat delivery that operate at
much lower temperatures thereby
removing high temperature sources
from the dwelling. The absence of
high temperature (or high exergy)
sources stymies comfort habits and
practices that have been deeply
embedded over many years in our
cultural and social norms. Gathering
around a heat source is not simply
a physiological but a culturally
sanctioned response to coming in
from the cold. Field observations
suggest that if people are deprived
of thermal stimulation by the design
and operation of their heating
systems, they are likely to devise
other ways to regain the variety in
thermal conditions they are used to.
If their actions include buying and
using an energy intensive halogen
type heater from the local DIY store,
we are in trouble, since this may
subvert the entire low carbon project.
Debates about the choice of heating
system and its method of delivering
heat to spaces need to consider
the quality of the heat delivery and
the experience this provides for
the occupants—and not just the
immediate thermal experience.
Existing approaches to retrofi tting
mainly focus on technical concerns
and solutions. I have argued for
the importance of considering
psychological, social and cultural
issues in designing and planning
retrofi t programmes. The ultimate
success of a nationwide programme
will depend on those who are
expected to accept and operate
their modifi ed homes in line with
the intentions of the designers.
Many building projects get things
the wrong way round. Concerns
about the end-user experience
and improvements to the quality
of life are drowned out by loud
talk over technical solutions and
methods. Retrofi t has to result in
better quality of life for occupants
or else it is unlikely to work in any
wholesale way.
“People’s behaviour and actions, for example, appear to be driven as much by wants as by
needs. As Henry Petroski noted, “luxury, rather than necessity, is the mother of invention.”
Once basic needs are met, people are mainly interested in the experiences they can have
in a given environment.”
10-13 home comforts.indd 13 23/7/12 10:03:28
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL14
Labour wants the Green Deal
to succeed. We had a
pay-as-you-save scheme in
our manifesto, and it was
the last Labour government
who initiated pilot
programmes to test the
scheme. If done properly, a
pay-as-you-save energy
effi ciency scheme could
create jobs, lower bills for
families and cut carbon
emissions. But for the
Green Deal to work, it must
be a good deal too. With
just a few months until the
scheme is due to start, the
government still has much
to do to improve the
Green Deal to ensure it
delivers savings for hard-
pressed bill payers and
offers real incentives
so millions of people
want to take it up.
TheGREEN DEAL must be a good deal too
BY CAROLINE FLINT MP, SHADOW SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
CAROLINE FLINT MP
14-15 caroline flint.indd 14 25/7/12 15:11:10
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 15
I t’s not just Labour saying this.
In recent months the CBI,
Which?, the Federation of
Masters Builders, the Construction
Products Association, Green Alliance
and even the government’s own
advisors, the Committee on Climate
Change, have warned the Green
Deal will fail without signifi cant
improvements. But the government
just dismisses anyone who suggests
improvements, or raises concerns,
as scaremongerers – when in reality,
of course, exactly the opposite is
true. The real champions of the
Green Deal are those of us who are
trying to improve it and make it a
good deal.
Most importantly consumers
need to be offered affordable rates
of interest on Green Deal loans.
This is absolutely crucial to making
the scheme a success. Polling
conducted by the Great British
Refurb Campaign found that only
7% of homeowners would be
interested in taking up the Green
Deal if the interest rate is 6% or
above. Worryingly, however, a report
by environmental think tank E3G
says that relying on commercial
loans - as the government plans
- will mean interest rates as high as
8%. Modelling by London-based
home improvement fi rm, Crystal
also shows that even with a 5%
interest rate, measures taken out
under the Green Deal would cost
twice as much over the lifetime of
a plan, compared with paying for
them upfront. Finance at these kinds
of rates won’t be attractive to most
people, limiting demand and leaving
the Green Deal struggling to get off
the ground. To make matters worse,
the government are still intent on
including harsh penalty payments
for repaying loans early, which
will cost consumers thousands of
pounds and destroy the public’s
trust in the scheme.
One solution is the Green
Investment Bank. The government
announced last year that one of the
priorities for the Bank is to provide
support for the Green Deal, but they
haven’t specifi ed what form that
will take. It’s vital that any capital
made available is used to secure
affordable, attractive interest rates
for consumers, in order to lower the
cost of Green Deal packages.
Small businesses should be
allowed to complete with bigger
companies on a level playing fi eld.
Labour’s vision for the Green Deal
is one where small businesses,
co-operatives, local authorities,
charities and social enterprises are
able to compete alongside the big
six and other large companies that
want to take part in the scheme.
But the government’s proposals
will restrict full access to the Energy
Company Obligation (ECO), which will
provide subsidy for energy effi ciency
measures, to the Big Six energy
companies. These proposals not only
limit smaller providers from competing
on a level playing fi eld across the
whole Green Deal market, but
entrench the dominance of the big six
in our energy market. Labour wants to
see the Green Deal open to all types
and sizes of providers by allowing fair
access to the ECO.
Lastly, we have to ensure help
reaches those who need it most.
Under the last Labour government
the number of houses in fuel
poverty fell by 1.75 million. But with
energy bills on the rise, and cut to
programmes like Warm Front, there
are already warnings that progress
could be reversed. Labour believes
the funding from the ECO should
focus on delivering for low income
hard to treat homes, over able-to-pay
households. This would drive carbon
reduction while ensuring that we put
those who need help most, fi rst.
With time running out until the
Green Deal launches, the government
needs to end the uncertainty,
stop the infi ghting and focus on
developing a credible way to deliver
new jobs and lower energy bills.
14-15 caroline flint.indd 15 25/7/12 11:46:18
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL16
LESS ENERGY
FORGET ‘ECOBLING’THE UK NEEDS TO
CONSUMEBY PROFESSOR DOUG KING
FORGET ‘ECOBLING’
LESS ENERGY LESS ENERGY LESS ENERGY LESS ENERGY LESS ENERGY
ECOBLING DOUG KING
16-19 ecoblin.indd 16 25/7/12 11:50:10
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 17
“By now, everyone should be aware that the UK is committed to reducing
carbon dioxide emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 205O.”
The last two governments have managed to agree on one thing at least: the importance of tackling climate change and addressing future UK energy security. Because of this accord, the UK has actually adopted some extremely worthwhile, but challenging, targets on greenhouse gas abatement and on renewable and low carbon forms of power generation.
By now, everyone should
be aware that the UK is
committed to reducing
carbon dioxide emissions 80% below
1990 levels by 2050. Most people
reading this journal will also be aware
that carbon dioxide emissions arising
from energy consumption in the
buildings accounts for around 45%
of the total.
