hhic journal

APRIL 2013 ISSUE 19

HHICCCO

MET OFFICE

TOM GREATREX MP

CONSUMER FOCUS

GAS SAFETY TRUST

JEAN-MICHEL SEVERINO

TONY JUNIPER

01 Cover.indd 2 8/3/13 14:12:40

HHIC Camden House, Warwick Road, Kenilworth Warwickshire CV8 1THT: 01926 513777 F: 01926 511923E: [email protected]: www.centralheating.co.uk

SECRETARIATDirectorRoger Webb T: 01926 513740E: [email protected]

Deputy DirectorChris Yates T: 01926 513744E: [email protected]

Technical ManagerGlyn Thomas T: 01926 513746E: [email protected]

Membership Services ManagerIsaac Occhipinti T: 01926 513742E: [email protected]

Communications ManagerJodie Wiltshire T: 01926 513743E: [email protected] Administrator Natalie Flay T: 01926 513741E: [email protected]

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DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHER Juliet Loiselle

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Production Co-ordinator Sue Woodgates Tel. 01778 392062E: [email protected]

HHIC is a division of Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA)

Environmentalist,Paul Hawken said: “All is connected ... no one thing can change by itself.” Jean-Michel Severino, former vice president of the World Bank seems to agree with this quote and explores why humanity cannot afford to ignore our natural resources. After all the controversy regarding recent data from the Met Office, its senior scientist Dr Vicky Pope discusses whether our climate is really changing. Is the government doing enough to alleviate fuel poverty? Well, William Baker from Consumer Focus has mixed views and debates what they have done well and what has yet to be achieved. If you

WELCOMEFROM YOUR EDITOR

If you are interested in submitting editorial for HHIC Journal, please contact the Editor, Jodie Wiltshire on 01926 513743 or e-mail [email protected] Editor reserves the right to withhold or edit any material submitted for publication. The Editor’s decision is final.Views expressed in HHIC Journal are not necessarily the official view of the Heating & Hotwater Industry Council.The inclusion of advertising, circulation of any advertising literature or enclosures with HHIC Journal does not signify HHIC endorsement of any of the products or items concerned.

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fancy putting your feet up with a good book then why not read my review on Tony Juniper’s new book: What has Nature ever done for us? Life can be frustrating and Tom Greatrex MP seems to think so, especially over the slow road in developing Carbon Capture and Storage technology as we head towards a low carbon economy. Finally, carbon monoxide has focused much in the news of late and the Gas Safety Trust and our very own technical team at HHIC want consumers to become better protected.

Jodie Wiltshire, [email protected], Twitter: @HHIC

CONTENTS

APRIL 2013 HEATING & HOTWATER INDUSTRY COUNCIL02

Cover image: Robert Shuttleworth www.incidentalimages.co.uk

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Dr Vicky Pope Vicky joined the Met Office in the 1980s and later obtained her PhD in Meteorology from the University of Reading. In the 1990s she became a manager first of stratospheric research and then of climate model development in 1996. Building on her scientific research experience, in 2002 she became a senior manager responsible for various aspects of the climate research programme for various government departments - MoD, Defra and DECC. Vicky led the Met Office contribution of science to the Stern Review on the economics of climate change. More recently, she led work to improve the communication of climate change in the light of its increasing importance in the public arena.

William Baker William Baker is Head of Fuel Poverty Policy and works for the Energy team at Consumer Focus, an independent statutory organisation set up in 2008 to advocate consumer interests in policy-making, particularly those who are vulnerable and at a disadvantage. William leads Consumer Focus’s policy work on fuel poverty and ‘off-gas’. William also chairs the ‘End Fuel Poverty Coalition’ which brings together a wide range of environmental, poverty, trade union and consumer bodies with the aim of advocating concerted action against fuel poverty. William is currently a member of the government’s Fuel Poverty Methodology Group and Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (joint responsibility with Consumer Focus’s Director of Energy Policy) and is a trustee of Eaga Charitable Trust, a major funder of fuel poverty research in the UK.

Tom Greatrex MP Tom Greatrex was a member of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee. His areas of policy interest are manufacturing, Northern Ireland, construction, the economy, film and media, energy and climate change. On 10 October 2010, Tom was appointed Shadow Scotland Office Minister by new Labour leader Ed Miliband. On 7 October 2011, Tom was asked by Ed Miliband to become Shadow Energy Minister, with responsibility for oil and gas, electricity market reform, National Grid, and the consumer issues which arise from this. He is also the Member of Parliament for Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

Jean-Michel Severino Jean-Michel Severino, a former vice-president of the World Bank, is the director general of the Agence Française de Développement ([email protected]).

FEATURES

REGULARS

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HOW IS OUR CLIMATE CHANGING?Dr Vicky Pope from the Met Office discusses whether the recent UK

weather is a sign of things to come

THE FUEL POVERTY CRISIS - WHAT IS TO BE DONE? Consumer Focus’s Head of Fuel Poverty Policy, William Baker talks

about what the government must do to eliminate the problem

CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGETom Greatrex MP explains why the road to this new technology is a

frustrating one

HOLE IN THE ROOF CAMPAIGNHHIC’s national ‘Hole in the Roof’ tackles energy inefficient homes

CONSUMERS MUST BE PROTECTED FROM DEADLY CARBON MONOXIDE Chris Bielby, Chairman of the Gas Safety Trust

tells us about the work of the Trust and how it is helping consumers

INDUSTRY’S NEW SAFETY PROCEDURES TO RECORD CARBON MONOXIDE LEVELSHHIC’s technical team puts safety first with a new exciting project

18

CONTENTSAPRIL 2013 ISSUE 19

CONTRIBUTORS

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30

56

50

36MEMBER NEWS

GOVERNMENT’S PROMISE TO TACKLE THE UK’S DRAUGHTY HOMES The DECC Green Deal team talks about the scheme

CULTIVATING ENERGYJean-Michel Severino explains the advantages of biomass

WHAT HAS NATURE EVER DONE FOR US? Jodie Wiltshire reviews Tony Juniper’s highly acclaimed new book

WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK APRIL 2013 03

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2_3 Contents.indd 3 18/3/13 18:36:43


MET OFFICE

There is growing evidence of a changing climate due to the rapid increase in greenhouse gases since the industrial revolution. Global temperatures have increased inexorably, with each decade warmer than the last since the 1950s. While the rate of warming has slowed in the past ten years, the fi rst decade of the 21st century is the warmest on record.

04-11 The Met office.indd 4 18/3/13 18:38:45

05

BY DR VICKY POPE

WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK APRIL 2013

H o w i s o u r

c h a n g i n g ?



MET OFFICE

The Arctic is showing signs of rapid warming and there is a long-term

decline in summer sea ice. Other observations are consistent with a

warming climate, such as:

Over the past few years, the MetOffice has worked with a numberof sectors and businesses tounderstand how climate changecould affect them. The first stepis to understand the sector’s current sensitivity to weather and then to use our climate projections to analyse how impacts might change in the future.

• increases in water temperature at the sea surface down to hundreds of

metres below the surface;

• an increase in humidity as a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture;

• increases in sea-level as warmer waters expand and land-based ice melts;

• shrinking of glaciers and Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover.

What do these global changes meanfor the weather? Our scientific understanding and models lead us to expect that some types

of extreme event could become more severe as the world warms. In general

cold winters will be less frequent and warm summers more. The water cycle

will increase in intensity. This is likely to lead to more heavy rainfall events.

We are less sure about how the incidence of dry periods and consequent

drought will change. Tropical storms such as hurricanes are likely to increase

in intensity but we are not sure how their frequency will change.



As the world warms up we expect the

UK to experience hotter, drier summers

and warmer, wetter winters over long-term

averages of 30 years. However, as we have

seen in the past few years, variations in the

weather can be very large from one year to the

next. So what we really need to know is how

the nature of these will change.

Recent weather in the UK has been

unusual and in some cases unprecedented

(at least within the historical record). There

was an extended period from March 2010 to

March 2012 when rainfall was below average

in almost every month for parts of the

country. The resulting drought was similar in

intensity to around half a dozen other events

over the last century. Experts, government

and water companies were worried because

their experience told them that ground water

does not recover during even a wetter than

normal summer.

However, last year has been outside their

experience. April and June 2012 were the

wettest in the 100 year record and the year

as a whole was the wettest on record in

England and the second wettest for the UK as

a whole. Floods have been widespread and,

towards the end of the year, even relatively

modest amounts of rain led to widespread

flooding because the ground was saturated

and the rivers were already very high. We are

already seeing a trend towards more heavy

rainfall events around the world, in particular

in countries such as India and China. There

is even emerging evidence here in the UK as

well. Although this is consistent with what

we would expect in a warming climate, there

is not enough evidence to make a direct

link. Research is ongoing to analyse all the

available data and to understand the causes

and potential implications.



