{"id":5909,"date":"2008-10-06T06:54:25","date_gmt":"2008-10-06T11:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/06\/code-for-sustainable-homes-impacts-heating-manufacturers\/"},"modified":"2008-10-06T06:54:25","modified_gmt":"2008-10-06T11:54:25","slug":"code-for-sustainable-homes-impacts-heating-manufacturers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/?p=5909","title":{"rendered":"Code for Sustainable Homes Impacts Heating Manufacturers"},"content":{"rendered":"
by Tal Potishman<\/div>\n

As part of its strategy to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, the UK government has introduced the Code for Sustainable Homes. The code covers many important issues, but one of them has particular relevance to the plumbing and heating industry in the UK. It will impact both new building developments and existing building retrofits.<\/p>\n

Part L1A of the building regulations is currently in force. In effect it already defines a set of targets for each property’s carbon dioxide emission. The property developers have to prove in advance that once it is fully built, the property will emit less than or equal to the carbon emission target.<\/p>\n

Part L1A was set out in 2005, calling for a reduction of 20% in carbon emissions in new buildings. However the Code defines six levels of reduction in carbon emissions with level one demanding 10% up to level six which demands ‘Zero Carbon’ dwellings. The government has set a target that by 2016 all new homes will have to comply with level five, which states 100% reduction in emissions.<\/p>\n

The levels reached per dwelling are based on a points system, which evaluates each property according to the energy efficiency and carbon emissions of its components. A score of 57 is required for meeting level three, while not less than 90 points are required to meet level six.<\/p>\n

Currently available water heating systems are already capable of scoring well on the points system. However, experts say that in order to reach the top levels, there would be a need for further efforts to improve the efficiency of the systems.<\/p>\n

In order to reach the new targets, some developers are voting for renewable energy technologies. For example a solar water heating system generates hot water with almost no carbon emissions. The system can be further enhanced by a high efficiency boiler or a hot water cylinder with an immersion heater to provide a reliable backup for the winters (with short and cold days).<\/p>\n

It would arguably make sense to apply the Code not only to new buildings but also to retrofit and on-going repairs. Replacing an old boiler with a high efficiency unit, or an old cylinder with a highly insulated one, would reduce heating bills and reduce carbon emissions. A brand new high efficiency boiler, such as an A rated condensing boiler, can reduce the emissions and heating bills by around 30%. Along the same line, a modern well insulated cylinder will retain the heat of the hot water overnight unlike an old poorly insulated tank.<\/p>\n

To ensure a successful launch, it is important to verify that the UK heating industry is well prepared for the implication of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Furthermore it is expected that the Code will have a direct impact on the building regulations to be introduced in 2010 further affecting the industry.<\/p>\n

In general, the UK industry is well positioned to benefit from technological developments and the introduction of renewable energy systems. Local manufacturers and engineers are at the cutting edge of technology and will ensure successful uptake and introduction of such technologies to the public.<\/p>\n

\n
About the Author:<\/div>\n
Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, publishes articles<\/a> about boilers<\/a>, Watford plumbers<\/a>, central heating, underfloor heating and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of its strategy to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, the UK government has introduced the Code for Sustainable Homes. The code covers many important issues, but one of them has particular relevance to the plumbing and heating industry in the UK. It will impact both new building developments and existing building retrofits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2060,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[77],"class_list":["post-5909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2060"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5909\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magic1host.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}