Thus, one of the headline policies
is that all new buildings should be
constructed to zero carbon standards
by 2020. However, by the time 2050
comes around new, zero carbon
buildings will only account for around
20% of the building stock, the
remaining 80% are already in use
today. The low carbon refurbishment
of some 20 million existing buildings
presents an even greater challenge
for the construction industry than that
of zero carbon new buildings. Further,
in order to meet the commitment we
will need to deliver over 2,000 low
carbon building refurbishments every
working day starting today.
Unfortunately, a number of recent
studies of both low carbon housing
and low carbon non-domestic
buildings have shown that there is
still a wide performance gap between
the expectations of the construction
industry and its clients and the
ability to deliver real carbon savings.
It is therefore vital that we embark
on this journey of decarbonising
the built environment with a clear
understanding of what it will involve
and which approaches deliver the
best abatement at the lowest cost.
Otherwise, we risk wasting time
and money on initiatives that fail to
achieve the end goal of reducing the
overall amount of carbon dioxide
emitted to the atmosphere.
Recently, the conjunction of local
planning policies demanding on-site
renewable energy generation and
the generous fi nancial incentives
available for these technologies
have created a perverse new market
for small scale generation in urban
locations. The most common
approach now being taken to low
and zero carbon housing is to use
an electric heat pump in the winter
and then provide the building with
suffi cient renewable generation to
offset the electricity consumed by
the heat pump over the course of
the whole year. What we are seeing
at the putative cutting edge of
new housing design will no doubt
become the default approach for
refurbishment too unless we do
something about it.
In some instances, I am even
hearing now of low carbon projects
that are abandoning super insulation
and other passive energy conservation
measures in order to pay for the
revenue earning technologies. Under
the right circumstances an owner
can now be paid to generate heat
that is wasted in a less well insulated
building and paid again to generate
renewable electricity to offset the
wasted consumption and still qualify
as zero carbon.
Subsidies aside, this approach
to zero carbon, whether applied to
new build or refurbishment, may not
actually lead to zero emissions, as
16-19 ecoblin.indd 17 23/7/12 12:32:56
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL18
“One of the headline policies is that all new buildings should be constructed to zero carbon standards by 2020. However, by the time 2050 comes around new, zero carbon buildings will only account for around 20% of the building stock, the remaining 80% are already in use today.”
the assessment of carbon abatement
does not take into account the different
times at which the generation and the
demands occur. The carbon intensity
of grid supplied electricity varies
depending on the mix of generation
required to meet demand. Generally,
in the winter the carbon intensity is
higher as more fossil fuel generation
is brought into the mix to match the
demand, whereas during the summer,
when building attached renewables will
be generating at their peak, the carbon
intensity is low anyway.
Taken to the extreme, if we try to
address low carbon refurbishment to
meet our national targets using a mix of
heat pumps and small scale renewable
generators then we will simply
exacerbate the problems. As more and
more renewable generation is added
to buildings, the carbon offset available
for each individual generator will get
lower and lower. On the flip side, a
wholesale move to electric heating in
the winter, even with the purported
efficiency of heat pumps, will require
a vast increase in generation capacity.
Even if a substantial proportion of
this demand can be met from large
scale renewables there will still be a
requirement for backup generation
to cover the intermittency of the
renewable generators.
Then we need to consider the
actual performance of heat pumps in
practice. Ground source heat pumps
provide consistent performance
throughout the year, but are expensive
and require large areas of land for
heat extraction. The performance
of the more popular air source heat
pumps depends on the external air
temperature. The performance figures
that are typically used to assess
the carbon abatement potential are
seasonal averages corresponding to
outside air temperatures of 5°C to
7°C. With well designed, well insulated
new and refurbished buildings there
should be little demand for any space
heating at these temperatures. In the
future, heat pumps will be required to
work mostly at outdoor temperatures
below 0°C, when their performance
drops rapidly. Thus, the instantaneous
electricity demand from heat pumps
during the winter could be much higher
than anticipated at a time when the
grid has higher carbon intensity.
A further problem with adopting
small scale renewable heat
ECOBLING DOUG KING
16-19 ecoblin.indd 18 23/7/12 12:33:15
19
technologies to refurbish British
buildings is that we have a history
of building homes that leak. The
UK’s relatively benign climate means
that, historically, we never really
had to bother with insulation before
energy conservation became such
an issue, whereas our damp weather
quickly leads to mould problems in
buildings without good ventilation.
Our standards of construction
therefore refl ect these very real drivers.
However, this means that our buildings
are generally too expensive to heat
continuously, as the heat just escapes.
Consequently we have adopted
a pattern of intermittent heating
following occupancy in homes and
non-domestic buildings alike.
Intermittent heating requires a
high intensity heat source such as
a gas boiler, and a heating system
that responds quickly, such as the
traditional radiator. Low carbon and
renewable heating systems work best
when they are confi gured to deliver
low intensity heat continuously to a
well insulated, airtight building. To
size a heat pump to deliver similar
“Therefore, when it comes to retrofi t, we must not
allow ourselves to become distracted by the apparent fi nancial
attractiveness of bolt-on renewable
energy technologies.”
that the approaches we take in order
to meet policy goals in the short term
may not in fact be the most sustainable
approach in the long term.
The problems facing us in dealing
with the building fabric issues in
our stock of existing buildings will
require considerable effort, expense
and innovation. Failing to deal with
the building fabric issues will result
not just in higher than expected
emissions, it could exacerbate health
problems and other social issues such
as fuel poverty. We need to be aware
that the directions we are taking now
through expedience may not lead us
directly to our hoped for destination
and that we may have to change
direction several times before we can
reach our ultimate goal.
We would be much better off
focusing our efforts on building
refurbishments that address the
fundamental issue of consuming less
energy to create comfortable and
productive internal environments,
rather than continuing to delude
ourselves that we can simply bolt
expensive technology on top of already
failing buildings. That way, the cost to
decarbonise our energy supply, the
only real way to achieve a low carbon
economy, will be reduced in line with
the energy we save.
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012
peak output to a boiler would be
prohibitively expensive and lead to
signifi cant problems in its operation.
Dealing with the poor state of
the fabric of our buildings must
be the priority in refurbishment,
before we ever start to think of
bolt-on technologies. Insulation
and airtightness do not have the
“EcoBling” attraction of small scale
renewable energy, but will require just
as much thought and ingenuity if we
are to get it right.
When we try to retrofi t high levels
of insulation and air-tightness to
traditionally constructed British
buildings we can quickly run into
problems with indoor air quality,
condensation and even rot within
structural timbers, not to mention
bronchial health problems relating to
mould. Improvements to insulation
and airtightness therefore need to
go hand in hand with provision for
protection against condensation
and controlled ventilation with heat
recovery. Thus, an apparently simple
measure actually introduces a whole
family of additional requirements in
order to maintain a safe and healthy
internal environment. Is a serious
mistake therefore to try and skimp on
consideration of issues relating to the
building fabric in order to pay for the
low carbon technologies.