MET OFFICE

The extended dry spell

was linked to the cold winters

experienced in 2010/11 and

2011/12. This led to widespread

impacts on transport, energy

demand and supply and affected

the water companies’ infrastructure

in some regions. The impacts were

probably greater because they

followed more than ten years of

relatively warm winters. From the

mid 1980s to the early 2000s the

large scale weather patterns in the

North Atlantic – the so-called North

Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) – favoured

a strong jet stream across N Europe

and the UK bringing warm, wet

conditions as a succession of

weather systems crossed the UK

from the Atlantic. From 2009 these

large scale systems changed and

the jet stream was more inclined to

move further north, favouring cold

dry and still conditions.

So is the recent UK weather a sign of thingsto come?It is not possible to give a definitive

answer to this at the moment.

The large-scale weather patterns

affecting the North Atlantic and

Europe during these events have

very clear origins in the natural

weather events that affect world-

wide weather all the time. What we

don’t know is how these weather

patterns will change in the future.

However, there are some specific

aspects of these events that may be

symptoms of climate change.

There are global factors that affect

the NAO, influencing the position

of the jet stream and our weather.

These include the state of El Nino, a

climate pattern in the tropical Pacific,

and the state of the stratosphere.

There is strong evidence that the 11

Large parts of N Europe were covered in snow in Dec 2010 (MODIS data, NASA).



year solar cycle has an infl uence on

European winter temperatures. Cold

winters were made more likely in the

late 2000s by an extended minimum

in the solar cycle. All of these factors

vary naturally and we are unsure how

they will change in the future. Thus

a strong or extended solar minimum

could give rise to more cold dry

winters. Our climate models are not

able to model El Nino and the NAO

suffi ciently well to make confi dent

projections about how they might

change in the future. However, there

is one potential infl uence on dry

cold winters that is being strongly

affected by climate change – Arctic

sea ice. There is emerging evidence

from observations and model

projections that the decrease in sea

ice increases the likelihood of cold

dry winters in Europe.

The long periods of heavy rainfall

from April onwards show no clear

infl uence of global factors. However,

there are persistent regional factors.

The jet stream was consistently further

south than normal right across the

Atlantic throughout the wet periods.

This brought a series of weather

fronts, smaller scale storms and with

them heavy rainfall, over most of the

UK – although the far north west of

Scotland was remarkably dry. It has

been suggested that the shrinkage of

Arctic sea ice is affecting the position

of the jet stream during summer.

However, this is poorly understood

and is an active area of research.

While unusual weather conditions

can give rise to exceptionally cold

winters, in general the odds of

temperatures as cold as December

2010 have halved as a result of

human-induced climate change.

Similarly the odds of exceptionally

warm summers have increased. The

record breaking temperatures in

2003 are at least twice as likely and

possibly four times as likely.

Can we provide useful information?Over the past few years, the Met

Offi ce has worked with a number

of sectors and businesses to

understand how climate change

could affect them. The fi rst step is

to understand the sector’s current

sensitivity to weather and then to use

our climate projections to analyse

how impacts might change in the

future. We use a risk based approach

since the projections give a range

of possible outcomes together with

their probabilities.

For example we worked with

leading energy companies in a

pioneering study in 2006 which

looked at climate change impacts

on energy generation; distribution

and transmission, and demand. The

study found that the performance

of some equipment, including

thermal power stations (in particular

combined gas turbines) would be

affected. A more recent study in

2012 found that of the fi ve major

weather-related faults on the UK’s

electricity network: wind and gale,

snow, sleet and blizzard (SSB),

lightning, solar heat, and fl ooding;

some will probably increase

in frequency whilst others will

decrease. For example snow could

be less frequent but more severe

when it does occur, lightning could

be more frequent. Other impacts

such as wind are uncertain. One

result of this work is that the industry

is planning greater use of lightning

arresters to minimise the impact of

the increased risk.

We are also helping the

Department of Energy and Climate

Change (DECC) analyse the impacts

of climate variability and change

on renewable energy production.



MET OFFICE

The recent cold winters increased

energy demand for heating, whilst

at the same time led to less wind

across the UK, reducing wind energy

output. If we can improve long term

projections and the magnitude of

shorter term variation (for example

on seasonal and annual timescales)

we can help the wind energy

industry to predict future energy

yields helping to give investors and

banks the confi dence which will

maximise the capital available to

build renewable energy projects and

minimise its cost.

These studies are already

providing useful information.

However, the impacts of the

extremes of weather in the past two

years illustrate just how important

it is to understand the variations

in weather and climate and how

they will change in the future. For

example are we likely to see a run of

cold winters with associated dry still

conditions? The next generation of

climate models are much better at

capturing variations in the NAO and

the jet stream. The prospects are

therefore good for providing more

useful information on extreme events

and variability in the next few years.


WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK APRIL 2013 11 04-11 The Met office.indd 11 18/3/13 18:40:50


CONSUMER FOCUS

T H E F U E L P O V E R T Y C R I S I S — W H A T I S T O B E D O N E ?

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13 WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK APRIL 2013

The UK often claims that it

has the most advanced

institutional framework in

Europe for tackling fuel poverty

– the term used to describe the

toxic combination of low incomes,

poor housing and unaffordable fuel

prices. We have long recognised that

it is an issue distinct from poverty

in general. The government passed

far reaching legislation requiring it

to do everything within its means

to eliminate the problem by 2016

(2018 in Wales). There is a range

of programmes designed to meet

the targets as part of the UK Fuel

Poverty Strategy and we have set

up advisory bodies in each nation

to review the strategy and make

recommendations for improvement.

The fall and risein fuel povertyAt fi rst, progress looked quite

promising. Fuel poverty declined from

affecting 6.5 million UK households

in 1996 to 2.5 million in 2001 the year

the government launched its Fuel

Poverty Strategy, down to two million

households in 2004. But then the trend

started, reversed. By 2010 – the most

recent offi cial fi gures – it had reached

4.75 million. Modelling suggests there

are around 6 million in fuel poverty

today with a staggering 9 million

predicted for 2016 – the date by which

we were supposed to have eliminated

the problem.

So, why has the policy been such

a crashing failure? The chief culprit

is of course high world energy prices

“People with the lowest incomes are the least able to absorb these fuel price rises, as fuel makes up a much more signifi cant proportion of their incomes than for those on higher incomes.”

T H E F U E L P O V E R T Y C R I S I S — W H A T I S T O B E D O N E ?by William Baker, Consumer Focus



CONSUMER FOCUS

and the UK’s increasing exposure

to them. The era of cheap energy

is now over, to quote a former

Energy Minister. Prices started

their inexorable rise in 2004 and will

continue to rise in the foreseeable

future. Just taking the four years

from 2007 to 2010, average

electricity bills rose by 14 per cent

and gas bills by 27 per cent. Yet

benefi ts and taxes increased by

between 3 and 5 per cent, the

average wage by 2 per cent and the

national minimum wage by about the

same amount.

People with the lowest incomes

are the least able to absorb these

fuel price rises, as fuel makes up a

much more signifi cant proportion

of their incomes than for those on

higher incomes. In 2009, households

with the lowest 10 per cent of

income spent on average 8 per cent

of their income on fuel compared

to an average of 3.4 per cent for

households with the highest 10 per

cent of incomes.

The Government responseSo how has the government

responded to this fuel poverty crisis?

Has it upped its efforts to improve

the energy effi ciency of homes

– widely regarded as the main long

term solution to fuel poverty? Has it

taken steps to make sure low income

households off the gas network,

currently dependent on expensive

heating fuels, can access affordable

renewable heating or district heating?

Has it intervened in energy markets

to make sure affordability is a central

priority and that its own energy

policies, paid for by consumers, are

not making matters even worse?

The answers are mixed, but only

with respect to a growing divide

between the UK Government and the

devolved administrations. The latter

are making sterling efforts, as far as

they are able, as only some elements

of fuel poverty policy are devolved.

They have increased public spending

on energy effi ciency programmes

and integrated these with statutory

fuel company effi ciency programmes

paid for by consumers. They are also

using area approaches to deliver

their programmes – the systematic

delivery of programmes on a street

by street, area by area basis. This has

the benefi t of realising cost savings

through economies of scale, ensuring

hard to reach households get help

and allowing the engagement of

trusted ‘civil society’ organisations

in providing support. Both the

Welsh and Scottish administrations

also provide non-area related grant

programmes to make sure priority

households otherwise at the back of

the queue get help.

However, the recent record of the

UK Government, is not so impressive.

Association of the Conservation of

Energy (ACE) research shows that

the total budget for fuel poverty in

England fell by 26 per cent between

2009 and 2013. This includes

resources allocated to income and

fuel price measures – Cold Weather

Payments, Winter Fuel Payments and

Warm Home Discount – as well as

energy effi ciency programmes. The

budget for energy effi ciency measures

alone fell by 44 per cent, primarily

due to the government’s decision

There is also nopublic funding for area

programmes, no replacement standard for the Decent Homes

Standard in social housing which ended in 2010.”


WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK APRIL 2013 15 12-17 Fuel Poverty.indd 15 19/3/13 10:08:26

APRIL 2013 16

CONSUMER FOCUS

fl agship Warm Front grant programme

for low income households.

