Tag: renewable energy

HPH200 : 20 Self build tips (learned from 200 podcasts) – with Ben Adam-Smith
Ben Adam-Smith shares 20 insights about self-building that he has learned while making 200 podcasts and also tackling his own project.

1. There’s always something you can do to move your project forwards

The road to building a house is a long one. There are also times when it can feel like it is never going to happen.

Key challenges include finding land, securing finance, gaining planning consent and hiring a team.

Just remember, where there’s a will there is a way. You can use your time to increase your knowledge or supplement funds, etc!

2. Visit as many self build homes as possible

There are many forms of research but by far the most effective is getting out and about, and visiting real eco homes.

Get inspiration. Chat to self-builders who have made it through the process and discover what they’d do differently next time.

Watch out for events like the International Passive House Open Days or Brighton Eco Open Houses, etc.

Sometimes there will be opportunities to get onto construction sites too.

3. Being flexible where you live should ensure you find land

You might be lucky and have a garden plot to develop. Or perhaps you will buy the first piece of land you see!

For most, though, this is one of the greatest challenges to overcome. And it goes without saying that urban plots can come with a hefty price tag, which is why relocating to where land is cheaper and more easy to come by is a smart move.

Yes, it may mean leaving an area you love or moving further away from work, etc. If you are prepared to make this sacrifice then it may save a lot of time.

4. Don’t dismiss custom build sites

Custom build aims to make it simpler to build your own house. This video explains how it works (with an example in the Midlands).

The benefits are that the land is much more affordable and, with initiatives like Right to Build, the local authority has a duty to make land available to potential self or custom builders.

One of the downsides is that you are unlikely to get a plot in open countryside (which is perhaps what we all have in our minds!). The point here is to get over it! Even if you can only build on the edge of a developer site it is surely better than nothing? And quite often self or custom build streets have a great identity.

5. Hire a good solicitor

Buying land is much like buying a house: legally, there’s a lot to get your head around. Sometimes it can be even more complicated than buying a house!

So, make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. There’s a lot of money to be made in buying and selling land, and that means there are a few sharks out there. Hiring an experienced solicitor, whose daily business is land sales and acquisitions, should give you confidence going into this transaction.

6. Don’t get too ambitious with your build route

There are various procurement routes for building a house.

At one end of the spectrum are package builds and hiring a main contractor, while at the other end is self-managing or even building with your own fair hands.

If it’s your first time building a house, be careful not to take on too much (and perhaps underestimate what’s involved and how it will impact on your enjoyment of the project).

Even just being the client can be a time-consuming and draining process.

7. Embrace constraints

Constraints are not always bad. Yes, you have to be careful of building on slopes and make sure you understand the extra cost that it will incur.

In some projects, the constraints are not necessarily financial. For example, on my own project the majority of land is green belt and only a small section falls within the village boundary. That actually makes the decision of where to put the house quite simple!

Constraints can also add character to a building.

At Lime Tree Passivhaus the house had to arc around the root structure of a dominating lime tree (with a Tree Preservation Order on it). However, the constraints have led to a unique home, full of character.

8. Design a house where you use all the space every day

Architect Sarah Susanka taught me this one.

It’s a great tip because it’s so easy to grasp.

And it lets you have the things you want . . . so long as you use them!

9. Try not to recreate old styles

Building new is a huge opportunity to build for what’s best today.

This includes making the most of light, energy efficiency, comfort, etc.

While Victorian and Georgian housing stock is treasured in the UK, recreating these styles doesn’t make much sense. For example, fireplaces and chimneys are pretty much redundant when buildings can be airtight (and meet Passivhaus standard).

10. Don’t be dissuaded from building a Passivhaus

If you like the idea of building a house to Passivhaus standard, be wary of being dissuaded by those who haven’t done it or people who don’t sell products that can help achieve it.

Take advice from people who have been there and done it. Once you’ve built a Passivhaus, very few people turn back.