Therefore, when it comes to retrofi t,
we must not allow ourselves to
become distracted by the apparent
fi nancial attractiveness of bolt-on
renewable energy technologies. It is
conceivable that the conjunction of
zero carbon buildings, the Feed in
Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive
could actually lead to higher emissions
overall, whilst not addressing the root
of the problem. This is of course an
extreme example, but it does highlight
16-19 ecoblin.indd 19 23/7/12 12:33:31
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL20
WWF ELIZABETH LEIGHTON
Putting Energy Savings within Reach: WHY SOME HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY
20-25 wwf.indd 20 12/7/12 14:25:06
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 21
With just months to go before the launch of the Green Deal, questions are being asked about
its likely success. Will Green Deal packages be attractive to consumers? Will the Golden Rule hold true? Will enough demand be generated
to build a professional energy performance industry? What about the fuel poor? All these
questions and more are troubling the minds of campaigners and civil servants alike, who are
counting on the Green Deal to help deliver climate change targets.
Putting Energy Savings within Reach:
PROGRAMMES WORKBY ELIZABETH LEIGHTON, SENIOR POLICY OFFICER, WWF SCOTLAND
WHY SOME HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY
20-25 wwf.indd 21 12/7/12 14:25:24
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL22
WWF ELIZABETH LEIGHTON
So what are the factors for success and how can we
make sure the Green Deal and associated policies
and programmes really do put energy savings within
reach of ordinary homeowners? Through a Churchill Memorial
Trust Travelling Fellowship, I analysed what the US experience
could offer in terms of lessons. I visited fi ve exemplar
programmes in Vermont, Maine, California, and Oregon.
The main conclusion was that there is no single ingredient
to success – rather you need the full complement, the entire
recipe, to bake the cake. Financing, incentives, customer
service, social marketing, professional workforce, performance
standards and long-term funding are all essential, put together
in one coherent package over a period of several years. All
aspects are important – a loan programme could not succeed
without good marketing, standards could not succeed without
incentives, and nothing succeeds without trusted contractors.
In short, all rely on a positive customer journey.
What does this tell us for the Green Deal? Here is a checklist
for the Energy Minister to consider as he puts the fi nal touches
on the Green Deal arrangements:
Guarantee QualityA trusted system of quality assurance helps build a
professional contractor network, gives customers confi dence,
and produces a measure of actual savings achieved. The
Green Deal does include some measures of quality assurance,
but many are concerned they won’t be robust enough.
For example, in the US, all upgrades are ‘tested out’ for
air-tightness and quality work. In addition to independent
certifi cation of auditors and contractors, there is a need for
pump priming and supporting the profession, through funding
cooperative marketing, training in customer service and help
for small, local companies that need to scale up quickly, but
fi nd it diffi cult to get the capital in place.
Provide a positive customer journeyCustomer focus is what it is all about. The customer journey
has to be rapid, professional, and meet expectations. The best
programmes have a strong contractor network which is local,
qualifi ed, trained in marketing and customer service, and can be
counted on to deliver on time, on budget and with the savings
promised. After all, the energy adviser and contractor will be the
ones to clinch the deal. Multi-year funding and programmes are
important to allow the market to build in tandem with the rising
demand - market transformation in action. Online assessments of
track record (eg number of jobs completed) and customer service
in the style of ‘Trip Adviser’ can help to weed out the ‘cowboys’
20-25 wwf.indd 22 24/7/12 11:17:34
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 23
“I visited fi ve exemplar programmes in Vermont, Maine, California, and Oregon. The main conclusion was that there is no single ingredient to success - rather you need the full complement, the entire recipe, to bake the cake.”
and reward the top contractors. This
can also maintain the customer
relationship over several years through
tailored correspondence and phone
contact to increase conversions to
upgrades now and in the future.
Work with social normsIt is vital to engage with social norms
– the rules and customs that guide
social behaviour in a community or
group. People don’t tend to make
rational decisions based on information
or fi nance, but they will often conform
to what their neighbours, friends, or
community does. It is important to take
the time to understand the community
or segment the audience and design
a programme that engages with their
values and needs. A one size fi ts
all approach will not work. Another
solution is to use trusted local people
to promote the programme through
a range of on-the-ground activities
– dinner parties to show off upgrades,
door-to-door visits, school events and
competitions. In today’s world of virtual
communities, it is just as important to
use social media. Social applications
need to be developed for the UK market
which encourage people to share and
compare their energy use and ideas for
how to reduce it.
Provide attractive fi nancing as part of an energy upgrade programmeConsistent and long-term fi nancing
programmes are essential to build
demand and trust. Short-term incentive
programmes may initiate a burst of
activity, but contractors will fi nd it hard
to respond, undermining confi dence
in the profession. Householders will
also lose faith in stop-go incentive
programmes, assuming they have run
out of money and so won’t bother to
apply. Yet even with the best fi nancing, it
is not enough to attract much uptake on
its own. The overall energy programme
of advice, technical support, marketing
and quality assurance must be part of
the package.
Regulate for minimum standards of energy performanceRegulation and performance standards
are necessary to drive demand and
create a value for energy performance
in the housing and rental market.
The evidence shows that standards
work when aligned with strong
programmes of technical support,
fi nancial assistance, and marketing.
Householders and landlords will
respond if they believe the standard
20-25 wwf.indd 23 23/7/12 15:12:42
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL24
WWF ELIZABETH LEIGHTON
20-25 wwf.indd 24 12/7/12 14:26:02
AUGUST 2012 25
will give some monetary value to
the energy upgrade, so systems to
disclose and market the value of the
rating must be implemented and
supported. Most important, standards
should be developed through a
stakeholder process which takes
account of all concerns and results in
better compliance.
Help the fuel poorThe Green Deal is not the answer for
most fuel poor households, so support
from the Energy Company Obligation
and government programmes is
essential. In Scotland, the Existing
Homes Alliance is arguing for a
National Retrofit Programme aimed
at meeting climate change and fuel
poverty targets. Key elements of the
programme should include area-
based programmes targeted at fuel
poor areas that provide free or heavily
discounted measures.
Conclusion In conclusion, energy efficiency is a
tough sell. You can’t see it or touch
it, and the big financial savings come
over time. Successful programmes
sell the immediate benefits of comfort,
health, warmth, and savings on bills.
While US energy and housing policies
are different in several respects from
that in Scotland and the UK, their
experience in delivering home energy
efficiency programmes has much to
offer. US programmes show a market
approach can work, but only if the right
ingredients are mixed together and
given careful support. There is no ‘silver
bullet’ that will motivate homeowners
on its own. A coherent package
must be offered as one attractive
and streamlined customer journey.
Community engagement, targeted
marketing and products, a professional
workforce, independent advice,
affordable finance, minimum standards,
consistent assessment – these are the
main ingredients.