The government’s own advisory

group concluded in its most recent

2012 report:

“The withdrawal of all taxpayer

funding for energy effi ciency

assistance to low income

households, while the number

of households in fuel poverty

continues to rise, calls into

question whether the government

is fulfi lling its obligation to do all

that is ‘reasonably practicable’ to

eradicate fuel poverty by 2016 as

required under the Warm Homes

and Conservation Act 2000”.

So, how has the UK Government

responded to the fuel poverty crisis

in England, apart from abolishing

Warm Front? First, it made fuel

companies responsible for installing

energy effi ciency measures in low

income consumers’ homes as

part of its Green Deal and Energy

Company Obligation (ECO) initiative.

Second, it commissioned Professor

John Hills to carry out a major

review of fuel poverty policy, with a

particular focus on the defi nition of

fuel poverty.

Green Deal and Energy Company ObligationThe theory behind Green Deal has

many merits. Consumers pay for

energy effi ciency improvements by

paying off ‘loans’ for those measures

through the savings the measures

will make on their fuel bills. The new

Energy Company Obligation (ECO),

paid for by energy consumers,

complements the Green Deal

fi nance mechanism by requiring fuel

companies to provide grants and

subsidies to certain consumers on low

incomes and those in ‘hard to treat’

“The government has promised a new Fuel Poverty Strategy in keeping with its intended new approach to measuring fuel poverty but at the same time made it clear that there willbe no new money.”

Image Chris Yates



homes. These are homes built with

solid walls or ‘diffi cult to fi ll’ cavities,

although Green Deal and ECO are not

designed to offer heating systems to

consumers in the other hard to treat

category, namely ‘off-gas’ homes.

The Affordable Warmth part of

ECO effectively replaces Warm Front

in England. The Community Saving

Carbon Obligation part of ECO will

make sure a certain proportion of

ECO carbon savings are achieved in

low income communities. However,

the total notional value of these funds

is estimated at £540m and this has

to cover all of Britain. This is about

half the value of the combined total

of Warm Front and the previous

energy company programmes for low

income consumers.

The problem with Green Deal

is that it is now the only show in

town – at least in England. For the

fi rst time in over 30 years there

is no taxpayer funded energy

effi ciency programme for low income

households. The government expects

ECO to remove between 125,000

to 250,000 households from fuel

poverty by 2020 – 5 per cent of the

current level at most. Green Deal

itself will not help because many low

income consumers ‘under-heat’ their

homes and therefore cannot secure

suffi cient bill savings to pay off loans.

Few will risk the indebtedness they

associate with Green Deal ‘loans’ (the

government prefers to refer to these

as Green Deal ‘charges’), while many

will not meet the strict Affordable

Warmth eligibility criteria.

There is also no public funding for

area programmes, no replacement

standard for the Decent Homes

Standard in social housing which

ended in 2010 and no mechanism to

encourage the installation of affordable

(to run), low carbon heating systems in

the homes of low income consumers

in off-gas areas. The new Renewable

Heat Incentive will be out of their reach

because it will rely on consumers

having the capital to pay the high up-

front costs of renewable kit.

The Hills fuelpoverty reviewAt the time the review was

announced, many fuel poverty

advocates felt that it represented

a distraction from the priority task

of designing and implementing

effective fuel poverty policies

and programmes. For two years,

government policy was effectively

frozen on the grounds that ‘we

must get measurement right fi rst’.

Notably, this didn’t extend to calling

a halt to the decision to abolish

Warm Front.

In fairness, the fi nal report

of the review did represent a

comprehensive and rigorous

analysis of fuel poverty including

the negative physical, social

and psychological effects of

unaffordable energy costs. It

emphasised the benefi ts of tackling

fuel poverty: “better living standards

and conditions for people with low

incomes, an improved and more

energy effi cient housing stock,

fewer winter deaths and reduced

costs for the NHS.” It also stressed

the importance of putting in place

a well-designed energy effi ciency

programme that prioritised

assistance to fuel-poor households.

However, the review also

produced a new defi nition of fuel

poverty that hardly anybody outside

DECC considered acceptable. It

failed to refl ect affordability in its

defi nition of ‘reasonable energy

costs’ and produced an indicator

that barely changed over time

or refl ected the impact of any

concerted policy interventions. The

government has promised a new

Fuel Poverty Strategy in keeping

with its intended new approach

to measuring fuel poverty but at

the same time made it clear that

there will be no new money. The

devolved administrations meanwhile

have stated that they are not at all

convinced by the new defi nition

and intend to stick with reformed

versions of the existing one.

Ending fuel poverty and cold homesThe End Fuel Poverty Coalition

believes that with concerted

political will it is possible to end

fuel poverty. Our central call is for

the government to end the misery

of cold homes. We want to see a

national retrofi t programme that

will improve our homes to the

energy effi ciency standards of

homes built today. We also want

to see concerted intervention in

energy markets so that affordability

becomes a central concern. That

means action to ensure socially

equitable tariffs and a fairer

allocation of low carbon transition

costs between taxpayers and

energy consumers (taxpayer

funding is more progressive than

energy consumer funding). And we

want to see income measures that

help all low income consumers – a

diffi cult call at a time when many

predict welfare reform will further

exacerbate fuel poverty.

We work closely with the Energy

Bill Revolution alliance, which brings

together over 100 businesses,

poverty and environmental

groups, trade unions and health

organisations. The government

expects to receive around £60bn by

2022 through the auctioning of EU

Emission Trading Scheme permits

and the Carbon Floor Price. The

alliance advocates the recycling

of these ‘carbon taxes’ to invest

in a national retrofi t fuel poverty

programme. A programme of this

scale will virtually eliminate fuel

poverty, quadruple the impact of

Green Deal and ECO on carbon

emissions and create 130,000 jobs.

A study by Cambridge

Econometrics compared the macro-

economic impact of the retrofi t

programme with other potential

economic stimuli packages, such as

investment in infrastructure projects

or cuts in taxation. The study

found that the energy effi ciency

package represented the most cost

effective method of getting the

economy moving again. It reduced

gas imports, freed up disposable

income to spend on other goods

and services and created jobs

– mostly in local economies – in an

industry operating below capacity.

In conclusion, we want Green

Deal and ECO to work. However,

they are nowhere near suffi cient

to meet either our carbon or fuel

poverty targets. If the government

is serious about transforming the

energy standards of our homes and

ending the misery of fuel poverty,

it must marshal resources that

are commensurate with the scale

of the task, put in place effective

delivery mechanisms and make sure

complementary action is taken with

respect to fuel prices, income and

health. Only then will the misery of

cold homes become a phenomenon

of the past.



OPINION: TOM GREATREX MP

When Alistair Buchanan of Ofgem made his recent speech about the possible capacity crunch shown in some of his models, he

cited the delay in the development of Carbon Capture and Storage as one of the contributory factors. It has indeed been a frustrating

couple of years on the road to CCS.

BY TOM GREATREX MP,SHADOW ENERGY MINISTER

CTHE FRUSTRATING ROAD

TO CARBON CAPTUREAND STORAGE

C C

CC

C

Photography: Robert Shuttleworth and Chris Yates

18-23 Carbon Capture.indd 18 19/3/13 10:09:23

These images need a credit. Photography: Robert Shutterworth

“We don’t have the luxury of accommodating more procrastination from the government.

CCS has the potential to signifi cantly lower our carbon emissions and create jobs and skills here in the UK, and to export that expertise

around the world.”

Despite the huge potential

of the technology as a vital

step in the UK’s transition

to a low-carbon economy, we are

well behind where it was envisaged

the UK would be by now. While the

potential is both well-known and

frequently trumpeted, the frustration

remains that CCS has yet to be

demonstrated on a commercial basis

and that while the Department of

Energy and Climate Change (DECC)

talk of the importance of CCS,

current government support appears

half-hearted and to have lost its way

somewhat. With the mixed messages

from the government, CCS has

become both the forgotten relative

and the holy grail at the same time.


Image: Robert Shuttleworth




In 2011, when Ibedrola (the Spanish owners of

Scottish Power) and the Treasury decided to cease

work on the project at Longannet in Fife, confidence in

the likelihood of CCS becoming a commercial reality

took a knock. The decision highlighted the complexity

inherent in moving from demonstrating a technology

in prototype to a commercial scale project – but that

does not mean, as some have argued, that CCS

should be abandoned as a nice idea that is never

going to happen. It is far too important to give up on.

As well as the prize of reducing our own emissions

and ensuring the longevity of a broad mix of energy

sources in the medium term, the benefits of making

CCS work have a wider commercial opportunity for

the UK. The competitive advantage and considerable

academic expertise that we already have, means we

are on the verge of what could also be a valuable

exportable technology.



Despite the huge potential of the technology as a vital step in the UK’s transition to a low-

carbon economy, we are well behind where it was envisaged the UK would be by now.”

Image: Chris Yates




I have been pressing the UK

Government to come clean about

its support for CCS and in order to

maintain our lead in CCS expertise

then potential projects need to see

both commitment and clarity from

the government so that progress

can be made. The very real danger

is that we will lose our competitive

edge to other countries that have

the same need as we do to reduce

carbon emissions from large scale

power stations and heavy industry.