11. Like the people you’re hiring

The process of building a house can take years, so when it comes to putting together your team it’s important they are people you can get on with. Yes, they need the skills but everything will feel a lot more enjoyable if there is harmony on all sides.

12. Exercise restraint with your budget

Unless you are experienced with managing budgets or you have a finite sum to play with, it is easy to spend more money than you planned!

A few things run through your mind. You’re only doing this once and it’s your only opportunity to get the things you want. You can pay for it later!

Of course nobody can stop you doing this, but it will have repercussions. If you’re struggling to find land it can be easy to assume more money will solve the problem. A splurge in one area will therefore mean reducing the budget in other areas or spending more overall. Fixtures and fittings is another area where people can get carried away.

Remember, if possible, it’s better to build a slightly smaller house of higher quality than stretching to something bigger and then not being able to finish it properly.

13. Focus on the big decisions

Not all decisions carry the same weight. The land you buy, the build route you select and the team you assemble will have a major impact on your project.

Yes, the devil is in the detail but making the right ‘big’ decisions will in turn make it easier to concentrate on the small stuff.

Check out our podcast with Lloyd Alter from TreeHugger.

14. Hiring consultants can be money well spent

Nobody likes spending money when they don’t have to.

However, consultants can add value (and even pay for themselves!).

For example, on my own project I hired an interior designer. Some people might see this as an extravagance but she has helped us create a low cost kitchen that feels like something much more bespoke (and high end).

15. Keep things simple

It is all too easy to complicate our designs but the most ecological buildings tend to have something in common: simplicity.

If the designs are simplified in the early part of the process they can often end up functioning much better.

Check out our episodes with Nick Grant and Jonathan Hines.

16. Engage in the planning process

The UK system is often baffling. You will find huge variation in how it works, depending on where you are.

One thing is for sure – it really helps if you engage with your local authority. Get feedback on initial designs and also, before any decision is made, check in with the planning officer to make sure everything is in order (from their perspective).

Find out more about my own planning application.

17. Install solar PV

Assuming you have invested in the fabric of the building (and therefore have a high performance home), it makes sense to consider whether there is any potential for generating on your project.

Often the most logical choice is to opt for solar PV because it’s not that expensive, will look better if installed on a new build home, and can pay back in a fairly short space of time.

18. Being 100% ecological is virtually impossible

Having a blank canvas is a huge opportunity to get as eco as possible.

The problem is that there are always trade-offs. And sometimes with more money you just end up increasing the size of the building.

So really this is about doing the best you can . . . and not beating yourself up. Remember, your house will be awesome!

19. Don’t underestimate the time needed

Building a house is a big project. Even if you’re choosing the main contractor or package route, don’t expect it to be a walk in the park!

You will need time. A lot of time.

20. Enjoy the journey

For most people, building a home is a once-in-a-lifetime event!

Of course the end product is important, but there is a lot to gain from the journey too.

You will no doubt grow as a person. You’ll also learn a lot. And you’ll probably face your fair share of challenges.

To get the most out of it, find an outlet for the highs as well as the lows. I’ve really enjoyed podcasting about my adventure. So, perhaps start a blog, keep a diary or just chat it out with friends.

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December 26, 2017
HPH189 : Is an electric car the perfect accompaniment for a low energy home? – with Robert Llewellyn from Fully Charged
Actor and TV presenter Robert Llewellyn shares his insights about the future of electric cars and energy production.

Image source: www.fullychargedshow.co.uk

Interview with Robert Llewellyn

Robert Llewellyn is an actor and TV presenter, perhaps best known for his role as Kryten on Red Dwarf. His Internet project Fully Charged discusses electric vehicles and renewable energy and is expanding beyond its origins on YouTube.

From petrol-head to EV enthusiast

Robert confesses that he once loved cars with big petrol engines. He experienced his first ride in a Prius back in 2001, but it took time to reconsider what he was interested in and, by default, promoting. He got his first electric vehicle (EV) in 2009.

He acknowledges there have been teething problems along the way – the lack of a charging infrastructure initially didn’t help – and comments that well-funded propaganda from the fossil fuel industry has attempted to hold back development.

