Alan Budden of Milton Keynes Group has arranged a meeting on Monday 27th February
Dr. Neil Cutland will give a talk on
“The draft Part L 2013 – what does it mean for low energy housing?”
This is timely as theconsultation document was launched very recently, and has some interesting legal links to the Green Deal. See http://www.cutlandconsulting.co.uk/Article.aspx?aID=34
Venue: Eco Design Consultants office in the Mansion, Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, MK3 6EB
Date and Time: 27th February 7:30 for 8pm.
RSVP debbie@aecb.net or alan@ecodesignconsultants.co.uk
NB Access to Bletchley Park is controlled after normal opening hours please let us know as soon as you can if you wish to attend – the latest 26th February – so we can inform Security can be informed of your name. They will only admit you if you are on the list!
On arrival at the gate please tell the security guard that you are attending a meeting at the Eco Design Consultants office in the Mansion, and you will be directed to the relevant parking area. Please ring 01908 363490 if you experience any problem at the security gate.
Neil Cutland, of Cutland Consulting, views on the document:
- Aligning the 2013 level with FEES (give or take some detail) is extremely sensible. It starts to make zero carbon in 2016 ‘real’, and gives the industry a reason to ‘practice’ for 2016 in earnest.
- The corresponding carbon level (they are saying around 8% reduction on 2010, as opposed to the 25% proposed by the previous Govt) is not, for me, ‘backtracking’. The hard part about achieving zero carbon is the fabric stuff, so even though we will now have a bigger jump to 2016, that jump consists of, relatively speaking, the easy stuff – ie. low/zero carbon on-site technologies and allowable solutions. It is very important that whatever is proposed for 2013 is pragmatic and achievable in practice, and the FEES level works well for me in that respect.
- Bit disappointed that the backstop airtightness standard remains at 10m3/m2hr. The industry can do better than that now, and to mandate a more stringent target in 2013 would be another important part to the learning’s for 2016.
- Very disappointed to see no mention of Passivhaus. Working Group 1 which reported to BRAC had as one of its recommendations that a certified Passivhaus dwelling should be given “deemed to satisfy” status for ADL1A 2013. The Passivhaus standard is clearly in advance of the proposed 2013 energy/carbon standard, and PH’s certification process leads to guaranteed outcomes. No-one was proposing replacing ADL1A and SAP with Passivhaus, but that PH should be an optional alternative. This would have advantages for Govt as well as the environment, and would give the PH enthusiasts a ‘pat on the back’ for going above and beyond the call of duty. Seemed a no-brainer to me.
- Delighted to see consequential improvements make its usual appearance in the consultation, and I think it’s clever of Govt to link it formally with Green Deal for many reasons. But as usual I’m deeply suspicious that it won’t survive the consultation and make it into the final AD.
Some information on the speaker . . . .
(from the website of Cutland Consulting Limited)
Dr Neil Cutland set up Cutland Consulting Limited in October 2010, and the company quickly established a reputation with its rapidly-growing client base for getting things done. The focus is on strategic support for energy efficiency and sustainability.
From 2007 to 2010 Neil was a founding Director of sustainable built environment consultancy Inbuilt, where he led Inbuilt’s technical and strategic consultancy offerings associated with low- and zero- energy buildings. As such, he has spent much of the last three years engaged with the issues surrounding the UK government’s 2016 zero-carbon housing agenda. By the time Neil left, Inbuilt was working on Passivhaus schemes for three different social housing clients, comprising 90 units in total, which represents significant scale in this emerging market.
Neil played a pivotal part in growing Inbuilt from two employees with a turnover of zero when he joined, to 35 employees with a significant six-figure turnover by the end of 2008. He was subsequently instrumental in doubling Inbuilt’s turnover during 2009, despite the company’s key markets being in the grip of worldwide recession.
Neil was previously Director of BRE’s Low Carbon Housing Futures Centre. During this time he managed EST’s Housing Best Practice programme, and had overall responsibility for the design and delivery of the energy component of BRE’s Home Inspector/DEA training. He developed business surrounding technical consultancy for a variety of private and public sector clients, and led the teams delivering the resulting work.
Prior to that Neil was Business Development Manager for TEAM Energy, and a Director of National Energy Services where he had technical and P&L responsibility for all of the company’s software (NHER) and consultancy offerings.
Neil’s first job in energy efficiency was with Milton Keynes Development Corporation, where he was responsible for the technical objectives and performance monitoring of the Milton Keynes Energy Park, a pioneering large-scale low-energy housing/commercial development. The role involved extensive liaison with developers to help them implement the demanding energy standards.
Neil is one of the authors of the BREDEM-8 and BREDEM-12 models, and has contributed extensively to the development of the SAP. He has very good relationships with a number of journalists who frequently contact him for comment on current issues, and due to his industry reputation he is regularly invited to give presentations to large audiences. He sits on various task groups and advisory boards, notably the zero carbon task groups established by the Zero Carbon Hub and the UK Green Building Council, and the Government’s 2013 Building Regulations working group.
Neil is also on the Board of the Passivhaus Trust, is a Branch Committee Member of the Institute of Directors and is a Chartered IT Practitioner.
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