The launch of the Government’s Green Deal initiative scheduled to start in October 2012, makes sustainable retrofit a subject that occupies our minds as it will have a huge impact on the building industry.
Technical knowledge and expertise on how to carry out green build and refurbishment will be required for you to meet the demands of the projects and to eminently qualify you to win such contracts.
Members of the FMB Information Services Department visited the Building Research Establishment (BRE) ‘Insite 11 - Rethink Refurbishment’ event in October last year and would now like to update members on the latest energy efficient and ‘green’ refurbishment initiatives which could benefit you and your customers.
The BRE Insite 11 event (See www.insite11.com) featured exhibits from innovative product manufacturers, working on insulating building boards and membranes and new developments in LED lighting. There were seminars on initiatives to promote energy efficient refurbishment.
Of major importance, were two initiatives from the National Refurbishment Centre and the Energy Saving Trust (EST).
NATIONAL REFURBISHMENT CENTRE - ONE STOP SHOP FOR REFURBISHMENT
The National Refurbishment Centre (NRC) is a joint initiative between the Energy Saving Trust (EST), the BRE (Building Research Establishment) and industry partners, working to deliver practical advice on green refurbishment through demonstration projects. They are setting up a website with data from refurbishment projects detailing energy saving measures used, energy reduction achieved, experience of delivering the project and cost effectiveness of the measures. Details from around 500 exemplar projects will eventually be available; currently results from about 50 projects have been loaded onto the database. It will be possible to search for example projects by type of building, refurbishment budget and CO2 reduction needed or use the UK map to locate projects in a particular area. The website is free to use and there is no need to register, see www.rethinkingrefurbishment.com
Future developments will allow organisations, such as housing associations, to upload data about their own projects to share with the wider community.
The website has a lot of other useful news and resources such as best practice guides and case studies and reports on government policy and legislation.
ENERGY SAVING TRUST LEAFLETS FOR BUILDERS AND THEIR CUSTOMERS
Research from the EST showed that 22 percent of households are considering refurbishment projects in the next three years, which translates into building jobs in about four million homes. Many people are also interested in carrying out energy saving measures at the same time as doing up a room or adding an extension. The main barriers to householders carrying out energy efficient alterations are:
If given the right advice, customers may be prepared to stretch their finances and, on average, spend an additional 10 percent on top of a planned budget, to incorporate energy saving measures. The EST has produced some very useful leaflets describing typical jobs, such as upgrading a kitchen, bathroom or other living space, with information on what energy saving measures could be taken at the same time and how much householders are likely to save on their energy bills as a result.
There are two versions of each leaflet; one marked ‘Trade’ aimed at the builder and one marked ‘Homeowner’, designed for the builder to give to the customer. The builder’s leaflet goes into a lot more detail and covers Building Regulations requirements and methods and techniques to use to help reduce energy costs for the customer. The leaflets are being made available on the Energy Saving Trust’s new revised website.
For further information on this topic, see www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
SO CAN BUILDERS MEET THE DEMAND FOR GREEN BUILDING WORK?
According to a survey of FMB members carried out in October 2011:
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60 percent of members are reporting that clients are asking them for advice on energy efficiency
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90 percent of members think that will increase in the future due to rising energy costs and financial incentives
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65 percent of members also say that they will need to know more about energy efficiency in buildings in order to advise clients.
So there is a clear need for further training aimed at giving experienced builders the additional knowledge they need.
FMB TRAINING
The FMB Training Department will be offering ‘green’ training for members by giving them access to practical handson courses, developed BY builders FOR builders and costs are kept to a reasonable level because the FMB is a non-for-profit organisation which works for the benefit of members.
Training courses will cover the following areas:
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An introductory course in energy efficient retrofit designed for experienced builders, giving them practical guidance and understanding of which materials and techniques work best, as well as guidance on accessing the finance available under the Green Deal
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Specialist course in solar and renewable energy installation
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Specialist course in ‘hard to treat’ solid wall and heritage buildings Courses will be available to you from spring 2012, to allow you to prepare for the Green Deal launch in October.
INFORMATION
For more information on the Green Deal visit www.cutcarbon.info.
