Clearview Midlands January 2014 - Issue 146 | Seite 51

ENERGYEFFICIENCY LATEST ADVICE ISSUED TO HOMEOWNERS REGARDING PART L Building Regulations Energy Efficiency And Your Conservatory. Part L1 Conservation of fuel and power. These regulations cover the energy efficiency of your new conservatory, if you are going to extend the new conservatory into your home without the benefit of external quality doors you will generally need to have a CO2 calculation carried out. This is in two parts, the first is concerned with a “Notional Extension” or conservatory which is an extension that has 25% of the floor area as glazing. This will produce a Notional CO2 figure expressed in kg/year. The second part is the Proposed Extension, which has the required amount of glazing which can be significantly higher up to and including 80% glazing. To compensate for the higher heat loss through the glazed walls and roof it will be necessary to improve the efficiency of the home and conservatory. This can be done in a number of ways such as using high performance glazing, increasing the efficiency of the conservatory over and above that required by the building regulations. Improving the efficiency of the existing home by: • increasing loft insulation, wall insulation, floor insulation, improving the boiler efficiency and improving the efficiency of the doors and windows • Siting of the conservatory can be beneficial, utilising a south facing elevation solar gain can be useful in improving the overall efficiency particularly with the use of solar control glazing. HOUSEHOLDS CONTINUING TO MAKE THEIR HOMES MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT Latest Green Deal Assessment research shows over eighty per cent of people will take action. In establishing Green Deal, the government has set the conditions to grow the energy efficiency market in Great Britain. Although still in the early stages, activity so far shows that consumers are being helped to make their homes more efficient. Over 100,000 assessments have been undertaken since January, with latest research suggesting that households find them helpful in reducing their energy consumption. The latest research on consumer reaction to the Green Deal, ‘Wave Three’, is shows: • 81 per cent of households intend to or have already had at least one recommended measure installed: (65 per cent have had work carried out, six per cent are in the process of installing improvements, and a further 10 per cent intend to install at least one recommended measure); To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com • 78 per cent found the assessment useful, 78 per cent had confidence in recommendations by the assessor, and 76per cent said they would recommend a green deal assessment to a friend; and • When households were asked how they paid for measures, energy company funding (ECO) was mentioned in 22 per cent of cases, with local authority funding (16 per cent), provider/installer finance (13 per cent) and savings and regular income (11 per cent) being the other most common means of payment Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said, “The research undertaken in November shows that Green Deal assessments are highly valued by consumers. Crucially, they are helping people to control their energy costs this winter. “Over 100,000 assessments have been carried out so it’s particularly encouraging that over 80 per cent of people have, are or intending to install at least one measure in homes and that well over a third of recommended measures have now been installed. This is a powerful endorsement of the Green Deal.” Of the £540 million the Government recently announced would be made available over the next three years to boost energy efficiency, £450 million will be aimed at households and private landlords. New schemes will be designed to complement the Green Deal and