Member Article

Green bling isn’t always the answer

As the Governments latest revisions to Part-L Regs 2013 come in to play on April 6 this year, Simon Groom of Castle Building Services, one of the region’s leading building services designers and installers, considers the changes/new targets and how best to achieve them.

With the aim of striking a balance between zero carbon and business growth, these latest changes, first to come into force since revisions in 2010, are not as onerous as originally anticipated/set out.

New targets lower than the 40% intimated by the Government previously, have been set. For non-domestic buildings this equates to a further 9% aggregate improvement. For example, in the case of shallow plan offices, the target is 13%, for deep plan office buildings and hotels it’s 12%, while schools will be expected to achieve 9%. Meanwhile targets are lower in relation to warehouse developments with small buildings expected to achieve 3%, retail warehousing 8% and distribution warehousing targeted at 4%.

From 6 April 2014, carbon emissions on new homes must be reduced by a further 6%. However, to meet these targets we must move away from a reliance on installing renewable solutions.

In the past few years in order to reach Government targets there has been an inclination to ‘load’ new buildings with ‘green bling’. That is, to install every conceivable piece of renewable energy kit such as photovoltaics and wind turbines. In so doing all the Part-L boxes were ticked. However, in my opinion, adopting a low carbon approach rather than relying wholly on renewables will be more beneficial in a number of ways. We are great believers in prevention rather than cure and the bolstering of incumbent systems, on each project, can prevent the need for adding more and more renewables.

Where clients have a need for air conditioning this can be designed to incorporate ‘high’ efficiency variable refrigeration flow systems. Where heating systems are required we can incorporate biomass boilers, combined heat and power systems, ground source or air source heat pumps. Where district cooling or energy loops are required we have utilised flat bed coolers. The latter of the two were installed to great effect on Gateshead’s Trinity Square, as part of the scheme’s overall carbon reduction strategy.

Most systems can be increased in efficiency with correct engineering and this can dramatically affect the amount of renewable technology that is then needed to pass Part L.

For the past six months Castle Building Services has been working with project partners, such as main building contractors, designers, developers and end users, all of whom are more switched on to tackling carbon emission reductions, to trial the changes and therefore has already carried out test case implementation.

Wearing two hats and approaching this from both a building services installer and low carbon consultant’s perspective it is clear that this early involvement and close collaboration by the build team at the outset makes it is easier to find workable solutions to construct buildings which will meet these revised Government targets.

I believe the new targets that have been set are a good compromise on what some considered may have been set. They are achievable with existing solutions; however, there is never a case for saying one solution fits all. Therefore each project should be reviewed on its merits in order to deliver the best compliance model, thereby ensuring the best low carbon solutions are achieved each and every time.

www.castlebs.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Leigh Chelton .