However, Robert describes the current global car market as being at its peak in terms of the internal combustion engine, and says the wider transition to electric vehicles is finally gathering pace. Eventually, as with asbestos, tobacco, catalytic converters and leaded petrol, the corporations will change. For now, Renault, Nissan and Tesla are leading the way.

Electric vehicles are part of a bigger revolution

By thinking of an electric car as a battery and computer on wheels, Robert can see even bigger change ahead in the form of vehicle automation. Having experienced the fully autonomous Nissan Leaf, Robert says “When you go in it, you go ‘alright, fair enough. This stuff works.’” The car performed way better than any driver Robert has ever seen. He expects total adoption of automation by the trucking industry within five years.

“They won’t sell models, they’ll sell mobility”

To be a success, electric cars will need to completely change the ownership model. It’s not just oil consumption that is unsustainable. Regardless of whether there’s enough lithium to supply batteries at the rate the car market is growing, there isn’t enough steel, rubber or plastic to make enough cars. As 90% of cars on the road are not in use 90% of the time, selling a service (as opposed to a car) is the direction manufacturers will have to take.

With a self-driving car you could use it as much as you do now without owning it or having it parked outside your house. You wouldn’t even need to charge it, Robert says. “It will be charged when it turns up at your house because it will have charged itself.” Getting a charging point at your house is still worthwhile though, as he adds, “It’s very obvious that it’s not going to happen overnight.” It’s likely to be at least 10 years and possibly 20 before we see a significant change in car ownership.

The existing energy production system has hidden costs

When making the TV series ‘How Do They Do It?’, Robert learnt that oil refineries use so much electricity they have to have their own power stations! One in Pembrokeshire uses the same amount of electricity in a year as Coventry and Leicester. Thus, reducing oil refining would enable the greater electricity consumption needed for more electric cars.

This typifies the ‘invisible’ costs of established technology. Petrol stations are considered a normal part of everyday life, therefore the costs aren’t thought about. Yet Robert points out the energy required to supply petrol stations is “catastrophically colossal”.

Energy companies are starting to embrace change

Financial savings are motivating change in the energy industry. Robert gives the example of solar plants. As with coal and nuclear, initial installation is hugely expensive, but once up and running, solar is much cheaper. No fuel costs, no waste management, no storage and no transportation mean massive savings.

In the case of Pacific Edison, the huge American power company who use coal, nuclear and gas plants to generate electricity, “peak management issues” were overloading the grid. They found the cheapest solution was batteries, and this was in fact Tesla’s first multi-megawatt sized grid battery backup.

Renewable energy production is growing globally

It’s encouraging to see the adoption of renewable technologies “at breakneck pace” around the world. Robert points to China where the rate of solar panel and wind turbine installations is “mindboggling”. The UK is gradually producing more renewable energy too: it is actually the biggest offshore wind generating country in the world, taking advantage of the fact that 40% of all the wind in Europe is around the British Isles.

You can run your house off your car and vice versa

Robert says he doesn’t actually see himself as very ‘green’ and even admits to having an Aga! However, he has made gradual changes. He only has electric cars now, and in his house he has improved the insulation, added solar panels, very good windows and a battery on the wall. As a result, his electricity bill has dropped by about 85%.

This form of domestic energy production and storage represent a big threat to the status quo, which he calls massively inefficient: “We have to subsidise all of the fossil fuel plants to a colossal amount of money to keep them running.” Robert’s house is typical of how current technology can be much more efficient, and he describes how some offices in the UK use similar systems and save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year without using any grid electricity.

Tesla Powerwall Battery
Image source: www.inhabitat.com

Local energy production and storage would be more efficient

The big UK energy companies are actually in favour of producing, owning and selling electricity locally as it would save a lot of money. The price of electricity fluctuates from getting paid to use it, to being fantastically expensive. At peak times it is imported at a higher cost than we ever pay for it, by many thousands of percent.