If any are missing, the programme
will falter and discredit similar efforts for
the future.
There is considerable concern that
the UK Government is relying too much
on the Green Deal to deliver energy
upgrades that will make Britain’s
homes fit for the 21st century. The
evidence is quite clear – financing on
its own will not motivate people to take
action. Financing must be packaged
as part of an overall energy upgrade
programme. This programme needs
strong leadership from government
which makes it absolutely clear that
by 2020, the UK expects all homes
to be low carbon homes – warm,
comfortable, and cheap to run. Given
this approach, the Green Deal could
have the potential to achieve genuine
transformation of social norms and the
market. The scheme could actually
lead to the pace and scale of change
needed for a low-carbon Britain.
“In today’s world of virtual communities, it is just as important to use social media. Social applications need to be developed for the UK market which encourage people to share and compare their energy use and ideas for how to reduce it.”
To read the full report on the
US home energy efficiency
programmes, Putting Energy Savings within Reach: why some home energy efficiency programmes work, go to:www.wcmt.org.uk/reports/906_1.pdf Existing Homes Alliance
Scotland
www.existinghomesalliancescotland.co.uk/Churchill Memorial Trust
www.wcmt.org.uk/WWF Scotland Contact:
Elizabeth Leighton
01350 728 200
07810 507 232
www.wwfscotland.org.uk
20-25 wwf.indd 25 23/7/12 15:12:55
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL26
EUA NAME CHANGE
1905 was Albert Einstein’s “miracle year” he published his theory of relatively and established mass – energy equivalence (or E=MC2) to you and me. The gas industry was almost a hundred years old by then, with carbonised coal producing town’s gas that provided lighting and heating across the British Isles. It was also the year a Mr Charles Clare of Fletcher Russell (a gas appliance manufacturer) took the fi rst step in creating what was the “Society of British Gas Industries” representing 36 members paying subscriptions of two guineas each. Nearly one hundred years later, in 2003, what was then the Central Heating Information Council was merged into SBGI and became known as the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council. HHIC is one of the three divisions of the former SBGI which has now changed to Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA).
BY BY MIKE FOSTERMIKE FOSTER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF ENERGY AND UTILITIES ALLIANCE, (EUA), CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF ENERGY AND UTILITIES ALLIANCE, (EUA)
25-29 EUA.indd 26 23/7/12 11:27:11
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 27
“Energy and Utilities Alliance better refl ects the broad base of our membership now
standing at over 220.”
25-29 EUA.indd 27 23/7/12 11:27:39
28 28
Today’s environment, with
its challenges, demands a
change from the industry and
for me that triggers a name change
too. SBGI is widely respected by
those who know the organisation.
But frankly, i ts name no longer does
justice to the wide range of members
we have across the three divisions.
So in May 2012, we announced
a new name as we take on those
challenges. As a name, ‘Energy and
Utilities Alliance’ better refl ects the
broad base of our membership, now
standing at over 220. The variety of
member fi elds includes gas storage,
smart meters, pipes, high effi ciency
boilers, industrial boilers and
renewables. (As an aside, in my fi rst
week as CEO our accountant came
to see me and the fi rst question he
asked me was, “what are you going
to do with the name SBGI?”. When
your accountant is giving marketing
advice, you know it’s time to act).
Today, EUA provides a leading
industry voice that helps shape the
future policy direction within the
sector. Using our wealth of expertise,
and over 100 years of experience,
we act to further the interests of our
members and the wider community
in working towards a sustainable,
energy secure and effi cient future.
There are enormous challenges
ahead in the energy and related
industrial sector. Rising energy
costs, issues over security of supply,
greenhouse gas emissions and UK
jobs and skills are at the forefront of
concerns. Working in partnership with
others, EUA intends to be a powerful
voice for the industry, speaking out
when it matters, as the UK faces
these challenges in the years ahead.
Let’s take Green Deal, featured in
this edition of the HHIC Journal, as an
EUA NAME CHANGE
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL
“The gas industry was almost a hundred years old by then, with carbonised coal producing town’s gas that provided lighting and heating across the British Isles.”
example of one of those challenges.
No one disputes the good intention
of the scheme. Promoting energy
effi ciency measures is good for
households, meaning lower bills; it
reduces consumption and therefore
greenhouse gas emissions, helping
to save the planet; it provides a base
for UK employment opportunities,
so individuals as well as society
benefi t too. But, there is always a but,
industry insiders are sceptical the
scheme will work. At its best, Green
Deal could change our outlook to
energy effi ciency for the better and for
the long-term but only if government
listens to the wider industry and our
concerns. At worst, the scheme
will degenerate into the next
industrial scale mis-selling scandal
and will bring energy effi ciency
and environmental concerns into
disregard. We owe it to future
generations to get this right.
EUA is also heavily involved in the
debate around the future of gas, our
heritage demands we are. So does
the future energy security needs of
the UK. Gas generated electricity is
more environmentally friendly than
coal powered electricity generation.
Hence, in the short-term it makes
25-29 EUA.indd 28 23/7/12 11:28:06
29 2929WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012
sense to make that switch. But
keeping the gas grid for domestic
users is also important as part of the
future energy mix we will be using
to be green but also keep warm.
Thankfully only a few people in the
sector are still advocating the end of
domestic gas supply. The majority,
what I call the “sensible realists”,
recognise that even with large scale
renewable use in the home, there
is always the need for that peak
demand for heating to be met. And
gas is the most effi cient means to
meet it.
That longer-term commitment
to gas also means exploring shale
and biogas, as well as potentially
hydrogen and coal-bed methane in
our future energy mix. EUA have been
developing our policy position towards
shale, energy security and the future
of gas as part of our strategy to be
relevant to the challenges of the future.
I’ve mentioned the job creation
opportunities that the Green Deal
potentially offers. Jobs and skills in
the UK are central to the public policy
debate we will face in the years ahead.
Part of that debate is about making
careers in our sector appealing. It is
about showing young people how
exciting it is to be “making things”.
Encouraging the brightest and best
talent to consider long-term careers
in the industry as well as being the
home of well-qualifi ed technicians who
can deliver at the coalface the energy
secure, energy effi cient and energy
affordable future we all want.
So Energy and Utilities Alliance
is here to contribute to meeting the
challenge of the future, forged in our
history, championing the interests of
our members.
25-29 EUA.indd 29 23/7/12 11:29:36
MARKET UPDATE Highlights• Boiler sales fail
to recover• Solar Thermal
sales continue to slide
Each quarter we will bring you an update on the heating market, with a focus on boiler sales. This update replaces the quarterly Boiler Sales Update which HHIC used to distribute as a separate publication.
