Lead Articles

 This page contains all of the Lead Articles which have been included in Partnership eNews.

Budget 2006
31.Mar.2006
The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, last week announced the Budget 2006. This article summarises the key points relating to domestic energy efficiency and looks at them in the order in which they appear in the Budget Report Chapter 7, "Protecting the Environment".

The Future of Scottish Building Regulations
24.Mar.2006
The Scottish Executive is consulting on changes to the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, including Section 6: Energy. Launched on 1 March 2006, the consultation seeks views on substantial changes being proposed to both content and structure to comply with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Whilst in some places they are not as far reaching as the original proposals for the 2006 revision of the regulations in England and Wales, as they stand, the Scottish proposals are slightly stronger than the England and Wales regulations that will actually come into force on 6 April 2006.

Warmer Houses, Healthier Homes - the Health Housing and Fuel Poverty Forum, one year on
10.Mar.2006
Last year, the Health Housing Fuel Poverty Forum was launched at a conference in London. The Forum was set up by UKPHA on behalf of the Partnerships Health Sub Group. The aim of the Forum is to optimise the contribution which the health sector makes to the delivery of energy improvements to vulnerable households. This week the Forum held their second annual and this article reports on the conference and the activities of the Forum over the last year.

The Energy Services Directive
03.Mar.2006
The Energy Services Directive is designed to boost the cost-effectiveness and efficient use of energy in the European Union. It sets an indicative energy saving target of 9% after 9 years and includes a requirement for each member state to submit Energy Efficiency Action Plans to the European Commission every three years.

Measuring up the Home Energy Ratings
10.Feb.2006
With the imminent arrival of the new Building Regulations, Energy Performance Certificates and the Code for Sustainable Homes, this article looks at the range of domestic energy rating systems that are used in the UK. Each of the rating systems have been designed for a particular purpose such as tackling climate change and assessing levels of fuel poverty.

The Carbon Trust
03.Feb.2006
The Carbon Trust is one of the two key agencies, alongside the Energy Saving Trust, funded by Government to help reduce energy consumption in the UK. The role of the Carbon Trust is to help business and the public sector cut carbon emissions, and to support the development of low carbon technologies. This article looks at what they do and identifies areas of overlap with the activities of the Partnership in promoting energy efficiency in homes.

The Chancellor's Pre Budget Report
09.Dec.2005
The Pre Budget Report 2005 was released on 5 December. This Partnership summary draws out the most relevant announcements which deal with affordable housing, fuel poverty, energy efficiency and renewables.

Smart Meters
25.Nov.2005
Industry has long since recognised the benefits of smart metering to monitor and reduce energy consumption and costs. Similar savings are also possible in the domestic sector but consumers are prevented from doing so by availability. This article takes a look at the legislation driving the issue forwards and the possible benefits and barriers to smarter energy consumption.

Consumer electronics and energy consumption
11.Nov.2005
A new TV and home cinema is a present everyone can enjoy whilst stuck indoors over the Christmas period. But before buying the biggest piece of kit you can find, it is worth taking a look at how much energy they use. Although insulation might be a better investment, it lacks entertainment value - instead this article covers some of the bewildering array of consumer electronics and how their design and use can affect energy consumption.

Latest Changes to the Buildings Regulations
28.Oct.2005
The revised Building Regulations were announced by Government on 13th September and are aimed at saving up to a million tonnes of carbon by 2010. This article looks at the changes that have been made and how they affect new builds and refurbishments.

Doing more with less
14.Oct.2005
The Partnership will be holding a conference on 24th November to discuss the EU Green Paper on Energy Efficiency. This article provides a background to the Paper and the issues that it addresses, as well as further details on the Partnership conference.

HOME ENERGY REPORTS
30.Sep.2005
What needs to be done before the introduction of the Home Energy Report? This weeks lead article provides an introduction to the Home Energy Report and considers what needs to be done by the energy efficiency industry before implementation and how the installation of energy efficiency improvements can be encouraged as a result of the Report.

Hot topic - the cooling issue (Hot homes - cold comfort)
20.Sep.2005
Demand for air conditioners is rising rapidly in offices and now at home. Air conditioning can double the electricity consumption of a house and its associated carbon emissions, unless alternatives are sought. The potential size of this problem is only weakly understood.

How does the Partnership compare with other Networks?
02.Sep.2005
This article makes a comparison between the Partnership and other similar networks in the sustainable energy field

Current status of implementing the EPBD in dwellings
11.Aug.2005
The transposition deadline of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is less than six months from now. As the main mechanism employed by the Government to implement the directive, it was anticipated that an announcement would be made on new building regulations on the last day of Parliament, 21st July 2005. However, to date there has been no announcement, and therefore this is the current status of implementation of the EPBD to the best of the Partnership's knowledge.

Microgeneration - At a critical juncture in its history?
29.Jul.2005
On 23 June 2005, the DTI released its Microgeneration Strategy for consultation. In it are proposals to replace existing schemes by introducing a programme that is 'technology blind', which incorporates energy efficiency, but precludes mandatory targets. Achieving the 4.2MtC reductions set out in the Energy White Paper is a vital part of the Partnership's remit and is most effectively achieved through a whole house approach. Microgeneration presents opportunities to achieve carbon reductions with implications for energy efficiency of the supply chains involved with the Partnership. The Partnership is keen for partners to send in their own responses to the consultation and will be providing a guidance document for members as an aid by the end of August.

On the path to a post-Kyoto era? G8 summit arrives at its position on climate change
15.Jul.2005
Climate change and energy efficiency issues were high on the agenda at the G8 meeting of world leaders held on 6th July at Gleneagles in Scotland. There were differences of opinion over the effectiveness of the agreement on climate change between environmentalists and multinational businesses. However, the G8's climate change plan of action made a number of promises for developing energy efficiency on a global scale, such as to invite the International Energy Agency to review building codes globally, develop energy efficiency indicators and identify best practice in these areas. For energy efficient appliances, the G8 leaders agreed to promote the application of the IEA's 1 Watt initiative on standby power among other measures.

Eco-design - 'genuine opportunities for society as a whole'?
14.Jul.2005
A "breakthrough in European Union product policy" DG Enterprise also claims, the Eco-design for Energy Using Products (EuP) Directive "introduces many innovative elements together with concrete application of the principles of the better regulation package". Adopted by the Council and the European Parliament on 6 July 2005, it sets up the legal framework needed by the EU to set future standards on all environmental aspects of energy using products that can be influenced at the design stage.

Implementation of the WEEE and RoHS Directives
27.May.2005
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive was published in February 2003 and was required to be transposed into UK law by 13 August 2004. However, this was deferred and the Government is planning implementation of the Directive and expects to transpose in 2005. The Directive aims to prevent the production of waste electrical and electronic equipment and encourages its reuse, recycling and recovery. This article outlines details of the implementation of the WEEE directive, and the related Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive.

Energy efficiency policies for the future
20.May.2005
The UK Government has set a target to reduce carbon emissions by 60% by 2050. Energy efficiency will play a huge part in meeting this target and three recently launched publications investigate whether current policies and mechanisms are sufficient to meet the ambitious targets set, and if they are not, what is needed?

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