Robert counters recent claims we’d need ten times more electricity if we moved to local production and storage. More intelligent and regular use would avoid the sudden peaks and troughs that are currently so costly and inefficient.

Volume new builds aren’t designed to be energy efficient

Robert doesn’t hold back about the standard of new houses, which he says are “designed and built by morons!” He laments their individual gas boilers, traditional pitched roofs that don’t face south and lack of solar panels.

Robert cites studies showing you can build an efficient house at the cheapest possible cost where the house produces ALL the energy it needs, emphasising, “the people who live in that house will have free heating and lighting for the life of the building.”

Lower energy homes could make a huge difference

By using systems like the ones Robert has, with solar panels, batteries for storage and electric cars, a house can place about 70% less demand on the grid. While this means very little by itself, application on a much larger scale could have a huge environmental impact. A million houses set up in that way would mean closing down two fossil fuel burning power plants.

Find out more

Visit the website of Fully Charged

Follow Robert Llewellyn on Twitter

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Robert Llewellyn

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September 1, 2017
HPH102 : How to Set Up a Community Energy Scheme – with Matthew Black from Fintry Development Trust
Matthew Black explains what was involved in setting up a community energy scheme, and how the community are benefiting from it.

Interview with Matthew Black

The Fintry Development Trust Was Set Up in 2007, Following Negotiations with a Wind Farm Developer

The local community were approached back in 2003 by a developer that was looking to set up a wind farm in the area and was seeking local support. After years of negotiations the community agreed to the wind farm on the proviso that they install an extra turbine on the site, for the Fintry community. The wind farm developer paid for the additional turbine, which the community are gradually buying back over 15 years, together with paying maintenance, interest and land rental costs.

The Fintry Development Trust was set up to manage the remainder of any income from the turbine. With wind energy being very intermittent it is difficult for them to predict the income that they are likely to earn, and which is paid to them twice a year.

It is important to note, that while the developer paid for a 15th turbine, the community don’t own a specific turbine but instead approximately a fifteenth share of the site.

There are a Number of Reasons why a Turbine May Not be Turning!

In response to Ben’s curiosity about why you’ll often see one turbine in a windfarm not turning, Matthew explains that it could be for different reasons. It could be for maintenance, to limit the amount of energy they’re delivering to the grid in order to match lower demand at that given time, or to give preference to a nearby turbine so that output can be maximised based on the wind conditions.

The Village Itself is Not Wholly Powered by Wind

The electricity generated by the windfarm goes straight to the grid. The village then gets its electricity from the grid, so in practice it is not wholly powered by wind.

The Objectives of the Fintry Development Trust are to Make the Community a More Sustainable Place

The Trust manages the income from the turbine, and their objectives are primarily around the environment and renewable energy. Matthew gives examples of some of the projects which they have been involved in:
- Providing £500 grants to households to help them improve the energy efficiency or renewable energy generation of their homes
- Free cavity wall and loft insulation for households
- With the village being off the mains gas grid, they provide energy advice to help people choose cheaper and lower carbon technologies for their homes, such as biomass boilers, ground source heat pumps, solar hot water systems etc
- Installed a biomass boiler, solar panels and insulation at the local sports club which is at the hub of the community
- Installed solar panels on the local school and insulation at the local pub
- Created a community garden
- Set up a local wood supply chain to provide free firewood
Community Garden

Be Opportunistic and Persevere!

Matthew’s advice to other communities that are keen to start something similar:

“It’s really about focusing on the potential of the community and investing in that.”

He also highlights the need to be opportunistic – being aware of the grants available and the opportunities that are there – and not giving up. He suggests finding new ways to engage with the community and being open to people’s views.

A lesson that Matthew learned however was about managing expectations! He explains that sometimes he would be so excited and involved in a project that he had told everyone about it and raised their expectations, only for one reason or another the project to not be viable.

Transparency and Clarity of Outcomes are Crucial

The Trust were set up as a charity, with 7 board members bringing their different experiences to oversee the Trust, and other staff to develop the projects. Matthew thinks that this approach sets a good example in terms of providing transparency and being very clear about their outcomes.