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL30
Gas Boiler Sales Q4 2011 v Q4 2010
Q1 2012 Q1 2011 Annual Comparison
Jan Feb Mar Jan Feb MarQ1 12 –
Q2 11
Q1 11 –
Q2 10
%
change
Total boiler
sales (000’s)106.3 129.4 131.4 120.2 118.1 139.6 1462.7 1595.4 -8.3
Gas Boiler Sales The start to 2012 has not provided
the boiler industry with the
optimistic return to normality.
Sales have continued to slide and
maintain the negative trend that
started later in 2011. With no
good news expected in the near
future, and all economic indicators
pointing to a fl at year, projections
are not positive. The Jubilee
holidays will affect quarter 2
sales and are unlikely to pick up
in the short term. So the spotlight
will be very much on the Green
Deal to see if it can stimulate
the market next year.
Solar Thermal Heating Sales Solar Thermal sales have fallen back
to pre 2008 levels before the prospect
of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
boosted sales later that year. The
Solar PV industry has now taken hold
of the solar market with households
preferring to opt for PV and a generous
Feed-in-Tariff. There are rumours of a
tariff based RHI for 2013 so hopefully
this will boost sales later in the year.
Ecomomic OverviewThe heating market is infl uenced by a
range of factors many of which involve
decisions based on economic factors.
Some of these are outlined below:
Infl ationThe headlines for the December 2011
consumer prices index (CPI) are:
• CPI annual infl ation stands at
3.0 per cent in April 2012, down
from 3.5 per cent in March. The
timing of Easter had a signifi cant
impact on the April data. The
annual rate was notably lower
in December 2009 when it
was 2.9 per cent although the
3.0 per cent was equalled in
February 2010
• Air transport, off-sales of alcohol,
clothing and sea transport were
the most signifi cant drivers
behind the decrease in annual
infl ation between March and April
• The largest upward pressures
to the change in CPI annual
infl ation between March and
April came from the operation of
personal transport equipment,
restaurants & hotels and rents
• RPI annual infl ation stands
at 3.5 per cent in April, down
from 3.6 per cent in March. The
largest downward pressures
to the change in RPI annual
infl ation between March and
April came from alcoholic drinks,
clothing, fares & other travel and
the purchase of motor vehicles.
Partially offsetting these were
upward pressures from housing
and petrol & oil.
Source: Offi ce for
National Statistics
Interest RatesThe Bank of England’s Monetary
Policy Committee voted to maintain
the offi cial Bank Rate paid on
commercial bank reserves at 0.5%.
Source: Bank of England
MARKET UPDATE
Air transport, off-sales of alcohol, clothing and sea transport were the most signifi cant drivers behind the decrease in annual infl ation between March and April
30-31 Market.indd 30 25/7/12 12:03:55
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 31
Q1 2012 Q1 2011 % changeQ1 2012 –
Q2 2011
Q1 2011– Q2
2010
%
change
Flat Plate 11253.7 16884.4 -33.3 55162.9 71332.9 -22.6
Vacuum tube 2572.6 3683.9 -30.1 15007.2 17728.4 -15.3
Total 13826.3 20568.3 -32.7 70170.2 89061.4 -21.2
Solar Thermal Heating Sales by m2 Q1 2012 v Q1 2011
Feb 12 Mar 12 Apr 12
CPI change (%) 3.4 3.5 3.0
RPI change (%) 3.7 3.6 3.5
Recent changes in RPI and CPI annual rates were as follows:
Infl ation
2011 2012
Jan £161,211 £162,228
Feb £161,183 £162,712
Mar £164,751 £163,327
Average £162,379 £162,722
House Prices
Gas Electricity Heating oils
Q1 2012 223.2 176.1 211.6
Q1 2011 189.6 159.4 199.4
% comparison +17.7 +10.5 +6.1
Domestic Fuel Prices Indices:
Domestic Fuel PricesThe most recent fi gures available
from the Department for Energy &
Climate Change (DECC) are for Q2
2011 and these are compared with
Q2 2010.
House PricesAverage house prices in the UK
were essentially unchanged in the
fi rst quarter, after allowing for usual
seasonal effects. The annual rate
of change moderated from 1.1%
to 0.2%.
The North saw the strongest
quarterly growth rate, with prices
up 0.6% quarter-on-quarter. This
pushed the annual rate of price
change up from -1.0% to 0.8%.
Apart from the North and the
Outer South East, all of the English
regions saw their annual rate of
house price growth slow during the
fi rst quarter.
Source: Nationwide
Housing and Property TransactionsThe total number of property
transactions was up to to 81,000 in
February 2011, a rise of 14.1%.
Source: Construction
Products Association
30-31 Market.indd 31 24/7/12 11:29:51
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL32
DR TINA HOLT - HOMES BEHAVING BADLY
32-27 home behaving badly.indd 32 12/7/12 14:38:14
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 33
Homes Behaving Badly
(HOBBS for short) is a
Transition West Bridgford
(TWB) project funded by the UK
government’s recent community-
focused scheme, the Local Energy
Assessment Fund (LEAF). LEAF
gave groups across the UK funding
for projects to help save or generate
energy in their localities.
The HOBBS team (Dr Holt, with
green architect Gil Schalom and eco-
champion Penney Poyzer) launched
the project on 21st January 2012 at
the low energy homes exhibition which
formed the final event in TWB’s ‘Eco
Houses under Construction’ series.
Our aim was to champion the cheap
but effective options as well as to
provide the low-down on more costly,
but potentially dramatic, improvements
that some householders wish to
understand in more detail.
The HOBBS project examined eight
typical housing archetypes in the West
Bridgford area to demonstrate what the
journey from ‘inefficient’ to ‘efficient’
or ‘highly efficient’ might look like. Eco
House Group members were invited
to come forward if they had energy-
use data and were willing to share
details about their homes and energy
saving habits. SAP and NHER energy
modelling (carried out by Gil Schalom)
together with thermal imaging and
air-tightness testing results were
combined with information from the
homeowners themselves to create
each case study.
The HOBBS case studies were all
about providing detailed exemplars
with which householders could
identify. The power of this approach
was evident at the workshops, where
feedback showed that over 90% found
‘seeing what others did’ to be useful
– whether their plans were zero cost or
high cost.
“One of the big surprises was the extent to which all the homeowners who put their houses forward as case studies were already reducing bills just with effective energy saving habits.”
BY DR TINA HOLT
AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEAF THROUGH THE ‘Homes Behaving Badly’
32-27 home behaving badly.indd 33 25/7/12 11:28:36
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL34
DR TINA HOLT - HOMES BEHAVING BADLY
Those at the workshop for
householders in cavity wall homes
were most entertained by ‘Julie,
Queen of Mean’ describing her
proudly maintained Yorkshire habits
and mainly low cost measures in her
1960’s bungalow. Feedback from one
householder at that workshop was
revealing: ‘I thought I had a pretty good
energy effi cient home. Now I know
there’s a lot more I can do.’ Many
people living in cavity wall homes could
further improve energy effi ciency even
if they think they have already covered
the basics.