Indeed, recent work on industrial

CCS in China was, it transpires,

actually funded by the UK Embassy

– yet there is no such similar work

underway in Britain.

While there remain a number of

hurdles, some of them engineering

challenges and others in the

management of complex projects, at

the very least the government should

be ensuring there is a clear outline

of the budget for CCS projects. It

is insuffi cient for the government

to repeat its mantra that there is

a £1bn fund for the development

of CCS on a commercial scale,

when their own documents show

otherwise. When they can’t confi rm

whether the commitment to four

projects as envisaged in the Coalition

Agreement remains, it is little wonder

that confi dence in the government’s

commitment is questioned.

When the Longannet project

stalled, the Energy Secretary at the

time, Chris Huhne, was clear that

the £1bn allocated to CCS was safe

and there would be no Treasury

backsliding. It was only days later

that Danny Alexander admitted

he had raided the CCS budget in

his Autumn Statement to pay for

infrastructure projects.

For almost a year I questioned

Ministers on exactly how much of the

£1bn was available and when, yet time

and again they avoided the question.

It was only when I obtained a secret

Cabinet Offi ce document that the

real picture emerged. This document

made clear that there is only £200m

available to support the development

of CCS in the UK until 2015, during

what is known in Treasury circles

as the current CSR (comprehensive

spending review) period. And there

is no clarity on the level of funding

beyond 2015, because the spending

review has yet to happen. During the

committee stage of the Energy Bill

last month I pressed Energy Minister

John Hayes, and he fi nally admitted

that he could not guarantee that the

remainder of the £1bn originally set

aside would be available during the

next spending round.

Of course, the future of CCS is

about more than the capital funding

made available for the fi rst projects.

The way in which the contract

for difference will work and the

treatment of CCS in relation to the

Emissions Performance Standard

set out in the Energy Bill are also

crucial. But chopping and changing

hardly helps inspire confi dence. The

government’s failure to support CCS

has also had a devastating impact on

the ability of UK projects to access

vital EU funding through the NER 300

programme. The Commissioner for

Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard,

told me in a letter that Member State

“has to confi rm for each and every

project in consideration for funding

on an unconditional basis the co-

funding needed to implement the

project. Absent such a confi rmation,

the NER 300 rules say that the

Commission may not consider a

project for funding.” The failure of the

government to provide this support

resulted in the Don Valley project,

scored by the EU as being the most

likely project, receiving nothing at

all. After the UK was in the lead to

ensure that European funding would

be available for CCS in the fi rst

place, it is galling that the lack of

commitment from the government

has meant no UK CCS project

receiving the EU funding which

could be the difference between a

development going ahead or not.

Finally, it is essential that the

government comes forward with a

detailed set of proposals on storage

infrastructure and capacity.

There is real potential in various

parts of the country, for example in

Humberside or the West of Scotland,

for CCS clusters to develop. The

location of signifi cant carbon

emitters within a small geographical

space, for example a power station

and a large steel plant provides an

opportunity to safely store these

pollutants in a cost effective manner.

DECC has said it is supporting

studies into the development of CCS

clusters. What we now need to see is

the conclusion of these studies and

a clear path to how these can be set

up across the country.

This government’s approach to

CCS has been marked by dither

and delay, but time really is now

pressing. We don’t have the luxury of

accommodating more procrastination

from the government. CCS has the

potential to signifi cantly lower our

carbon emissions and create jobs

and skills here in the UK, and to

export that expertise around the

world. Without clarity and purpose

from government, the danger is that

potential simply won’t be realised.

“The very real danger is that we will lose our competitive edge to other countries that have the same need as we do to reduce carbon emissions from large scale power stations and heavy industry.”



Image: Robert Shuttleworth



BY JODIE WILTSHIRE, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

CAMPAIGN

www.holeintheroof.org.uk

hole_in_the_roof_A5_flyer.indd 1 25/10/2012 16:06

What’s the use of a fi ne house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?

Henry David Thoreau

Daughter

24-29 Hole in the Roof.indd 24 19/3/13 10:13:23

25

Green messages have been proved to turn people off. We can watch endless programmes about polar bears struggling to survive as their

natural habitat melts beneath their fluffy feet. We see parched faraway lands where crops cease to grow and children go hungry. Bleached and dead coral reefs, once teeming with curious marine life,

disrupt ecosystems - a litmus test of the well-being of our oceans.


Droughts, floods, death and

destruction are a just remote

control button away from the

comfort of our sofa. We all watch, but

do we take on board what seem like

distant consequences of natural and

manmade disasters?

Does the almost daily bombardment

of these desperate images desensitise

us? Most of us focus on matters closer

to home - we need to look after our

own immediate wants and needs.

Some of us have the awareness to

see the bigger picture but when push

comes to shove many of us don’t.

So, do we lack the imagination

to see further than our Facebook

world? Is this an indictment of the

21st century mankind? I think this

question is a bit bleak and believe

there is hope. We need to work with

people differently and get them to see

how simple changes can deliver for

them. A lot of people making these

changes out of justifiable self-interest

will slowly but surely contribute to the

bigger picture.

When I was considering these

issues, I had the idea for an energy

efficiency campaign and how

we could interest people without

saturating them in several shades

of green. Hole in the Roof is about

wasting less energy and becoming

more efficient in the home. It has

the bigger picture in the background

but concentrates on how to make

people’s immediate environment

better. It is all about meeting material

needs to provide comfort. We can

Coliseum scene



CAMPAIGN

all easily relate to having a warm

and comfortable home as this is

one of Maslow’s fundamental levels

of need in his paper: ‘A theory of

human motivation’, to having a

happy and healthy life.

The purpose of the campaign is to

tap into the different motives people

have when becoming more energy

effi cient in their home. In other words,

its aim is to appeal to all members of

society taking into consideration all

their lifestyle choices.

Hole in the Roof is an innovative

and ongoing campaign and was

launched on November 12 2012.

It raises awareness of energy

effi ciency by encouraging people to

make changes in their homes that

will save money, improve their living

conditions and reduce greenhouse

gases too.

Through Hole in the Roof,

HHIC’s message is that consumers

can change their behaviour

and stop wasting energy that

is metaphorically disappearing

through the roof, as well as hitting

them in the pocket. Leading

environmentalist, Tony Juniper who

supports the campaign agrees and

said: “When it comes to meeting our

energy challenges the best thing we

can all do is avoid wasting energy

in the fi rst place. A huge amount

of the power and heat we generate

does no good at all, it lights empty

rooms, powers TVs that no one is

watching and goes through walls

and doors, and that is not only an

issue for our environment, it is also

a massive waste of money.”

HHIC is an organisation that

represents the heating industry and

it wants the public to think more

about how they heat their homes.

Most people rarely do, unless their

boiler breaks down or they have

a much higher energy bill than

expected. Consumers who have an

old, ineffi cient boiler need to consider

replacing it with a new condensing

model. Alternatively, a new renewable

technology may seem adventurous

but it could be a cost-effective solution

for their property especially if it is off

the gas grid. But we all can’t afford

such measures and there are other

cost-effective ways to save energy.

One cheap way to cut heating costs

is to purchase a fairly inexpensive

set of controls. Other measures

could include draught proofi ng,

sealing an unused chimney or using

radiator refl ectors. Our campaign is

highlighting all the ways we can make

our home more energy effi cient.

Green architect and broadcaster

Charlie Luxton who also supports

the campaign believes: “When it

comes to energy effi ciency human

beings are not perfect but we need

to take greater responsibility for

our actions. I think many people

are aware that what we do has a

negative impact on the environment

but they feel a sense of helplessness.

We all make excuses because we

often feel defensive when our moral

judgements are questioned. This

campaign highlights what people can

do in their immediate environment

and so improve living conditions for

not only their family but wider circle of

friends too.”

Consumers can view the Hole

in the Roof website and click on

any technology or heating system

measure to fi nd out what change

could suit them best.

The cartoon style website has

a two dimensional house where

consumers can click on various

heating technologies such as

thermostats, solar thermal, showers,

heat pumps, controls and many

other measures. This user friendly

website will enable the public to

fi nd out more about how they can

become more energy effi cient and

save money. It also provides advice

from our designated experts on

the fi nancial and environmental

Roman baths

Roman man



benefi ts. Our experts may be people

you recognise, like TV star and Daily

Mirror journalist Jasmine Birtles, or

a leading heating manufacturer.

Not only does Hole in the Roof

campaign provide an interactive

website, we have also commissioned

a humorous animation called ‘The

Romans’ by talented animator Adam

Bailey. We all know a family like The

Romans - in fact it could be ours

- who fi nd their bills too large but sit

in the house in their shorts and also

have a window open. Mum and

daughter spend far too much time in

the shower or bath and they don’t turn

down the thermostat. We can all relate

to behaving like this occasionally and

many consumers will see themselves

in these characters.

Energy prices are continuing to

rise and fuel poverty in the UK is a

real concern for the more vulnerable

members of society such as the

elderly, disabled, children, low

income and the infi rm. The purpose

of Hole in the Roof is also to include

inexpensive ways people can make

their homes much better, for example

by placing tin foil behind radiators.