Find Out More

Find out more about Fintry Development Trust

Follow Fintry Development Trust on Facebook

Watch “Wind of Change – Fintry Community Renewable Energy Film”

This 15-minute documentary explains how the people of Fintry embraced a community energy scheme.

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Matthew Black.

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International Passive House Days

Each year Passive House residents fling open their doors and invite people in to have a look around and ask questions. Keep an eye on the International Passive House Association website to find out which buildings near you will be open to view.
October 6, 2015
HPH085 : 10 Environmental Design Myths – with Sofie Pelsmakers from UCL
Sofie Pelsmakers, environmental architect and doctoral researcher at University College London (UCL), busts 10 common environmental design myths. This also serves as a good introduction to The Environmental Design Pocketbook.

Interview with Sofie Pelsmakers

Sofie Pelsmakers is passionate about contextual design, with the focus very much on minimising our impact on the planet. She was inspired to write The Environmental Design Pocketbook after realising there was no single resource that had summed up the arguments and also pointed to deeper reading.

Download Sofie’s PDF

In this session Sofie is dispelling 10 environmental design myths. She has also put together this bonus PDF for further reading.

Myth 1: “Climate Change is in The Future”

With Met Office and NASA data showing that all of the UK’s warmest years have been in the last decade, it is evident that climate change is already here. So the notion that we’re designing for the distant future is wrong.

The job for designers is making sure that buildings in the future will still be performing to the standard they were designed for and that they’re fit for purpose. Ideally we should be designing buildings that take into account future changes in climate or that can be adapted if necessary.

How future climates may vary (copyright The Environmental Design Pocketbook)

Myth 2: “What if Global Warming is Not as Bad as Predicted?”

If we’re wrong about climate change then the worst that can happen is that we’ll have designed better buildings that function in this climate and in any in the future.

Copyright Joel Pitt

Myth 3: “Green Roofs – Are They Green?”

This depends on the kind of green roof, in which part of the country and how well shaded and protected it is. There isn’t one solution suitable for all situations in all regions.

Much of the sedum is imported which will have an environmental impact, and even more so if killed off from being used in the wrong position (perhaps being unable to survive on a thin roof in the south east of England during a drought) and needing to be replaced.

Sofie states the current fashion is of thinking if a building “looks green”, such as with green roofs, green walls, or renewables then surely it must be, however it is just not as simple as that.

An example of a biodiverse and intensive green roof (copyright bere:architects)

Myth 4: “Green Walls”

While they have aesthetically pleasing qualities, a massive amount of energy is actually used in circulating water and nutrients around the plants to keep them alive. Systems can fail because they’ve not been maintained properly, the plants are in very exposed areas, or exotic imported plants are used that are just not suited to the climate. With considerable resources and energy being used to keep them alive or replace them if they die, Sofie suggests a much more robust way of creating a green wall is to use plants from the ground up and along trellises and buildings.

A green wall at Paradise Park

Myth 5: “Micro-Renewables Such as Micro-Wind Turbines Are a Great Idea in Urban Areas”

Sofie feels that there is a danger in sustainable design of going towards gimmicky “look at me” type renewables. In fact the energy used to make and transit a wind turbine to site can actually be greater than the energy it will ever generate, particularly if erected in an urban setting where there isn’t enough consistent wind. And despite millions being spent on renewables there can be unintended consequences, for example in some cases turbines have even been switched off because of complaints about their noise.

The sustainability of wind turbines in urban areas (copyright The Environmental Design Pocketbook)

Myth 6: “Greywater and Rainwater – Is it Always Environmentally Sound?”

If your sole concern is about saving water then these systems will succeed in that objective. Depending on the system used however and when you consider the embodied energy in the extra pipework, the energy used for pumping, the chemical cleaning components etc, you could end up saving very little water for a great energy cost.

A far more effective solution would be a gravity fed system with short retention recycling which would not need the cleaning to be done mechanically.

