Solar flair

Despite the slowdown in private housing new-build, there is still plenty of activity in the public sector. Thanks to government initiatives such as the ongoing Decent Homes programme, the pressure is on for social housing providers to bring existing housing stock up to scratch, which means refurbishment projects are still going full steam ahead. Contractors hoping to benefit from this activity should make sure they are up to speed on the heating solutions that meet the requirements of this sector.

Electric heating has always been popular with social housing providers and tenants. By specifying electric, landlords frequently achieve savings on lifetime ownership costs by avoiding the need to budget for regular maintenance and gas safety checks. Electric heating systems are also easier and quicker to install or replace than gas systems.

For tenants, modern electric radiators use a managed balance of off-peak and direct-acting heat, so it is easy for tenants to minimise fuel bills while getting 24-hour comfort and control.

Because of this, electric heating is good for reducing carbon emissions and achieving higher SAP scores (SAP is the government’s Standard Assessment Procedure for the Energy Rating of Dwellings). Whole-house systems would include electric radiators and electronic panel heaters, which can also be linked to a central control unit to provide a whole-house heating system that’s controllable from one point.

Renewable resources

Many projects today need more than just efficient controls. The public sector has always been in the vanguard of environmental technology, both because it needs to demonstrate best practice and because it is keen to reduce carbon emissions and running costs.

Social housing has been working to Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes since April 2007 and is already looking ahead to the introduction of the higher levels of the Code – Level 4 will be mandatory for the public sector in 2010, which is likely to require a substantial input from the renewable energy sector.

This, together with legislation such as Building Regulations Part L, usually means that incorporating some form of renewable heating is the only way forward for the public sector.

In many situations, water heating has now overtaken space heating as the major energy consumer in the home, so one of the most straightforward ways to incorporate renewable technology in a development is to use solar thermal water heating. This helps to reduce a project’s carbon emissions as it can harvest the sun’s free energy to produce hot water.

Some manufacturers offer complete packages that include solar collectors through to the solar hot water cylinder.

Ground versus air

Heat pumps offer the surest route to achieving the higher levels of the code, and social housing providers are increasingly looking at the technology as they plan their developments for the coming years. There are two main types of heat pump available. Ground-source heat pumps draw energy from the earth using either horizontal or vertical collectors. Air-source heat pumps can be mounted either indoors or outdoors and extract energy from outside air.

Many social housing providers have already completed trial sites. Dimplex ground-source heat pumps have been used by a Norfolk housing association, which has taken a highly insulated, Level 3 code-rated timber-frame house design and added various types of renewable heating to assess the most efficient way to raise the rating.

Early reports on the heat pumps’ performance are positive, and this type of test provides valuable statistics on the relative performances of sustainable technologies.

Diversification is key

With the current uncertainty in construction, small firms can be at risk because lack of resource makes it difficult to restructure or refinance. With new private housing starts forecast to drop in 2008 to 150 000 – a drop of more than 25% from last year – the ECA has already advised that now may be the time to diversify into specialist areas and flexibility is the key to survival.

As ECA chief executive officer David Pollock says: “Despite these difficult times, there are still many areas within our industry where businesses can grow and prosper.”

This means it is worth being proactive about understanding all the issues involved and thinking about adding renewable heating and hot water solutions to your portfolio. This sector is sure to see growth, whatever path the wider construction market takes.