Dr Ros Altmann the former

Director General from Saga said:

“We support the idea of making

older people’s homes more energy

effi cient as it can help them afford to

live more comfortably and in better

health. It is important however, that

people research any free services

available to make their homes energy

effi cient (such as those on offers

from energy companies or grant

funding) and ensure they get the best

deal possible and a quality service

on things they are paying for. The

information available on the Hole in

the Roof site can be used to help

decide what can be done to your

HHIC’s mission is to become more energy effi cient in the home and it was decided

to take a look at how our modern day creature

comforts, got so comfortable. The Romans were a good

place to start as they invented central heating. After some serious sketching from myself, the animation started to take more shape and the

cartoon was born.Adam Bailey

The modern day Romans in the bathroom

Roman woman



CAMPAIGN

home to help with heating costs and

how best to go about making these

home improvements.

“Infl ation rates remain higher for

the over-50s, refl ecting in part the

fact that utility prices are still much

higher than a year ago. We know

from our own research just how

much of a burden energy prices

are on the fi nances of those faced

with fi xed or dwindling incomes,

especially older generations, of

whom 29% are having to raid

savings every month in order to

make ends meet. Energy saving

measures like double glazing,

insulation and draught proofi ng

could make a dramatic difference

in giving them a much-needed

reduction in their bills. “

The Hole in the Roof campaign is

all about making simple changes in

the home more energy effi cient. We

want people to become enthused

about changing their behaviour

and that collectively we can make

a difference. Realistically, we

can’t force people to change their

behaviour but we can try to tap into

the reasons they might want to.

Our industry must work together

in order to engage the public into

thinking more about how they heat

their homes. People take heating

for granted, but it fulfi ls one of

our most basic needs, having a

warm and cosy home. In these

diffi cult economic times, we are all

concerned with saving money. Hole

in the Roof will show people how

inexpensive measures can make a

real difference, as well as identifying

the grants available for the more

expensive technologies.

Can change happen? For those

of you who see the bigger picture

then there is a real possibility it

might and this certainty of hope

could provide a solution to the

unpredictable future of our planet.


Our industry must work together in order to engage the public into thinking more about how they heat their homes. People take heating for granted, but it fulfi ls one of our most basic needs, having a warm and cosy home.



An elderly couple were struggling to keep warm in their older property in a rural location just outside

Oxford. The husband has cancer and it was important that his home was warm. They could not stop

worrying about being able to pay the bills. HHIC explained to a concerned friend of the couple that there

were lots of inexpensive things they could do to save energy. The Hole in the Roof website has some

great tips to stop draughts, such as blocking key holes and using jumpers as draught excluders. The

friend also passed on HHIC’s advice about contacting an Energy Saving Trust assessor. The assessor

visited and saw how hard it was for them to keep warm. She helped them to fi ll in forms to apply for

heating grants and benefi ts. The friend said: “Thanks to HHIC’s advice the couple are warm, comfortable

and no longer worry about how they will pay their energy bills. Hole in the Roof made such a difference

to their lives during this cold winter.”

Mum

Campaign supporters

Charlie Luxton Jasmine Birtles Ros Altmann Tony Juniper



BY CHRIS BIELBY, CHAIRMAN

GAS SAFETY TRUST

CONSUMERSMUST BE PROT

EC

TEDFROM DEADLYCARBON MONOXIDE

“We are becoming aware of new sources of carbon monoxide poisoning. It is believed that around 12 people died in the past year from carbon monoxide poisoning where the source was a disposable barbecue.”

30-35 Gas Safety Trust.indd 30 19/3/13 10:15:34


PROTECT

EDFROM DEADLYCARBON MONOXIDE



GAS SAFETY TRUST



This is a huge achievement

compared with the 100 deaths

in 1971 and is to an extent

due to the legislative changes and

proactive decisions taken by the

industry itself over the past forty years.

The landlords’ safety check,

boiler scrappage scheme and

improvements in carbon monoxide

detection technologies have all

raised public awareness. Altogether,

this has led to a substantial

reduction in the number of people at

risk from carbon monoxide created

by natural gas appliances.

This does not mean that we can

become complacent. Evidence from

the Department of Health suggests

that a significant number of people

are subjected to lower levels of

exposure and may not even be

aware that this is happening. This is

because carbon monoxide poisoning

is often misdiagnosed at lower levels.

The symptoms are similar to those of

a common cold or flu - headaches,

tiredness, difficulty thinking clearly

– and are unique in each case.

Medical professionals suggest that

giving the difficulties in diagnosis,

many people are living unaware that

they are being poisoned.

This level of under reporting poses

a challenge and we have worked

closely with the medical profession to

highlight the importance of identifying

carbon monoxide poisoning. It is

obviously not just the individual who

is presenting themselves with the

symptoms who is potentially at risk;

children and the elderly may be more

susceptible to these lower levels.

Carbon monoxide poisoning from

natural gas appliances is not the

only way this dangerous situation

can occur and the success of

tackling the risks from appliances in

the home must now be extended to

other causes.

We are becoming aware of

new sources of carbon monoxide

poisoning. It is believed that around

12 people died in the past year

from carbon monoxide poisoning

where the source was a disposable

barbecue. This is commonly caused

by people taking a smouldering

barbecue into their tent to cook or

keep warm. The lack of ventilation in

such a confined space is the perfect

condition for carbon monoxide to

be produced from the remaining

unburned fuel. It is estimated that 1.2

million Brits go camping on a regular

basis where a CO audible alarm

would make a critical difference.

may be more susceptible to these lower levels.”

Children andthe elderly

The most recent information regarding fatalities from carbon monoxide in the UK shows that last year there was only one death linked to natural gas.


PROTECTEDFROM DEADLY

CARBON MONOXIDE


GAS SAFETY TRUST

With campers storing gas or carbon

based fuels in tents, even when

extinguished, a CO alarm would make

a big difference to help protect them

from the risk of carbon monoxide

poisoning. Camping equipment

frequently carries many common

sense rules to reduce risk and through

education and awareness raising of

carbon monoxide poisoning fatalities

and injuries can be prevented.

Standards and checks for

the effectiveness of CO alarms

have developed to refl ect this. A

spokesperson for the Council for

Gas Detection and Environmental

Monitoring (CoGDEM), which has

seen the development of carbon

monoxide alarms progress in Europe

for use outdoors, said:

“CoGDEM is pleased that EN

50291-2 has recently been published

as a safety standard specifi cally for

CO alarms which are to be used in

temporary accommodation such as

caravans, motorhomes and boats.

CO alarms which comply with this

tough standard are now available and

are also suitable for temporary use

in tents.”

Detection is not a substitute for

prevention through thorough checks

of equipment and taking sensible

precautions, but these alarms

could be a valuable contribution

for preventing death from carbon

monoxide poisoning in this

environment that would not otherwise

be anticipated.

Given the changes in the industry

and the evolving challenges we face

to prevent death and injury from

carbon monoxide, The Gas Safety

Trust is now taking a new strategic

direction. The Gas Safety Trust will

seek to support and enhance the

methods of educating and raising

awareness of carbon monoxide.

This is important work and our

refocusing will add great value

through complementation.

Our purpose will remain the same,

as we remain committed to helping

improve fuel safety and reducing the

number of incidents involving carbon

monoxide exposure.

In the past, we have been involved

in a wide variety of projects from

consumer awareness campaigns to

providing carbon monoxide alarms to

vulnerable groups in the community.

However, given that there are a

number of other organisations working

in this area, we have decided that the

main focus of our activities will now

be on funding research and projects

that will provide evidence to support

these other bodies in improving and

promoting fuel safety.

Our efforts will be focused on

becoming the trusted source of

evidence based fact for fuel safety in

the UK. This evidence will be used to

inform and implement safety initiatives

for the betterment of consumer safety

in the UK.

We will work in partnership with

other organisations to ensure that

the evidence gathered is used to

improve safety.

The Trust believes this is where

we can make the best use of our

resources and can generate the most

value. It also makes best use of the

expertise at the disposal of the Trust.

Because of the threat of carbon

monoxide, our emphasis will no

longer be solely on gas. It will include

all fuels such as oil and solid fuel.

The most recent Downstream

Incident Data Report (DIDR) included

an assessment of domestic solid fuel

and oil heating incidents (as reported

by HETAS and OFTEC), which offered

a broader picture of carbon monoxide

safety issues and has helped shape

our GST focus.

It is clear from the successes of

the past that lives can be saved.

The DIDR report and the media

coverage of incidents show that

while CO is clearly an avoidable

cause of injury and death, it is still

occurring. The Gas Safety Trust

can be a driver of information but

it takes collaboration with industry

and others seeking to prevent

these incidents to deliver results.

Recognising the developing causes

of carbon monoxide together and

putting into practice methods

of improving awareness will be

essential. Our renewed focus

and the support we can offer to

developing research in this fi eld will

help protect people from this silent

and avoidable killer.