Myth 7: “Eco-Measures Lead to Energy Savings and Reduced Bills, Right?”

Using a greywater recycling system like the example above, it is evident that bills could actually increase from the costs of energy used to pump the water around, clean it and feed it back.

An unintended consequence is that we think that eco-measures will save energy but actually in a lot of cases people then behave differently.

Myth 8: “Does a Zero-Energy Building Mean its Environmental Impact is Zero?”

While we may save carbon from energy generated onsite (and if offset with allowable solutions), a building has more environmental impacts which cannot all be measured in carbon (health, biodiversity etc.).

Also the current definition of zero carbon acknowledges that you’d have to build at low densities. This in turn makes public transport and walking to services less viable, and increases dependence on cars.

Myth 9: “If I Have Clean Renewable Energy it Doesn’t Matter How Much I Use”

There are around 27 million buildings in the UK, many of which are built to appalling standards. While a lot of people think that there’s no need to upgrade them if we can just decarbonise the grid, they neglect to consider that the high energy demand requires considerable money and finite resources for the substantial array of renewables that would be required. There would also be ridiculous amount of space required to enable those renewables to offset an energy-inefficient building.

[Tweet “Sofie Pelsmakers: “Energy efficiency should be the first consideration before renewables.””].

Myth 10: “Retrofit of Existing Buildings = Unneeded and Boring”

With such a large number of buildings built to a poor standard there is a fundamental need for them to be upgraded in order to meet our 2050 carbon budgets and to address the problems of fuel poverty.

Sofie feels that many architects find retrofitting unrewarding and complicated due to limitations such as expense and existing structure. She argues that actually it brings the architect back to the base principles of insulation details, airtightness and thermal bridging that are often forgotten.

Find Out More

Find out more about The Environmental Design Pocketbook

Follow Sofie Pelsmakers on Twitter (Sofie tweets so much great stuff!)

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Sofie Pelsmakers.

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March 12, 2015
HPH012 : Should You Invest in Renewable Energy? – with Dr Derek Taylor from Altechnica
Dr Derek Taylor from Altechnica weighs up the pros and cons of various renewable energy sources and shares his thoughts on whether you should be generating at home. He also talks about his role in creating one of the UK’s most energy-efficient homes.

Interview with Dr Derek Taylor

Dr Taylor trained at the Architectural Association but got interested in renewable energy and low energy building design in 1972. From then he started to pursue more of a renewables orientated career and did a masters in designing wind turbines and renewables, and came to the Open University. He is particularly interested in bringing together renewable energy and architecture to try and make it much more effective.

There are still Fossil Fuels Available But CO₂ Emissions are the Problem

A lot of people believe we have reached peak oil and that we are now at the point of depletion. There’s still a lot of coal in the ground and a fair amount of gas available but their CO₂ emissions are a big concern for climate change. It’s clear we need to make a step change. The scientists say we need to cut CO₂emissions by 80% in the next few decades.

UK’s Best Renewable Energy Source is Wind

In terms of renewable energy Dr Taylor believes wind energy and offshore wind energy offers the most promise to the UK. He explains that 40% of the potential wind energy resource in Europe is actually in the UK. That figure is looking at land based resources, with even more potential offshore.

Phenomenal Increase in Wind Power

Dr Taylor has recently been updating the wind energy section of the Open University renewable energy course. He noted that in the year 2000 there was about 30,000 MW of wind energy globally whereas in 2010, there was 38,000 MW installed in just one year. Now globally there is over 200 GW. Dr Taylor is impressed with the progress. The UK currently has the largest offshore wind farm in the world, which is off the coast of Thanet (installed by Swedish company Vattenfall), and they’re currently building a third offshore wind farm in the Thames Estuary, called the London Array, which will produce a fair proportion of London’s electricity needs.

Floating Wind Energy Technology Has a Huge Potential

Tapping into floating wind energy technology, the wind energy resources in UK waters would be equivalent to the Gulf Oil reserves but every year.

