Pay as you save proposed for 7m British homes
The UK Green Building Council, a government advisory body, has made a radical proposal to increase energy efficiency in 7 million UK homes. The group has put forward a plan for a scheme that would give homeowners access to up to £10,000 for energy conservation efforts, which they could then repay through increased council tax.
The importance of energy efficiency is finally being recognised as a vital tool for emissions reductions. As we reported last week, the US could save $1.3 trillion and a gigaton of electricity usage a year simply through energy-saving measures in industry. Now that’s a lot of emissions. In the UK, household emissions account for a quarter of our total, largely through lack of insulation and inefficient appliances. Tackling household emissions will be a key part of our low carbon transition.
"This innovative proposal would provide the finance to trigger a revolution in household refurbishment, creating thousands of new jobs and significantly cutting emissions. Both government and opposition have voiced their support for the principles of a scheme like this – what's needed is to get on with it," Paul King, Chief Executive of the Building Council, told the Guardian last week.
The idea is that councils could take a Local Land Charge out on each house so that the costs would be reflected to the house rather than the owner. Then if the house is sold, the additional cost will be passed on to the next owner. It is thought that the huge savings on electricity and gas bills will offset the higher council tax.
The proposal has not had the best response from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), who are wary of using local councils as funding mechanisms. DECC wants energy-saving initiatives to come from power companies.
Developers claim £80 a year bills for new homes
Property developers Saxon Weald have just built some showcase houses in West Sussex that boast such stringent energy-efficiency measures that their annual electricity bills will be as low as £80. Built to meet level five of the government’s sustainable housing code the properties come equipped with solar panels, rainwater harvesting, ground source heat pumps and energy-conserving insulation and double glazing.
With average electricity bills currently around £500 this proves how much can be achieved with decent energy saving standards.
More on the story at the Energy Savings Trust.
Light lane goes into production
One of our first posts on this blog was about a concept product called the Light Lane. An ingenious idea that projects a bike lane onto the road for cyclists so that cars know to keep their distance.
The concept got such an overwhelming response that the design team decided to put it into production, and are now building a prototype. Keep up to date with them at their site - http://lightlanebike.com
The UK Green Building Council, a government advisory body, has made a radical proposal to increase energy efficiency in 7 million UK homes. The group has put forward a plan for a scheme that would give homeowners access to up to £10,000 for energy conservation efforts, which they could then repay through increased council tax.
"This innovative proposal would provide the finance to trigger a revolution in household refurbishment, creating thousands of new jobs and significantly cutting emissions. Both government and opposition have voiced their support for the principles of a scheme like this – what's needed is to get on with it," Paul King, Chief Executive of the Building Council, told the Guardian last week.
The idea is that councils could take a Local Land Charge out on each house so that the costs would be reflected to the house rather than the owner. Then if the house is sold, the additional cost will be passed on to the next owner. It is thought that the huge savings on electricity and gas bills will offset the higher council tax.
The proposal has not had the best response from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), who are wary of using local councils as funding mechanisms. DECC wants energy-saving initiatives to come from power companies.
Developers claim £80 a year bills for new homes
Property developers Saxon Weald have just built some showcase houses in West Sussex that boast such stringent energy-efficiency measures that their annual electricity bills will be as low as £80. Built to meet level five of the government’s sustainable housing code the properties come equipped with solar panels, rainwater harvesting, ground source heat pumps and energy-conserving insulation and double glazing.
With average electricity bills currently around £500 this proves how much can be achieved with decent energy saving standards.
More on the story at the Energy Savings Trust.
Light lane goes into production
One of our first posts on this blog was about a concept product called the Light Lane. An ingenious idea that projects a bike lane onto the road for cyclists so that cars know to keep their distance.
The concept got such an overwhelming response that the design team decided to put it into production, and are now building a prototype. Keep up to date with them at their site - http://lightlanebike.com
And watch the prototype video:
()Shop Team
