By Neil Turner, Director, Howarth Litchfield
I wrote in April this year about energy woes, particularly in relation to issues in the Middle East and the impact on building design and energy solutions.
This summer is going to be the warmest on record, and I suspect the pattern of this period of the 21st century.
A fascinating impact of the lengthy warm period is the desire for air conditioning, particularly in domestic properties. This has seen an unprecedented rush for houses to install AC. in the UK only 3% have it installed, by comparison Germany 6% and Italy closer to 50%. With climate change and our warming climate, there is an inevitable shift and interest in its installation.
So, what is wrong with people wanting to be comfortable, especially when it so hot? Retrofitting AC to every property, school and business will only increase the amount of electricity needed. We still see houses and apartments being designed in the same way from 50 years ago when what is required is a complete rethink on the materials, ventilation and orientation of all buildings.
Our whole approach to building must now alter and in fact areas of southern England can now be classified as Mediterranean in climate with hot summers and wet, mild winters. Even in the North East we are experiencing a shift.
I have seen lots of justifications given, including people saying that electric is now far greener in its generation and that PVs are powering the AC units.
Modern AC is far better but is still powerhungry and could use 2000 to 4000 KW annually, that’s around £600-£1200 a year. (There are lots of different systems and this is just one example).
So, we are seeing conflicting messages, where everyone is trying (or being encouraged) to decrease their individual or company energy use. Yet energy costs are going up over the last few years, while demand for power-hungry devices is out-stripping demand.
So, what are the actions and answers? We can’t simply say no control in buildings as we have to keep staff cool and build homes that are comfortable to live and sleep in. But until we encourage or legislate to make buildings more energy efficient and also better designed to keep cool, then people will look for the short-term fix.
I am surprised that the government hasn’t looked to apply additional tax on systems. I am sure that it wouldn’t be popular. But how do we change patterns of behaviour on building decisions? I have always advocated reward for capital investment or improvements that enhance performance on environmental design. It’s more difficult when the need and function is clear, but adds to the country’s overall energy use!
We are going to have to get used to warmer summers and higher temperatures and thus look to design and build buildings that react to the new landscape. Greater insulation to protect from the sun, as well as sun shading and facilities to ventilate and purge buildings of hot stale air should be the way forward. Adding expensive, high maintenance mechanical systems should not be the default position. Such equipment has its place but should only get the green light after good design has been thoroughly considered.
Neil Turner, Director, Howarth Litchfield can be contacted on 0191 384 9470 or email n.turner@hlpuk.com
www.howarthlitchfield.com