Zero-carbon houses and hot air
This draws on an article which appeared in the Daily Telegraph
on 8 Dec 06, by Amy Iggulden
"BedZed" is an award-winning development of 99 apartments in South London. It was
intended to be "zero-carbon" and entirely sustainable, It has been open
for four years. The energy for the buildings was to have been provided
by solar panels and a wood-chip combined heat and power plant, known as
CHP. It was funded by the Peabody Trust.
The wood-chips are heated, producing gas, which is then ignited and
used to power a turbine. But the CHP unit doesn't seem to work, and has been abandoned.
The scheme is under the spotlight at the moment because Gordon Brown
has said that all new homes should be "zero-carbon"
by 2016, and would be rewarded by being exempt from stamp duty.
Much about the project has been successful - the insulation is
excellent, and the energy needs are a fraction of those of a normal
dwelling.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, however, there is no
such thing as a zero-carbon house existing on its own energy. Even
this development, which is the nearest thing we've got, would not
qualify for the stamp duty exemption.
ND comment: Political thinking of this quality does not bode well for
the future energy policy of this country. What about having a scientist
in the Cabinet?
I predict we'll be having regular power cuts within five years, as
our old nuclear power stations get switched off, along with the older coal
stations which break the emissions limits of the EU.
Those of us with the space will be investing in diesel
generators pretty soon.
Nigel Deacon / habitat21 website