The workshops on solid wall homes
attracted larger audiences – hardly
surprising in a place like West Bridgford
which has so many older houses.
For modest budgets, we focused on
low cost ideas like draught-proofi ng
and insulation of pipework. We even
looked to the Victorians for inspiration
to combine curtains with blinds or
shutters. For those with bigger budgets
or just curious to know more, we
examined some options for whole-
house low energy refurbishment. The
HOBBS case studies illustrated a range
of approaches, including the effects of
varying degrees of solid wall insulation
on energy use and comfort, and the
impact of different renewable options.
The big message that we wanted to
convey to householders through the
report and the workshops is that every
house and householder is different,
and that one solution does not always
fi t all. We encouraged householders
to become their own energy experts,
for example, by showing them how
to work out roughly what proportion
of their annual energy use is devoted
to space heating and how much to
other uses.
32-27 home behaving badly.indd 34 23/7/12 14:37:03
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 35
“Another fact highlighted by energy modelling was the difference that ‘standard’ measures, such as an effi cient boiler, could make to some energy bills. Often the least glamorous options reaped the biggest benefi ts.”
One of the big surprises was the
extent to which all the homeowners
who put their houses forward as case
studies were already reducing bills just
with effective energy saving habits.
Actual energy use in each case was
between 29% and 56% lower than the
‘average’ as predicted by SAP/ NHER
modelling of the same house in its
current state. This proved to be highly
motivating, as many people attending
the workshops previously believed
that energy saving habits would make
little impact on energy bills.
Another fact highlighted by energy
modelling was the difference that
‘standard’ measures, such as an
effi cient boiler, could make to some
energy bills. Often the least glamorous
options reaped the biggest benefi ts.
Alongside the big improvements, the
case studies indicated that a host of
smaller but cheaper changes could
help e.g. insulating hot water pipes or
sealing up unused fi replaces (where
appropriate) – even though some
were ‘below the radar’ in terms of
SAP/NHER.
For solid wall homes, personal
experiences and energy modelling
highlighted the fact that ‘standard’
effi ciency improvements could only
improve bills and comfort up to a
point. Beyond that, solid wall insulation
was required, improving comfort
dramatically as well as reducing bills.
Our case studies seemed to indicate
that adding just enough solid wall
insulation to achieve 2012 building
regulation standards represented a
missed opportunity, whereas a ‘do it
once and do it well’ insulation strategy
would save re-work in the future.
Indeed, the ‘Home Truths’ report by
Brenda Boardman suggests that by
2030 we will be adding solid wall
insulation to cavity wall homes, and I
am aware of instances where this has
already been done.
For those looking to make their
solid wall homes more effi cient, energy
modelling and householder experience
seem to suggest that doing one
thing well tends to work better than a
scattergun approach. It also means that
over time, each element of the house
can be improved to a high standard,
with the eventual result of a very low
energy home.
While some of the homes which
formed the HOBBS case studies had
renewable technologies installed,
the ‘Homes Behaving Badly’ project
focused chiefl y on the less glamorous
area of effi ciency savings. This was
by no means a rejection of renewable
technologies – more a way to ensure
that energy wastage in the badly
behaving house is fi rst cut right back so
that smaller boilers can be specifi ed, or
the most appropriate choice of energy
generation technology can be made.
If our small selection of just eight
local homes and their energy aware
occupants were typical of the UK
population, we would be well on the
way to energy security and dramatic
carbon reduction targets in the
domestic housing sector. If the SAP and
NHER energy models do indeed refl ect
the ‘average’ householder’s energy use,
then mass adoption of energy saving
habits could probably cut UK energy
demand by at least 20% overnight.
Mass uptake of the ‘standard’
measures such as draught-proofi ng, loft
and cavity wall insulation, or installing
‘A’-rated boilers would bring about
another step change. On top of that, a
well-executed programme of solid wall
insulation to beyond current building
regulations could help to convert ‘hard-
to-treat’ homes into a new generation
of low energy homes. We are still only
32-27 home behaving badly.indd 35 23/7/12 14:37:17
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL36
DR TINA HOLT - HOMES BEHAVING BADLY
in the foothills of the UK’s energy-
efficiency mountain range.
So, from just 12 weeks of work in
early 2012, what will be LEAF’s legacy?
In the case of ‘Homes Behaving
Badly’, we have a workshop format
that is ready to go. Householders who
attended the first HOBBS workshops
in March 2012 created their own ‘to
do’ lists – as diverse as the homes and
the people in them, and going beyond
the simple efficiency messages that
no longer seem to motivate. We want
householders to get the best deal
from the Green Deal, and the HOBBS
workshops provide them with the
tools to do that.
Then there is the HOBBS report. On
the whole it is written for householders
- to dip into, compare their homes with
a couple of case studies, and become
their own energy experts. In the words
of our proof-reader ‘This is clear,
informative and what we’ve all been
waiting for.’ We hope it will be used by
organisations too. Our colleagues at
Nottingham Energy Partnership have
already used selected HOBBS case
studies which were relevant to one of
their projects in Derbyshire.
Overall, the HOBBS team feel
that the project has provided
positive evidence that their aim of
enabling householders to understand
their own energy use is a realistic
one. It was encouraging to see
that workshop participants were
highly motivated by seeing what
other householders had done, and
impressed by the savings that others
had made from simple energy saving
habits. The decisions of ordinary
householders, whatever their budget,
have the potential to make a major
contribution to reducing UK energy
requirements and carbon emissions.
Dr Holt is a specialist in household energy efficiency, from humble energy saving habits to whole-house low energy refurbishment. She has worked for Global Action Plan on the
‘EcoTeams’ behavioural change programme, and is currently refurbishing her own home - a 1950s house of solid wall construction - to the new Passive House standard for retrofit.In 2010, she set up the Eco House Group – a Transition West Bridgford (TWB) initiative
providing events for householders looking to reduce their energy bills and increase comfort levels. Events to date include open house visits, seminars, the Eco Houses under Construction
project and Homes Behaving Badly and the group has attracted over 260 members.Like other Transition groups around the UK and globally, TWB in Nottinghamshire was set
up to improve community resilience and encourage the transition towards a life less dependent on oil.
The HOBBS report is available
for free and can be downloaded
from: Dr Tina Holt:
www.ecohousenet.co.uk
TWB Eco House Group:
www.wbecohouses.co.uk [email protected]
32-27 home behaving badly.indd 36 24/7/12 10:11:58
AUGUST 2012 37 32-27 home behaving badly.indd 37 25/7/12 12:08:09
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL38
MATTER IN QUESTION
BY ROGER WEBB, HHIC DIRECTOR
Heating is the backbone of the
GREEN DEALThe much heralded Green Deal scheme is nearly here. Increasingly it is starting to look as though the legal framework will be in place in time to
meet the government’s planned timetable to introduce the scheme in the autumn of 2012. However it seems likely that the start of Green Deal will be a ‘soft’ one, meaning that there will be few schemes in place in the fi rst few
months after it is introduced and there will probably be only be a gradual build up of business during 2013.