Renewable Energy Solutions Fit into Different Scales

Generally there are three types of solution: building scale, an intermediate scale – which Dr Taylor calls neighbourhood or community scale – and large scale.

Solar Makes The Most Sense For Buildings

In terms of buildings, solar energy often makes the most sense for electricity generation, hot water and also for reducing space heating loads. In the summertime it can be used for cooling.

Heat Pumps

The temperature of the ground below a certain depth is constant throughout the year, so this provides another ambient source of energy.

Wind Energy Isn’t Normally a Good Solution for Urban Areas

The usability of renewables depends on the location as to whether they will perform effectively. Wind energy can make sense but in most cases it doesn’t in urban areas. Wind energy technology usually starts to make sense at community scale upwards, for example, a medium scale turbine might be appropriate for a village or a town. Costs can then be spread amongst householders.

Former Watermill Sites Could Have Potential for Hydro Power

The best sites for hydro tend to be in mountainous areas, but Dr Taylor suggests that former watermill sites could be good places to generate. It’s important to note that when watermills were in use there was less water extraction so there was more water running through the system. Dr Taylor did a renewable energy study for Merton Council which found that a short stretch (19km) of the River Wandle once had about 90 watermills in operation.

Biofuels Make Most Sense When it’s a Waste Product

Growing energy fuels is very difficult to justify when you haven’t got much land. A forested area can obviously provide wood as a fuel. Dr Taylor believes the situation with biofuels probably makes sense if you can use it as waste, such as food waste and oil waste. You can then process that with biology to produce gases and fuels. In Denmark there are community digesters where manure, food waste and sewage combine to produce methane – the process mimics a cow’s stomach and produces gas that can run small power stations.

Tidal Barrages Expensive to Build and Maintain

The main problem with tidal energy is that it’s been exploited using tidal barrages, like a big dam across an estuary. These are very expensive to build and can impact on the rich eco systems. In France, there is an example of a successful barrage called La Rance.

Tidal Stream Technology Shows Promise

Essentially they are underwater wind turbines which capture the currents as they flow around the coasts. One of the big advantages is that because water is 800 times denser than air for a given size of rotor diameter you get a lot more power out compared to wind turbines because air is very low density. This means much smaller devices can give more power output. The downside is that these devices are situated in difficult locations and have to be able to cope with the water reliably. They’re still in the early stages of development.

Devices Built to Harness Wave Energy Have to Survive The Stormiest Seas

Dr Taylor reckons that wave energy is an even more difficult one to achieve. The energy resources from the waves are substantial but you have to build devices which can survive 24/7 in the most stormy seas.

Failures Important to Progressing the Technologies

Very few of the wave energy projects actually go through the iterative stages that are needed to develop a technology. Lots of funding goes into building one device and that fails and there’s no money to carry on. Those failures are vital to progressing the technology.

We Can Use Fossil Fuel Reserves Much More Effectively

While fossil fuels might still be available, Dr Taylor believes that the price will be the main constraint to using them. He stresses how in other countries they’re actually much further on with many aspects of design, performance of houses and also the use of wind energy.

Combined Heat and Power Makes Use of Waste Heat

One approach for district heating is to use the waste heat from power stations to heat houses. Dr Taylor calculated that if you add up all the energy being lost from the cooling towers around Britain, it amounts to more energy than is used to heat all the houses in Britain. Currently this energy is just allowed to go into the atmosphere or into the sea at coastal locations. In Denmark 65% of houses are heated this way or from large scale boilers. To achieve this heat mains are laid under roads or gardens and each house is then connected up. Part of the difficulty is that electricity networks are privatised and they would rather do what they’ve always done.

Heat Stores Play an Important Part

Dr Taylor explains that Battersea Power Station was a combined heat and power station when it was operating. There was a pipe under the Thames which provided heat for 4000 houses in Pimlico. They’ve subsequently re-installed a small combined heat and power station at Pimlico which delivers the same thing. Part of that scale of development enables very large heat stores to be built in, so that heat can be stored when you’re generating electricity for use later. Heat from other sources such as solar or wind energy can also be used to charge up the heat stores.