“The Gas Safety Trust can be a driver of information but it takes collaboration with

industry and others seeking to prevent these incidents to deliver results.”



HHIC TECHNICAL TEAM

Carbon monoxide awareness has stepped up quite a pace recently. The press have reported a few tragedies about camping accidents in the UK. Disposable barbeques have been

taken inside the closed, environment of a tent for warmth resulting in the fatal consequences

of carbon monoxide poisoning.

36-39 Industry Safety.indd 36 8/3/13 14:41:40


Carbon monoxide awareness has stepped up quite a pace recently. The press have reported a few tragedies about camping accidents in the UK. Disposable barbeques have been

taken inside the closed, environment of a tent for warmth resulting in the fatal consequences

of carbon monoxide poisoning.



HHIC TECHNICAL TEAM

Christmas 2012 saw the ITV soap,

Coronation Street weave into

its storyline a carbon monoxide

incident. Fiz Brown a popular character in the

soap collapses due to gas poisoning. She

foolishly let her friend Tyrone mend her boiler

but he was a car mechanic and not a trained

heating engineer.

The Heating and Hotwater Industry’s

Council’s (HHIC) technical team are always

thinking about how industry can improve

safety on a variety of issues. What kicked

off a new project regarding changes to the

commissioning of gas boilers from April

2013 are mainly safety concerns as well

as the introduction of new competency

requirements. These stipulate that a heating

engineer must be profi cient in the use of fl ue

gas analysers.

So what does all this mean? HHIC has

worked in partnership with other bodies,

including Gas Safe Register, Energy and

Utility Skills, UKLPG and COGDEM. After

all the teams’ hard work, all parties involved

agreed to new requirements to measure and

record CO levels, along with combustion

ratios, when gas engineers commission

a new boiler installation. From April 2013

boiler manufacturers are recommending that

engineers should measure the level of CO in

the chimney/fl ue gases and the combustion

ratio using an electronic combustion gas

analyser (ECGA – often known as a fl ue gas

analyser of FRGA).

The measured CO level and the

combustion ratio should then be recorded

on the appropriate commissioning

documentation (e.g., an HHIC Benchmark

Commissioning Checklist, as supplied with

every boiler in the UK).

Benchmark ChangesThere will also be changes to Benchmark

which is the nationally recognised scheme

that places the responsibility on both the

manufacturers and installers to ensure best

practice in installation, commissioning and

servicing of domestic heating and hotwater

products, in line with Building Regulations

in England and Wales. It is managed and

promoted by HHIC.

Benchmark requires that installers

complete a Benchmark checklist when

commissioning a new heating appliance

installation. Failure to install and commission

according to the manufacturer’s instructions

and complete the Benchmark Commissioning

Checklist will invalidate the warranty for gas

boiler installations.

Benchmark also runs a quality scheme

for installers who wish to demonstrate their

commitment to raising standards. HHIC

boiler manufacturers already require engineers

to correctly complete the Benchmark

Commissioning Checklist as a condition of

the manufacturing warranty – hence the new

requirement to record CO and combustion

ratio on the checklist will also form part of

these warranty conditions.

The new measures are designed to improve

CO safety in relation to new installations of

condensing boilers. The Health &Safety

Executive and Department for Business

Innovation & Skills have been involved in these

discussions and fully support the industry’s

steps towards improving CO safety.



MeasurementHHIC technical panels and other industry

bodies wanted a very strong process for

the measurement of CO, using an ECGA

when commissioning a condensing

boiler. For example, how fl ue integrity can

be verifi ed and how the process of CO

testing is carried out, and when advice

should be sought.

But HHIC cannot stress enough that

all boilers go through rigorous testing and

adhere to standards. These are factory

set to ensure very low CO emissions.

However, these further checks on the

boiler and chimney/fl ue will help to identify

any problem that may have arisen during

installation and will give the householder

reassurance that the heating system has

been left in a safe condition.

The proposal to implement these new

CO safety measures follows logically

from the recent ACS requirement for

gas engineers to be competent in using

ECGAs, via CPA 1. It also supports the

conclusions of the All Party Parliamentary

Carbon Monoxide Group report:

‘Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.’

All this will be great news for the

consumer. It is important to keep the

momentum going that the powerful

storyline in Corrie started and we hope to

see lots more CO awareness articles in

the press.

“After all the teams’ hard work, all parties involved agreed to new requirements to measure and record CO levels, along with combustion ratios, when gas engineers commission a new boiler installation.”



GREEN DEAL

“Eight core cities across England have also been given over£12 million to help them kick-start the Green Deal in their regions.”

40-43 Green Deal.indd 40 19/3/13 10:27:04


The Green Deal, the Coalition Government’s fl agship new energy effi ciency initiative, is here. As of 28th January 2013, homes and businesses have been able to sign up for a Green Deal and transform their property. The Green Deal is revolutionary and will play a huge role in upgrading the UK’s ineffi cient buildings, which currently account for a huge 43 per cent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Government’s promise to tacklethe UK’s draughty homes

“The Green Deal is revolutionary and will play a huge role in upgrading the UK’s ineffi cient buildings, which currently account for a huge 43 per cent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.”

BY THE GREEN DEAL TEAM, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DECC)

It removes some of the biggest

barriers to demand for energy

effi ciency measures, for

example by providing access to

up-front fi nance, and is creating a

new, exciting market.

The Green Deal is a massive

opportunity to transform the UK’s

buildings. Millions of homes do not

have full double-glazing. More than

half do not have enough insulation

or an effi cient condensing boiler.

Most do not even have proper

heating controls. Homes and

businesses across Britain are

wasting energy and money, yet

demand for energy effi ciency

measures remains low.

By giving people the opportunity

to pay for highly desirable energy

effi cient measures, such as double

glazing and new heating systems,

with the savings on their energy

bills the Green Deal is providing

a really attractive proposition. All

Green Deals will have to pass the

40-43 Green Deal.indd 41 19/3/13 10:27:16


GREEN DEAL

“It’s a vital time in the world of energy efficiency and the Green Deal has enormous potential – it could see British homes and businesses save enough energy to power 1 million homes in 2020.”

40-43 Green Deal.indd 42 19/3/13 10:27:31

43 WWW.CENTRALHEATING.CO.UK JAPRIL 2013

‘Golden Rule’, which limits the

amount of Green Deal finance that

can be offered by a provider to

the estimated energy bill savings

likely to result from the installation

of new measures. This means that

customers will get a good deal.

The Green Deal is designed to

tackle some of the big worries

people say put them off making

their homes more energy efficient.

Can they get reliable, impartial

advice? Will the work be done

well? Can they afford it?

To ensure Green Deal is a

success, DECC have begun a

number of initiatives, designed to

drive consumer demand for the

Green Deal.

Hundreds of pounds of

cashback is currently available

to householders in England and

Wales who make energy saving

home improvements under the

Green Deal (a separate cashback

scheme applies in Scotland).

Households quick off the mark

could get over £1,000 cashback.

It is a first-come, first-served offer

and the more work households

have done, the more cash back

they could receive.

£10 million of funding to improve

the energy efficiency of homes

across local authority areas is

helping kick start energy efficiency

projects to tie in with the launch of

the Green Deal.

The money is being used

specifically for Green Deal

household energy efficiency

assessments to see where energy

savings can be made in the

home, whole house retrofits to

demonstrate the benefits of energy

efficiency and local events and

other activities to raise awareness

of the Green Deal. Money has been

awarded to 39 successful projects,

covering over 150 local councils

across England.

Eight core cities across England

have also been given over £12

million to help them kick-start the

Green Deal in their regions. The

cities – Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds,

Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle,

Nottingham and Sheffield – are

taking forward ambitious proposals

to lower their carbon emissions

and this funding is supporting

their plans to test key elements of

the Green Deal. Their proposals

include retrofitting properties

across whole communities to raise

awareness of the Green Deal.

A £3M budget for a Green Deal

communications campaign was

announced in December and

this work began 28 January with

wide coverage in broadcast, print

and social media channels. The

‘Green Deal with it’ national press

campaign launched on 29 Jan with

insertions in all national and daily

titles (including Scotland and Wales

titles) over the following four weeks.

The ‘Green Deal with it’

campaign has moved into

digital channels this month and

continues throughout April. Display

advertising appears on sites that

reach our three target audience

groups efficiently; those searching

for the Green Deal, home

improvements and key energy

saving improvements.

Looking ahead, the Green

Deal will be at the Ideal Homes

Show which starts mid March at

Earls Court in London. The Green

Deal will be sponsoring the Low

Cost Living Home highlighting

improvements that can be made

under the Green Deal and linking

to Green Deal Participants who are

at the show. Next up will be Grand

Designs Live, at London’s Excel

in May, where the Green Deal will

sponsor the seminar theatre; there

will also be a Green Deal trail

linking participants present.

DECC has also agreed media

partnerships for Green Deal

paid-for coverage this spring.

This activity will give space to

explain the Green Deal, the kind of

improvements that can be done,

and the benefits gained.

