My reports on two conferences on sucessive days organised by the Cultivate Centre.
The first report is in the form of the recommendations I have taken from the discussion as to the successful implementation of energy standards in Local Area Plans.
Sustainable Communities and Mainstreaming low-carbon
buildings, Wood Quay, 23rd
June.
From discussion at the
seminar, it seems that the planning applications for developments within the
LAPs should contain (at least) two distinct conditions in relation to meeting
the energy standards.
- Prior to development condition that
a certificate be submitted that the detailed design meets the
standards - A
requirement for submission of a certificate of testing of air-tightness and
thermal imaging testing of insulation quality at the earliest appropriate stage
of construction, certifying that the work has been done to the levels required
by the detailed design. Doing this at the earliest appropriate stage is
important both in terms of facilitating corrections and also as the Planning
Department’s leverage in enforcement is still strong at this
stage.
Building to these
standards will require
- training
- ensuring the contractual duties and
incentives are there to get the building done to the necessary
quality. - checking of the quality of work at
an early stage so that corrections can be made
The process of building
to these standards will require training for the workers involved, to understand
the value of and reason for airtight membrances, prevention of cold bridging
etc.
It is also likely to
require different contractual approaches whereby all subcontractors would also
be under a legal obligation as regards their impact on the insulation values and
airtightness of the building. If for example someone putting in windows is not
responsible for an airtight seal between their work and the rest of the wall,
then the airtightness won’t work. All parties (contractor, sub-contractor etc.)
should be under an incentive to cooperate to achieve the necessary airtightness
and insulation.
It was suggested that as
Fingal is the largest landowner in many of the LAPs and certainly in the LAP
lands taken as a whole, it is in a good position to work through these details
and get an effective system in operation, with the proper contracts, procedures
and checks in operation. The training would logically be most effectively
provided on-site and this would tie in as well. Fingal should possibly look at
working with the instutions responsible for training in order to get their help
on this.
The speakers at the
Friday morning seminar (Gavin Killip of Environmental Change Institute http://www.40percent.org.uk/ and Paul
Evans of Inreb Faraday Partnership www.inreb.org) consider what Fingal is doing to
be achievable and valuable, but requiring some signficant changes from current
building practices. They are both willing to assist Fingal in this should we
need their advice.
Conference
Towards zero carbon cities, 22nd June, Cultivate
Dick
Gleeson, Dublin
City
Planner
Attended Sustainable
Sweden tour www.sustainablesweden.org
Taking climate issues
seriously and integrating them into planning
system.
Cllr.
Susan Roaf, Oxford
15-20 kWh/m2yr
to run lifts in high-rise (is this correct? What
height?)
Paul
Evans
Kronsberg, Hannover,
Bo01, Malmo
Hockerton, Nottingham, 24
kWh/m2yr
Gavin
Killip
Use of post-construction
testing for air infiltration and thermal
imaging
I gave a presentation in
the afternoon.
Three other
presentations, all clear and informative:
Hugh
McClintock transport
Gerry
Wardell Climate neutral
enterprise
Henk
van der Kamp planning, densities, planning system
etc.
End.