Reducing the Energy Gap: Transforming Energy Demand

1. REDUCING THE ENERGY GAP BY REDUCING ENERGY DEMAND • This can operate in 3 areas: • 1 Reducing Energy Demand for Transport • 2 Reducing Energy Demand in Homes • 3 Reducing Energy Demand in Workplaces • Reduced Energy Use can be brought about by: • Using alternative, more energy-efficient types of power • Reducing energy waste • Reducing energy demand through voluntary action • Reducing energy demand through pricing policies • Reducing energy demand better planning

2. Reducing Energy Demand for Transport • Fuel-efficient Public Transport : London trialled 3 hydrogen fuel-cell buses in 2004. These run on hydrogen which break down to emit water vapour. This reduces CO2 emissions, improves the air quality of London streets, and reduces demand for oil-based fuel. After a successful trial, 10 more buses were ordered in 2006 with the aim of having a fleet of 60 by 2010. (see article) • Encouraging reduced use of private cars and increased use of public transport : It costs £8 to take a car into the inner-most congestion ring in central London – with car number plates being read by electronic cameras as soon as they cross the boundary line. As a result more Londoners are using buses and the tube and leaving their cars at home. Other cities considered introducing the same ideas such as Manchester and Edinburgh – but when the plans went to city votes – local residents voted them down. • Encouraging drivers to buy fuel-efficient cars : The new car tax banding system introduced in the UK in 2008 means that drivers pay a different rate of annual car tax depending on the CO2 emissions of their car. The most fuel-efficient, small engine cars will only pay £35 for their road tax licence, whilst the big petrol-users will pay £400. This encourages drivers to buy small, fuel-efficient cars giving off less CO2. • Encouraging people to use bikes with bike lanes : Bristol has been selected as the UKs first ‘cycling city’ and has been given £11m to set up cycle lanes, bike parks, and a bike loan scheme to encourage people to leave their cars at home, get fit, and cut energy use. • ( For further ideas see transport page of ‘energysavingsecrets.co.uk )

3. Reducing Energy Demand in the Home • Making sure existing homes are energy efficient : There are grants available from the government to fit cavity-wall insulation, loft insulation draught excluders and insulation jackets for hot-water tanks. This means energy used to heat homes is not wasted and people can keep the heating turned down lower. (see article) • Designing homes that are carbon-neutral : By 2016 all new homes built in the UK should be ‘carbon-neutral’ – ie their building and use should not add to the earth’s carbon dioxide. (See the Bedzed Project.) • What Architects And Designers Need To Do To Make Housing Greener • Materials: from bricks to wood to how much plastic is used – house builders need to ensure they’re using the most sustainable (not just the cheapest) material option, including recycled products • Eco-design: architects need to incorporate greener housing solutions, including insulation, double glazing and energy efficient fridges / cookers etc • Recycling facilities: larger developments need to take into consideration the location and size of on site recycling facilities • Renewable energy: solar panels, wind turbines, rainwater harvesting – a green home needs to generate its own energy as standard(see website) • Designing New Towns to be Eco-friendly : The UK government has plans for 15 new Eco-Towns to be built by 2020. Not only will the houses be eco-friendly, but the towns will be designed to reduce commuting and shopping trips, generate their own energy from renewable sources, make efficient use of water and recycle waste. The aim is to reduce energy demand and CO2 emissions.(see article)

4. The Bed ZED Project, London An Eco-Housing Project • The Bed ZED Project, or Beddington Zero Energy Development, is the UK's largest carbon-neutral eco-community in the UK. It was built in 2002 in Wallington, Surrey, and comprises of 82 residential homes. The intention with this project, built in partnership with both an architect and an environmental consultancy firm, was to create a housing project that incorporates new approaches to energy conservation and sustainability, and also to build a thriving community to live within it. • The houses are equipped with key features: • designed with south facing terraces to maximise solar heat gain • utilise renewable, and conservable, energy. A small-scale combined heat and power plant on site, powered by wood off-cuts, provides most of the energy to the estate. • All buildings have a thick insulation jacket, made from recycled materials. • The project has a legally-binding green transport plan, incorporating a car pool system for residents, great public transport links, and is linked in to a cycling network. • For these, and many more social and environmental initiatives and technologies, Bed ZED has won many national and International awards for sustainability, design, Innovation and more.

5. Reducing Energy Demand at Work • Paper-less offices : Many offices are trying to reduce the amount of paper, photocopying and printing they do by storing and sending information electronically. Doctors’ surgeries now use electronic health records of patients – which can be seen by whichever doctor you may be seeing anywhere in the country. • Office design : new office buildings are being designed to make more use of natural light (sunlight) rather than electric lights – by having south-facing office windows with photo-reactive glass which reduces the need for heating in winter, and the need to air-conditioning in summer. • Home-working : by working from home and communicating with fellow workers by internet, skype, video-conference and email, many journalists, for example, don’t go in to the office – but work from home. This reduces the need for office space, and cuts down on fuel used in commuting. • Green Councils : Many local councils aim to be ‘green’ as an example to others in the local community. This extends to recycling schemes at work (paper, glass, cardboard, electrical equipment) as well as trying to cut down on energy use (computers on time-switches that automatically go off at night) See article on West Oxfordshire Council, and what Woking Council are doing. • For further ideas see energysavingsecrets.co.uk - at Work • Also : Direct.gov advice on energy saving at work

6. Miller UK Ltd • Northumberland based Miller UK Ltd manufactures and repairs excavator buckets and attachments for construction vehicles. Suggested actions from an energy survey were to: • Monitor monthly fuel usage • Establish a site energy policy • Educate staff about how their everyday activities impact on carbon emissions • Fit automatic lights which switch off when there has been no movement for a certain period of time. • Upgrade existing lighting systems to low energy light bulbs • The survey identified that Miller UK Ltd could potentially save around £64,706 per year and see an overall 25.5 per cent reduction in energy consumption as a result of implementing these recommendations. Case-Studies of Energy Saving at Work • Merseyside Police identified savings of £13,000 a year, but this was just the beginning for the 6,500-strong force.It has trained 99 “Energy Champions” across 66 sites and 93 per cent of its electricity is green, reducing carbon emissions by 60 per cent • Recommendations included: • Installing automatic lighting controls to the main underground car park (savings of more than £1,800 per annum) • Introducing a new cooling system to the computer room, radio room, telecoms (savings of more than £3,100 per annum) • Installing water saving devices like tap conversions to turn off after a set time generating further savings of £2,400 in the first year alone. • Training 99 volunteer Energy Champions to act as site-based energy representatives to encourage colleagues to be more energy-aware • switched to Internet billing, which can provide earlier energy-use data. • Installed section-meters which can show the amount of electricity being used at any one time by any department. • purchased more energy efficient equipment, such as LCD PC monitors.

7. Sustainable Energy Policies Some people say these strategies are just ‘playing’ at energy conservation, and that to secure the future of the planet we will have to take much more radical action than changing a few light bulbs and turning off our TVs at night. What might be the radical action they think is necessary? Of all the strategies for reducing energy consumption, which 3 do you think will make the biggest impact – and why those. Suggest 5 ways in which Withernsea High School could reduce its energy use, ranked according to energy saved. How might future communities be planned to be ‘energy sustainable?’