Catriona Rowbotham Architecture & Sustainability
Catriona Rowbotham's first job in architecture was working for "Gaia Scotland" in Aberfeldy in her university holidays back in 1991. Gaia Scotland is still part of an international group of architects commited to sustainable building design . My work there formed an enduring interest in sustainability, which I believe to be part and parcel of making life better and more enjoyable, which is surely the aim of all good architecture.
Since then, there have been many advances both in building science and in government legislation.
Although much of the legislation related to carbon saving in buildings is compulsory through the Building Regulations, CRA is happy to advise on some of the further financial incentives to save energy in Britain's housing stock recently introduced.
The Facts
The 2008 Climate Change Act requires the UK to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 against a 1990 baseline. The average household in the UK produces over 10 tons of carbon dioxide per year from energy use in the home, consumption of food and products and transport. (1) In fact homes in the UK account for 27% of the UK's total carbon emissions.(2) Under the new target this will need to be 8 tons by 2020 and 2 tons by 2050.
New Build Housing
"Building a Greener Future" the last government's consultation document has set out a target that all newly built housing will be zero carbon by 2016. this can be viewed at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/archived/publications/planningandbuilding/buildinggreener
This can be achieved through higher levels of insulation, better air tightness and the installation of renewable energy, which are all in turn measured by the Code For Sustainable Homes on a points system. CRA has direct experience of the work required to achieve Code Level 3 on the "Elm Corner" project.
All of this does come at some financial cost, but there are now some elements of good news on this front:
All new build houses are likely to be 0% VAT rated. See the HMRC website below for details:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/sectors/builders/new-houses.htm#1
The installation of certain renewable energy systems can actually make you money at present via Feed in Tariffs. See the Energy Saving Trust website for details, and the Guardian article below for why FiTs represent a good investment:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/feb/06/solar-power-bright-investment
Housing Refurbishment
Given that 85% of our existing housing stock is still likely to be standing in 2050 (2), and that this is where CRA's experience has been to date, the sustainable refurbishment of existing housing is of particular interest to this practice. Catriona regularly attends CPDs and conducts project specific research on the best available products to ensure that the her projects are well insulated and ventilated in keeping with the existing building. There are already some initiatives to incentivise Sustainable Refurbishment. The Energy Saving Trust has a postcode specific grants locator which is useful: Additionally, the supply and installation of certain energy saving materials and equipment to existing houses is currently only 5% VAT rated if run through the main building contract. Government reports have recommended that this should be 0% VAT rated so let's hope the new government see fit to make this the case! See link below for current advice: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/goods-services.htm#4 Feed in Tariffs are also attractive, see the link under the New Build Homes section above. The availability of grants and initiatives is of course currently under review by the new government and CRA aims to keep abreast of this advice since the facts indicate that in order to achieve their targets, there will have to be more and better initiatives available over the coming years.
References:
1. "Building a Greener Future" http://www.communities.gov.uk/archived/publications/planningandbuilding/buildinggreener
2. "Building a Greener Britain" http://www.fmb.org.uk/news/campaigns/building-a-greener-britain/