Nuclear Energy is Expensive and Funding Must Be Offset to Look After The Waste

In France about 80% of their electricity comes from nuclear, but this doesn’t mean its future is clear. Not only is it expensive but disposing of nuclear waste is still a big problem. How much money will be needed in the future to look after nuclear waste from the past? There are also discussions about what’s going to be the most useful type of fuel after uranium.

Low Energy Buildings Fall into Two Strands

Historically there are two strands of developing low energy buildings. One is known as the super insulated approach that tends to be a lightweight construction with lots of insulation. The other approach is known as passive solar, which is reliant on lots of solar orientation, lots of glazing and high thermal mass. The solar gains are trapped in the thermal mass so that it acts like a storage heater.

Super Passive Solar

In the UK passive solar hasn’t worked well in the spring or autumn times when there tends to be quite high cloud cover. There is also not much benefit in the winter time whereas super insulation then works well. So a super passive solar approach combines the two so you have a high level of thermal mass but it’s inside a super insulated envelope. Dr Taylor worked on a house in Herefordshire which might be one of the UK’s most energy efficient homes.

Super Passive Solar Goes a Step Further Than Passivhaus

Dr Taylor really likes the Passivhaus standard although he finds it unfortunate that they chose the name Passivhaus as it’s easily confused with passive solar. It is really an ultra super insulation approach. The Passivhaus design system doesn’t really take into account the thermal gains from thermal mass, so you can’t get that extra point further of actually optimising the design to get to zero space heating, although a lot of Passivhaus buildings are getting pretty close to that.

With New Builds, Push the Envelope as far as You Can

For new buildings Dr Taylor thinks you have to push the building’s envelope as far as you can because it’s much more difficult to upgrade. If you can design as much insulation as possible and get to Passivhaus standards then it will be well worth doing and shouldn’t cost you a great deal more on top of the building.

If You Have The Money, a Passivhaus Retrofit Can be a Good Investment

Upgrading an existing building to Passivhaus is not a cheap option. However it’s probably better using that money to go into the building’s fabric rather than getting an expensive new kitchen!

Internal Insulation Must be Done Correctly or You Risk Damaging the Building

External insulation is a much easier solution but risks affecting the aesthetics. The problem with internally insulating walls is that there will be a reduction of floor area. Also, with solid walls, for instance, prior to that wall being internally insulated, it’s been kept warm by the space heating of the house but once the insulation is between it and the heating then it’s obviously a cold object and it’s a cold surface. So, unless the internal insulation is done correctly, if any vapour gets into that structure it will hit the cold wall and condense. This can cause rotting problems.

Combined Heat and Power Could Buy us Some Time to Retrofit

Dr Taylor refers back to how we might reduce the CO₂ emissions from buildings. Investing in combined heat and power, and district heating would enable the existing buildings to start to use heating which is actually low carbon. It would also buy some time to upgrade the performance of the existing housing stock.

We Only Have One Chance to Make our Homes Energy Efficient

In order to reach 80% reductions in CO₂ Dr Taylor believes that we must go beyond a little cavity wall insulation. He thinks we only get one shot at this and it should be done properly. The challenge will be funding it. If there were a scheme where everyone was connected to a heat network then there’s a potential revenue stream for the sale of that heat to people which could be used to fund insulation of buildings down the road.

Incremental Improvements Should Have a Long Term Plan

Try and have a plan or a strategy so you’re not going to foreclose on the options. Do the thinking upfront so that improvements compliment each other. If you have a loft that can be insulated then certainly the more upgrades you can do to that the better.

Dr Derek Taylor’s company
- Altechnica
Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Dr Derek Taylor.

Goals for House Planning Help in 2013

Ben Adam-Smith outlines his objectives for making House Planning Help an even better resource. This includes:
- Getting more detail into each podcast episode
- Creating more videos for the House Planning Help YouTube channel
- Hand-picking more industry experts as guest bloggers
- Hosting Google+ Hangouts to debate key issues
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January 2, 2013