38-39 matter in question.indd 38 23/7/12 11:49:22
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 39
This soft start approach
makes good sense. This is
an entirely new scheme with
new (and in some cases complex)
processes that need to be properly
tested. If the Green Deal is to be
successful then it needs acceptance
by both those who will deliver it and
even more so by consumers since
it represents a fundamental change
to the way householders arrange
and fi nance energy effi ciency
improvements to their homes
So why is Green Deal so
important? Well, we can have long
debates about what the future energy
supply mix will look like and how
we will be heating our homes and
businesses in the future. But whether
this future is heating by fossil fuels,
electricity, renewables or other
technologies, the one thing we must
do above all else is to reduce demand
for energy and that means making
our building stock much more energy
effi cient. Once we have achieved
this it takes much of the pressure off
the argument about which energy
sources and heating technologies we
should be using in 2050. It will also
make our homes ready for heating
with low carbon and renewable
alternatives to fossil fuels.
Unfortunately the UK householder
has so far proven resistant to the
calls and even support to improve
the energy effi ciency of their homes.
Also with the UK having some of
the least energy effi cient building
stock in Europe makes reducing
our energy demand for heating a
particularly diffi cult challenge.
Green Deal is certainly a new and
imaginative approach to resolving this
problem. The key question now is not
will it work − but how can we make it
work? Clearly it is the responsibility
of the government to put a workable
framework in place and we will see in
due course whether this is the case.
We have been certainly been very
active, working with the government
to try to ensure an effective
framework. But it will then be down to
industry to work with the scheme to
try to make it a success.
To do this we need to stimulate
demand for the scheme from
consumers and if we are to achieve
this then we need to encourage
the supply industry to adopt it and
to encourage installers of energy
effi ciency products to embrace Green
Deal and see it as an effective way
of doing business. It is important
to recognise that the installer has a
huge infl uence over the consumer’s
purchasing decisions. So in the end,
the installer will have a crucial role
in determining the level of uptake of
Green Deals and hence the extent
and speed by which the energy
effi ciency of the UK’s housing stock
will be improved.
For heating the vast majority
of replacement heating systems
are undertaken by 60,000 micro
businesses. One of the big concerns
is that Green Deal, as a large a fairly
complex scheme, is better suited to
delivery by large companies and so
small ones might miss out and lose
business as a result. We have been
emphasising to the Department of
Environment and Climate Change
(DECC) the crucial role of small
companies within the market and the
need for them to be fully engaged
if Green Deal is to succeed. In
response, DECC has established a
joint government and industry panel
to establish a Green Deal business
model which can specifi cally involve
SMEs. This panel will be working over
the summer
and will report its recommendations
to Ministers.
Heating is so important to
the Green Deal – it is indeed its
backbone and will actually be a
trigger for consumers to take up
other measures. But the most
important question is how can we
persuade consumers to arrange
and fi nance energy effi ciency
improvements differently from how
they do now? This will be no easy
task and changing people’s set
behaviour patterns will be extremely
diffi cult. As I discussed earlier in
this article, installer education is
paramount and by getting engineers
on side, could be the key to
unlocking consumers’ predetermined
thought patterns. How? Quite simply,
the installer will become the trusted
information bearer. Most consumers
are clueless when it comes to their
heating systems. The installer that
comes into a house is the expert of
which the consumer has no option
but to trust in making the correct
decision for them.
Currently, the present structure of
the Green Deal will make it unlikely
that the small installer will be part of
this government’s scheme. This has
to change. There must be appropriate
incentives for the Green Deal to be
attractive to local installer companies.
I believe that we must raise
our trust in installers as the success
of the Green Deal could depend
on how they perceive and present
the scheme to an increasingly
sceptical public.
BY ROGER WEBB, HHIC DIRECTOR
38-39 matter in question.indd 39 23/7/12 11:50:54
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL40
DR ELAINE LANCASTER
40-44 doing the deal.indd 40 12/7/12 14:42:26
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 41
BY DR ELAINE LANCASTER, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AT IDEAL HEATING
The UK recession has recently been double hit and our economic future is increasingly unsure. However, what it
far more certain in this uncertain age is the fact that energy bills will continue to rise. Households across the UK
urgently need to address ongoing running costs in the home, but our homes and buildings are inefficient. This is
where the Green Deal kicks in.
Doing the Deal
“So, with Green Deal forming part of the strategy
for reducing the carbon impact of our existing
housing stock the potential for the heating installer
is enormous. Good, sound traditional heating
design and installation skills will be at a premium
from now on because any improvements
paid for through the Green Deal must deliver
what they promise.”
40-44 doing the deal.indd 41 12/7/12 14:42:38
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL42
DR ELAINE LANCASTER
40-44 doing the deal.indd 42 12/7/12 14:42:51
43 WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK JAUGUST 2012
From autumn, homeowners
and businesses will be able
to borrow money for energy
saving improvements and pay it
back through their energy bill from
the intended energy savings. With
the addition of the Energy Company
Obligation (ECO) subsidy from the
energy supplier intended to integrate
with the Green Deal, this will also
focus on vulnerable and low-income
householders and hard to treat
properties where additional measures
are required to improve energy
efficiency and help reduce fuel poverty.
The government is putting a serious
commitment behind the scheme, kick
starting it with an initial cash-back
incentive of £200 million pounds.
The measures to improve energy
efficiency are critical for existing homes
if carbon reduction targets are to be
met – as they make up the majority
of the housing stock in the UK and
will continue to do so in the future.
To maximise the uptake of these
provisions, the whole process needs
to be made as hassle-free as possible,
from the quoting and installation to the
outlay costs and aftersales.
A recent survey carried out by the
Department for Environment and
Climate Change (DECC) found that
46% of homeowners and tenants
in the UK are looking to make
their home more energy efficient
in order to reduce their energy
bills. This forms a core element of
the government’s Heat Strategy
and indicates that there is a huge
potential in the retrofit market when
it comes to the installation of the
provisions outlined by the Green
Deal. Along with this, in order to
reach set targets by 2050, the
government has also introduced
a series of other schemes to
encourage renewable technology
take up, this includes the Feed in
Tariff (FiT) and Renewable Heat
Incentive (RHI).
This should all help to boost the
low carbon economy and create
a massive demand for new and
retrofit installations carried out
by heating and plumbing firms. It
will be the biggest opportunity for
energy efficiency improvement in
heating and hot water provision
– which accounts for around 70% of
household energy.