Our second phase of advertising

will appear in national press and

magazines from March. All of our

advertising drives consumers to

call the Energy Saving Advice

Service on 0300 123 1234 or to get

online at gov.uk/greendeal to find

out more.

All Green Deal promotional

material produced by DECC is

available for use by partners and

businesses who are participating

in the Green Deal – and can be

accessed at gov.uk/promoting-the-

green-deal.

It’s a vital time in the world of

energy efficiency and the Green

Deal has enormous potential

– it could see British homes and

businesses save enough energy to

power 1 million homes in 2020.

The Green Deal is encouraging

consumers by providing

more options for making

home improvements. And it’s

empowering businesses by

enabling them to compete for

energy efficiency opportunities in

new and innovative ways.

40-43 Green Deal.indd 43 19/3/13 10:27:47


BY JEAN-MICHEL SEVERINO

BIOMASS

From climate change to volatile oil prices, all signs point to a looming global energy crisis. Confronting the growing challenge means that humanity can no longer afford to ignore the inexhaustible resource found in the organic material that the sun provides

each day through photosynthesis. Solar energy enables plants to absorb carbon gas and thereby produce not only oxygen, but also matter that the

animal kingdom uses for food – and that our machines can use for energy.

44-49 Severino.indd 44 8/3/13 14:44:51

45

“Biomass, on the other hand, has several advantages. Supplies of it are large and available throughout the world.

Moreover, the technology necessary to convert it into energy – including high-yield burning, gas conversion, and liquefaction into synthetic fuel – has long been mastered.”


44-49 Severino.indd 45 8/3/13 14:45:04


BIOMASS

Since the Neolithic (or late

Stone Age) period, humans

have been cultivating this

“biomass” in order to feed itself.

Yet, even in today’s world, its energy

potential is ignored. Beginning with

the industrial revolution, humans

sought energy from coal, and later

from oil and natural gas, but this

leads to the exhaustion of non-

renewable resources.

Existing alternatives for

diversifying energy production are

limited. Nuclear energy presents a

number of disadvantages, owing to

concerns about safety and disposal

of radioactive waste. Hydroelectric

power is already widely used, while

wind and solar energy are structurally

sporadic and disparately available.

Biomass, on the other hand, has

several advantages. Supplies of it

are large and available throughout

the world. Moreover, the technology

necessary to convert it into energy

– including high-yield burning,

gas conversion, and liquefaction

into synthetic fuel – has long been

mastered. Widely used during

World War II, this technology has

since advanced considerably.

Biomass energy, however, is the

victim of unfair competition from

fossil fuels. Oil’s price refl ects its

extraction, refi ning, and distribution

costs, but not that of creating the

raw material. Millions of years

and 200 tons of plant matter are

necessary to produce one liter of

oil, whereas just 15 kilograms of

plant matter are required to make

one liter of synthetic fuel.

After the oil glut, with oil below

$20 a barrel, interest in developing

energy from biomass ebbed,

attractive only to “green” militants

and those interested in fundamental

science. Yet the potential is

immense. The planet’s biomass

– forests, pastureland, savannas,

and crops – make up productive

capital that generates a 10%

“return” every year. Like a battery

that runs out and is then recharged

by the sun, this supply is renewable

indefi nitely, as long as it is managed

properly. The annual return on this

capital is currently estimated at 60

billion tons, yet only two billion tons

is consumed for food purposes and

10 billion tons for energy.

Increasing the responsible use of

this energy source would contribute

to the fi ght against climate change

by reducing the amount of carbon

in the atmosphere and diminishing

the amount of fossil fuel required

to produce energy. Moreover, its

“Confronting the growing challenge means that humanity can no longer afford to ignore the inexhaustible resource found in the organic material that the sun provides each day through photosynthesis.”

44-49 Severino.indd 46 8/3/13 14:45:21


“The ancient Egyptians and the Incas practiced a religion of the Sun, believing it to be at the

beginning of all life on Earth.”

44-49 Severino.indd 47 8/3/13 14:45:36


BIOMASS

“Increasing the responsible use of this energy source would

contribute to the fi ght against climate change by reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and diminishing

the amount of fossil fuel required to produce energy.”

44-49 Severino.indd 48 8/3/13 14:45:51


abundance in southern countries

promises to facilitate their economic

development. Considered the “energy

of the poor” until today, biomass could

become a source of wealth if it is

grown and harnessed with the support

of the international community.

Thus, “energy crops” could be

developed to produce biofuel.

Residue from forest, agricultural,

and agro-industrial activities could

be collected and converted. For

example, the six million tons of

waste produced annually by Niger

could theoretically be used to meet

that country’s entire energy needs.

However, in many places,

energy cropping would certainly

compete with food crops. Long-

term estimates project that over a

50-year time horizon, most of the

planet’s arable land would have to

be used to feed the world and for

forest conservation. Thus, areas

dedicated to energy production,

particularly biofuel, may not reach

the level that societies would wish.

But, while such competition would

reveal new global scarcities, it would

also bring higher prices, thereby

encouraging producers to increase

yields and productivity.

Thus, while cultivating energy

would create new constraints, it

would also open new possibilities

for many economic actors. The

farmer and the forest worker could

become more involved in the

market; the mine engineer could

begin to take an interest in crop

fi elds, the banker in plant shares,

etc. But, in order to prepare for a

scaling up of energy cropping, new

policies must be implemented, both

in northern and southern countries,

in terms of agriculture, land and

water management, protection

of biodiversity, fuel taxes, and

information and awareness-raising.

The ancient Egyptians and the

Incas practiced a religion of the Sun,

believing it to be at the beginning

of all life on Earth. Science has

since proven this to be the case.

Nowadays, when it has become

more important than ever that we

embrace renewable resources, we

should use the Sun to cultivate our

energy, just as our ancestors used it

to cultivate their food.

Jean-Michel Severino, a former vice-president of the World Bank, is the director general of the Agence Française de Développement

([email protected]).

Copyright: Project Syndicate

www.project-syndicate.org

44-49 Severino.indd 49 8/3/13 14:46:07


BOOK REVIEW

What has

ever done for us?

What has

ever done for us?

50-55 Book Review.indd 50 19/3/13 10:28:24


ever done for us?

The tiger snakes found at Kangaroo Island can make heating systems more effective accordingto Tony Juniper in his new book: ‘What has Nature ever done for us?’ The snakes who are unable to warm their bodies themselves must fi nd other solutions to the job of thermal control.

According to Juniper,

although the snakes

are very secretive they

are under intense scrutiny by

researcher, Peggy Rismiller. The

snakes come in different colours

and they can fl atten the fi rst third

of their body to reveal black skin

between the scales. When they do

this, they can heat themselves up

even in weak sunshine and become

an effective solar collector. Rismiller

notes that if we could understand

this we could use the methods

developed by the snakes to make

solar heating technology more

effi cient, to collect heat during the

day and then use it at night.

Juniper’s book is bursting with

examples like this and it presents

a fascinating journey through the

natural world, showing us that we

are in nature’s debt for providing us

with its services for free. Juniper

is a clever environmentalist – he

understands that many people

switch off over messages about

a declining planet but this

book provides the economic

consequences in doing so. He also

describes its beauty in sometimes

beguiling detail.

A fact at the beginning of a

chapter shows that 27 per cent of

Heads of Global companies say that

the loss of natural diversity could

cut business growth. This book is

particularly important for industry

leaders who understand that

sustainability has to become part

of their business model. What is

happening to our natural resources

$3.7 Trillion: value of Carbon Capture Services gained by 2030 through halving the deforestation rate

$6.6 Trillion – ANNUAL GLOBAL

ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE CAUSED

BY HUMAN ACTIVITIES

(11 PER CENT OF WORLD GDP)

50-55 Book Review.indd 51 19/3/13 10:28:42


BOOK REVIEW

is truly terrifying and this book

doesn’t pull any punches but it does

offer hope in how we can conserve

nature and provides case studies in

how some countries are benefi tting

by a new approach.

One of the examples Juniper

provides is the natural carbon

capture and storage of rainforests.

Guyana is a poor country in

South America but has extensive

rainforests and the soils and

minerals have huge economic

value. One of the concerns is

that if the practice of logging and

mining increased to a larger scale

there would be less carbon storage

in the forest and more in the

atmosphere. Juniper explains that

Guyana’s President Jagdeo invited

an international partner to help to

pay to keep the rainforests intact.

Norway came forward and agreed

to pay Guyana $250 million over fi ve

years to keep its forest undamaged.

Juniper reveals: “This fi gure was

arrived at in part through calculating

the value of the work done by the

forests to capture and store carbon.

By paying to keep that work going,

the world would get an economic

benefi t refl ected in the payments

being made by Norway.”

Norway’s fi nancial incentive

has also resulted in modernisation

of Guyana, which has resulted

in moving its energy sector to

renewable energy, solar energy

for indigenous families and more

low carbon jobs. Juniper often

highlights the positive in this book

but he does not shy away from

describing the problems too.

In other parts of the world this

particular programme would have

higher costs and research reveals in

South East Asia the price of slowing

down deforestation would need

to be set well above the levels of

Guyana. But as Juniper concludes

it would be less expensive than

to invest in carbon capture and

storage technologies.

