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IMPORTANT ADVICE FOR HOUSEHOLDERS WHO HAVE FLUES WHICH RUN IN CEILING SPACES

If you live in a property that has a boiler flue which cannot be inspected because it is hidden behind a wall or ceiling, you need to install an inspection hatch. Gas engineers need to be able to see the flue which take fumes away from the boiler as part of essential safety checks. A flue in poor condition, combined with a boiler that is not working properly, could put you and your family in danger from carbon monoxide poisoning, which can cause death or serious injury.

If your boiler is situated on an outside wall, it is unlikely you have this type of flue. Alternatively, if your engineer can see all of the flue, you will not need to take any further action.If you do have a boiler where all, or part of, the flue cannot be seen, you, or your landlord, will need to arrange for inspection hatches to be fitted. This does not mean, however, that your flue system is suddenly unsafe. As long as the boiler passes a series of safety checks - including having audible carbon monoxide alarms fitted it can be used normally for the time being.

Carbon monoxide alarms are not an alternative to being able to see the flue and you will still need to have hatches fitted. It is recommended, that hatches are fitted as soon as you are able to do so. From 1 January 2013, any registered gas engineer will turn off the gas supply to the boiler until hatches have been fitted in appropriate places.

Please click here for more information on this subject.

If you have any questions or to find a Gas Safe registered engineer in your area please visit http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/fluesinvoids. Or ring 0800 408 5500.

CHANGES TO BUILDING REGULATIONS PART L 2010

From 1 October 2010, the Building Regulations - Part L is changing.
• SEDBUK banding (eg Band A or Band B) disappears and is replaced with minimum % efficiency figures
• Gas boiler efficiency will be listed on either SEDBUK 2005 or SEDBUK 2009 lists
• Only gas boilers with an efficiency of 90% or above (SEDBUK 2005, previously known as SEDBUK Band A) can be installed. If using SEDBUK 2009 data, the minimum efficiency is 88%

Changes to SEDBUK
According to the Domestic Building Service Compliance Guide that accompanies Part L, the terms Band A, Band B etc will be dropped from 1 October 2010 to avoid confusion when the forthcoming Energy using Products directive (EuP) is introduced.
EuP will measure the energy efficiency of systems and will provide a label similar to the current Energy Efficiency rating labels currently seen on washing machines and refrigerators.

The new SEDBUK 2009 ratings will take account of summer and winter seasonal efficiency, predominantly from hot water production, rather than be calculated at just one point through the year. This will reduce the overall efficiency by around two per cent. So, for example, a current SEDBUK Band A boiler will either be SEDBUK 2005 90.1% or SEDBUK 2009 88.1%, depending on what the manufacturer states, in line with Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP). If the efficiency is not stated as SEDBUK 2009, it will be assumed to be SEDBUK 2005.

All boilers must now be SEDBUK 2005 90% or SEDBUK 2009 88%
Until the changes to Part L in October 2010, it has been possible to fit SEDBUK 2005 Band B boilers. This clause has now been removed, and from 1 October 2010, all boilers must now be the equivalent of SEDBUK 2005 Band A, with a minimum efficiency of 90%. This applies to existing dwellings as well as newbuild, and effectively outlaws the installation of anything other than SEDBUK 2005 Band A appliances.

Exceptions
Where building work has started before 1 October 2010, boilers equivalent to SEDBUK 2005 Band B may still be installed as planned.
If a contract for work has been agreed before 1 October 2010, the installation of boilers equivalent to SEDBUK 2005 Band B may continue or be carried out, provided the work is completed by 6 April 2011.

Where a building notice, an initial notice, a plans certificate and amendment notice or a public body’s notice has been given or full plans submitted before 1 October 2010, the work or fitting of boilers equivalent to SEDBUK 2005 Band B may be carried out, provided the work is completed before 6 April 2011.

Hot water storage
Changes have also been made to domestic hot water storage vessels to reduce the standing losses by over 10%. This will reduce the carbon emissions associated with domestic hot water storage.

Source: Baxi.

NEW POLYMER SOLAR POWER - THERMAL DEVICE UNVEILED

A new polymer-based solar-thermal device developed by the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University can generate power from both heat and visible sunlight. The concept could potentially slash the cost of home heating by as much as 40 percent.

The new device incorporates a heat-collecting fluid and an integrated solar cell to generate electricity. Standard rooftop solar panels can only capture a small part of the sun's power and around 75 percent of solar energy is wasted by normal photovoltaic systems as the cells are unable to longest wavelengths of light - infrared heat.

The solar-thermal device developed at Wake Forest University consists of an array of 5 millimeter diameter tubes with a special fluid containing oil and proprietary dye flowing through. Visible sunlight shines into the tubing and is converted to electricity by a spray-on polymer photovoltaic substance applied to the back of the tubes. In the process, the oil is also heated to very high temperatures, flows into a heat pump and then can be used to transfer the heat inside the home or to heat water.

The curving of the tubes provides an additional benefit - the ability to collect infrared heat and visible light for a much greater part of the day than a standard solar cell.

The design of the cell also allows for flexibility in implementation and could be made into roofing tile form; offering a truly building-integrated solar power solution.

Testing of the solar-thermal device has demonstrated a 30 percent efficiency in converting solar power to usable energy; whereas a standard polymer absorber based solar cell performs at up to just 8 percent conversion efficiency.

The next step in the device's development will be the research team constructing a square-meter-size solar-thermal cell around the middle of this year, an important step in preparing the technology for the commercial market.

Source: energymatters.com.au

RENEWABLE HEAT INCENTIVE (RHI) DETAILS RELEASED

Further details can now be found on our special RHI page link.

Details of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) have been released by the government today (10th March), with tariff payments due to start in October 2012. The exact levels of these tariffs for domestic installations will be the subject of a consultation later this year. In the meantime, there will £15m available for domestic renewable heat installations for households that meet a set of criteria such as living in an off-gas area.

Chris Huhne said: “Renewable heat is a largely untapped resource and an important new green industry of the future. This incentive is the first of its kind in the world.  It’ll help the UK shift away from fossil fuel, reducing carbon emissions and encouraging innovation, jobs and growth in new advanced technologies.”
 
The tariffs for commercial and public sector installations have been published, with anything from pubs to schools eligible under the RHI to install technologies like biomass boilers, heat pumps and solar thermal. Community projects will also be eligible, provided a single installation is providing heat to more than one house. The tariffs will be paid for 20 years to eligible technologies that have installed since 15th July 2009 with payments being made for each kWh of renewable heat which is produced. Once in the scheme the level of support an installation will receive is fixed and adjusted annually with inflation.

The tariff payments will not start until October 2012, designed to run alongside the introduction of the Green Deal and other energy-saving measures. From July 2011, up to 25,000 installations will be supported by a RHI Premium Payment to help people cover the purchase price of green heating systems. Those taking up this payment will then be eligible for a RHI tariff from October 2012, as will anyone else who has had eligible equipment installed from July 2009.

The RHI Premium Payment will be worth around £15m and will ensure there is a fair spread of technologies across all regions of the UK, particularly those in off-gas areas. The installed technologies will be monitored to enable government, manufacturers, installers and consumers to better understand how to make sure householders get the most out of them. There will be clear eligibility criteria in order to qualify for a premium payment, including:

• a well insulated home based on its energy performance certificate;
• agreeing to give feedback on how the equipment performs.
  

Source: Greenbuild News.