As well as undertaking installation
work, the industry will require the
appropriate skills to be called upon
to carry out the calculations of the
possible savings and advise on
“The measures to improve energy efficiency are critical for existing homes if carbon reduction targets are to be met – as they make up the majority of the housing stock in the UK and will continue to do so in the future.”
40-44 doing the deal.indd 43 23/7/12 12:02:49
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL44
DR ELAINE LANCASTER
technical solutions for Green Deal projects.
To improve the building fabric and cut energy
demand from existing homes, improving
insulation, double glazing and draught
proofing are expected to be the focus of the
work – requiring heat loss calculations to
determine energy saving impacts. Heating
system sizing and heating system upgrades
including new condensing boilers and heating
controls can play a significant part in achieving
the energy savings for the customer and
meeting the government energy efficiency and
carbon saving targets.
So, with Green Deal forming part of the
strategy for reducing the carbon impact of our
existing housing stock the potential for the
heating installer is enormous. Good, sound
traditional heating design and installation skills
will be at a premium from now on because any
improvements paid for through the Green Deal
must deliver what they promise. The savings
will be estimated when the finance is made
available. Designers and installers’ calculations
will need to be carried out carefully to ensure
accuracy, so the reality matches the design.
The Golden Rule is that the savings on
the energy bill must outweigh the cost of the
installation, meaning the measures which
make the most significant impact to energy
saving will be the first in line. Good news
for high efficiency boiler installations as the
installation cost is low in comparison to the
overall lifetime savings on the energy bill.
Facilities management firms are also
interested in this market – valued at a
potential £200bn. However, there are simply
not enough skilled people around to deliver
this volume of energy efficiency work. We
will need to step up training and attract
new people and skills into the industry, as
well as looking at how to create ‘template’
solutions that can be replicated and applied to
thousands of projects.
Looking back to the DECC survey, of the
consumers questioned, 59% highlighted a
benefit which is linked to the Green Deal, as
the main reason they make improvements to
their home. When asked what motivates them
to make their home more efficient, although
cost was the main driver, almost 20% of
people highlighted the need for convincing
information from a trusted installer – providing
a real opportunity for experienced installers
with the appropriate skills as they will be
called upon to carry out the calculations of
the possible savings and advise on technical
solutions for Green Deal projects.
Consumers have highlighted that they are
willing and want to improve the efficiency of
their homes, with particular requirements for
a warmer, energy efficient home with reduced
energy bills. High efficiency heating systems
are proven to give energy and utility bill savings
when installed in place of older systems
– showing heating installers they have a key
role to play on the energy efficiency agenda.
“Facilities management firms are also interested in this market – valued at a potential £200bn. However, there are simply not enough skilled people around to deliver this volume of energy efficiency work.”
40-44 doing the deal.indd 44 23/7/12 12:04:13
To be honest, I already
have, at length, with many
people around the heating
industry and the only conclusion I
can draw is that the jury is still out,
because nobody really knows if this
is going to work. What is clear is
that the Green Deal has its critics,
not least those who prefer the idea
of a Big Bang start rather than the
government’s preferred soft launch.
The critics interpret the
soft launch idea as a lack of
commitment from the government.
The Green Deal - enormous opportunity which will reinvigorate the UK’s housing stock and give the heating industry a much needed boost or an enormous white elephant on a road to nowhere? Discuss.
BY NEIL SCHOFIELD, HEAD OF EXTERNAL AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS AT WORCESTER BOSCH GROUP
BOILERS CAN BE THETRIGGER TO KICK-START
THE GREEN DEAL
WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 45
NEIL SCHOFIELD
45-47 neil.indd 45 23/7/12 12:28:38
46
NEIL SCHOFIELD
Personally, I don’t have any problem with it.
With something this big and this complex,
requiring a signifi cant change in mind-set
on the part of the consumer, baby steps are
a good idea rather than just jumping in with
both feet.
What is becoming clear though is that
the government has listened. When the
Green Deal was fi rst mooted it was an
insulation-only solution, but to be fair to the
Department of Environment and Change
(DECC), it has started to see the sense in
using the boiler as the “sprat to catch the
mackerel”. In other words, fi t a boiler and
link it to other energy saving measures
including insulation, lighting and glazing.
With this model, the boiler becomes the
lead generator, or trigger, for the Green Deal.
With 5,000 boiler installations every day in
the UK, which equates to 1.5 million every
year, there is ample opportunity to get in front
of homeowners and sell them the benefi t of a
whole house energy effi ciency solution.
This is why the original DECC model,
which tried to reinvent the supply chain,
was so fl awed. We don’t get heating advice
from our utilities supplier or down at Tesco’s
(“four slices of that Yorkshire ham please
and when you’re done can you tell me which
aisle the condensing boilers are on?”).
No, in the UK, the installer is king. We
get our advice from Pete the plumber who
is invited into the home. There is no cold
calling here. Crucially, there are 130,000
Gas Safe Registered installers in the UK.
90,000 of them are active boiler installers
and potential Green Deal salesmen if we can
only get them on-board.
However trusted an advisor he or she
may be, it is essential to remember that
the average installer is a sole trader and
it is important that the Green Deal is not
beyond their reach. There is a danger that
the Green Deal becomes, in the minds of the
UK’s installer base, a scheme run by the big
players such as the major energy companies.
There is also the added concern that
AUGUST 2012 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL
Photo: Chris Yates
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WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK AUGUST 2012 47
many still don’t see the opportunity
before them. Nobody is asking, or even
suggesting, that the UK’s installer base
go out and retrain to become skilled in
home insulation, lighting and double
glazing. What we have to do is join up
the different tradesmen so that together
they can provide a comprehensive
package for the homeowner.
This is where the Green Deal
suppliers come in, acting as a catalyst
for all the different trades to come
together. The installer does not have
to do anything more than offer the
homeowner a deal along the lines
of, “I can get you £500 off this boiler,
but only if you get loft and cavity wall
insulation within the next six months.”
However, we must also build in
safeguards to ensure that no installer
takes a Green Deal lead to a Green
Deal supplier, only to ultimately
lose the job. If that happens, then
installers will just start rubbishing the
Green Deal and we’ll all lose out.
The installer must be encouraged
to act as an ambassador for the
Green Deal which is why the £200
million kick-start fund announced by
Greg Barker MP, Minister of State
for Energy and Climate Change to
pump prime the launch is a fantastic
opportunity to use the boiler as
the trigger for wider home energy
effi ciency improvements.
To answer the question I posed at
the start of this article, I do believe the
Green Deal can make an enormous
contribution to reinvigorating the UK’s
housing stock and give the heating
industry a much-needed boost. It’s
not fl awless, but the government
should be commended for making
such a forceful commitment to
improving the energy effi ciency of
UK homes and I would urge the UK’s
installer base to get involved.
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