This book is interwoven with

facts, case stories and economics

but it is also one that feeds the

imagination too. From a literary

perspective there is an almost

story-telling element of exotic lands

and almost fantastical creatures and

landscapes. The clarity of language

in this book prevents any alienation

from what are really quite complex

subjects. From the crisp, matter

of fact tone to the magical almost

folksy descriptions of trees called

azaroles, chinkapins, cornelian

cherries, medlars, mulberries and

other exotic delights grown in

experimental plots in Devon.

You are also taken all over the

world to habitats unfamiliar and

ones that cry out for a possibility

of far fl ung travel. “Bright purple

and shining emerald feathers

dashed and darted between

fl owers.” Juniper’s description

of hummingbirds visiting a bush

in the Colombian Andes in an

area of subtropical cloud forest is

particularly vivid.

Leaving the moments of

whimsical to more grounded

concerns, it is not an unknown

fact that we have become less

dependent on fossil fuels to meet

governments’ carbon emission

targets, yet the demand for energy

will increase. Juniper states: “Soil

is probably the least appreciated

source of human welfare and

security.” Soil provides carbon

capture and storage and “one

estimate holds that at the global

level it would be possible to take

“There is a species of tiger snake that in cooler climates might offer new ideas on how

to make heating systems more effective.”

50-55 Book Review.indd 52 19/3/13 10:28:59


$274 Billion: contribution to Global GDP from fishing, fish processing and sales

50-55 Book Review.indd 53 19/3/13 10:29:13


BOOK REVIEW

WHAT HAS NATUREEVER DONE FOR US?Author, Tony Juniper with a foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales. www.profi lebooks.com

in and store some 5.5 billion tonnes

of carbon dioxide equivalent in soil

every year.” As Juniper explains this

is a massive opportunity in a world

that is struggling to prevent the

devastating effects of climate change.

Juniper in his conclusion

discusses how modern economies

are controlled by governments

and private sector companies

who are both driven by ‘short-

term incentives’ and ‘pressures’

resulting in a false economy. It is

human nature to look after those

in your immediate vicinity and to

achieve instant profi ts and this ‘short

termism’ is how today we conduct

economic activity. Juniper and

other signifi cant thought leaders

want companies to think more about

natural capital as an ‘underpinning

service for the economy.’

The attitude held by many is to

take as much natural resources

as possible while it is still there.

The reality according to Juniper

is that we need to shift towards a

bioeconomy where human economic

development and nature fuse.

Juniper uses the example of

consumer goods giant, Unilever

who is standing out as a leader by

setting out a Sustainable Living

Plan with the goal of cutting its

environmental impact by half by

2020. This new nature- friendly

approach invited questions from

journalists who wanted to know what

this would mean for quarterly profi t

forecasts. But the CEO ‘suggested

that investors only interested in

short-term returns should take their

money elsewhere.’ Other major

companies are following this example

such as Puma and Marks and

Spencer. Business leaders who are

forward-thinking realise that nature is

important to the performance of most

companies and the issue is ‘how

we can benefi t economically while

keeping the environment intact.’

Technology is important by

transforming how we collect our

natural resources for example by

better farming practices but nature

cannot be replaced by technology.

The carbon capture and storage

properties of rainforests and soils,

photosynthesis and the productivity

of our oceans are essential yet fragile.

Nature provides us with so much

but it requires ‘careful management

of natural systems so that it can

carry on providing us with what

we need.’ Juniper wants ‘the

bioeconomy to support human

needs with the use of natural capital

based on taking only dividends and

where costs in terms of damage to

natural systems never exceed the

value of the benefi ts gained from

keeping them intact.’

This book does not let up and

it is no easy ride and rightly so

- why should it let us off the hook

as we are all responsible for our

planet? As you progress throughout

the book you start to realise

from the soil beneath our feet,

photosynthesising plants, the sun,

pollinating insects, forests, to the

water in vast oceans, nature has a

huge price tag on its head and we

can profi t from its value. But if we

continue to abuse its generosity

as we have been doing the world

over then nature also has a raging,

unpredictable face and it will make

us pay for man’s folly.

Jodie Wiltshire

“Bright purple andshining emerald feathers

dashed and darted between fl owers”

50-55 Book Review.indd 54 19/3/13 10:29:34


“The attitude held by many is to take as much natural resources as possible while it is still there. The reality according to Juniper

is that we need to shift towards a bioeconomy where human economic

development and nature fuse.”

50-55 Book Review.indd 55 19/3/13 10:29:47

It has been a diffi cult economic

climate throughout 2012 and

many of you have experienced

demanding market conditions. HHIC

has been playing its part in looking

for ways to stimulate the market. A

possible solution for creating stimulus

has been to secure heating within the

fl agship Green Deal scheme. HHIC

and its partners convinced ministers

and offi cials from the Department of

Energy and Climate Change (DECC)

about the potential for heating which

gave heating installers the opportunity

to become a trigger for the Green

Deal. It also ensured that heating

would receive its share of the incentive

funding for the scheme. DECC has

embraced these proposals and it

was encouraging to see a number

of heating products benefi tting from

the Green Deal cashback scheme

announced in October 2012.

During the past twelve months and

for the fi rst time in many years heating

has featured very prominently in the

government’s energy and environmental

policy programme. HHIC has

continued to build and reinforce its

relationships with the government both

at the civil servant and political levels.

It is encouraging to report that we are

increasingly perceived as the leading

association with whom the government

consults with on all policies affecting

the domestic heating market. This

very much refl ects the strength of our

member base and the knowledge and

infl uence that members have on the

market. It is crucially important that

HHIC maintains this relationship to

help ensure that the government is

realistic over what it can deliver. It

is also important that our industry

has more certainty about the policy

landscape to improve confi dence

about its business planning.

2013 is set to become another

challenging year. We know that market

trading will be tough and even more

so with little in the way of government

incentives. But against this bleak

backdrop, there are a number of

serious initiatives that will be launched

and one that has been already.

The Green Deal was launched on

January 28 2012. HHIC was invited

to the launch events which attracted a

large level of political support. There is

no doubt that the government would

like to see this initiative succeed.

However, HHIC has also recognised

that the policy has elements that are

currently not working and solutions

need to be found. As of yet, small

installation companies are feeling

excluded from the scheme. The

reasons are varied but many focus on

the high entry costs and punitive levels

of regulation in order to be eligible. The

frustrations are that the heating installer

is one of the most regulated of all trades

and yet the Green Deal is seeking extra

bureaucratic, box ticking in order to

allow them to participate.

HHIC has been working closely

with the DECC communications team

on how to engage with the heating

industry. In February, DECC attended

a meeting with the PR and marketing

representatives from HHIC members.

This allowed for a frank discussion

on what DECC needed to do to help

manufacturers disseminate a positive

message to their installers whom they

meet on a very regular basis. Further

action is scheduled for later this spring

on how to take this forward.

We are also expecting the launch of

the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive

(RHI). This ground breaking piece of

legislation is due in the summer. It has

taken a number of years for the scheme

to become a reality and there are real

hopes that this incentive could fi nally

start to help those who wish to install

renewable heat technologies.

HHIC has launched a Biomass

Heating Group in order to assist with

the process. One of the reasons for

forming this group is because DECC

has indicated that it would prefer a

single group with whom to negotiate

and act as the collective voice

representing companies involved in

the biomass heating industry. We will

be working alongside ICOM and other

stakeholders such as HETAS.

There is still a lot of work to be done

to ensure that the RHI is successful

and we are eagerly waiting DECC’s

consultation response to see if our

messages have helped to shape the

legislation. Most of all we hope that the

fi nal scheme will see generous tariffs for

all technologies and will be launched

nationwide and not as a pilot.

Finally, DECC are going to be

publishing a ‘Heat’ options paper this

spring. Early indications reveal that

it could look at ways of developing

policy that meet the aims of the Heat

Strategy published last year. It will

be interesting to see which direction

DECC will take. It could move

towards regulation or a less punitive

approach. One thing is for certain,

HHIC hopes that it will acknowledge

the 15.4 million ineffi cient boilers

currently in use and that any move to

reduce our carbon output could start

with incentivising their replacement.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank HHIC members for renewing their membership for 2013. We are always grateful for this continued support from companies in the heating industry and continue to repay your loyalty with our hard work.

MEMBER NEWSBY ISAAC OCCHIPINTI, MEMBERSHIP MANAGER

IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE PLEASE CONTACT ME ON 01926 513742


MEMBER NEWS

56 member news.indd 56 8/3/13 14:53:17


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The mark of quality for the installation, commissioning and servicing of domestic heating, renewables and hot water systems

58 Benchmark poster.indd 2 8/3/13 14:59:24

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INDUSTRY COUNCIL

HEATINGHOTWATER

01 Cover.indd 1 8/3/13 14:12:56

hhic journal - issue 19

Documents

webb t

hhic endorsement

directorchris yates

managerglyn thomas t

hhic camden house

dr vicky pope vicky

met ofce