Zero carbon interview questions wanted

Question

Hi,

I want to write an article on zero carbon homes in the UK, whether the government target of 2016 will be met or not. I intend to interview professionals in the building and construction industry. I am currently arranging an appointment with RIBA environmental president and the current president.. However, my journalism skills are very weak at the moment. I was wondering whether if someone can give me any idea on questions to ask.

I have ideas as in their views on the scheme, what they intend to do to meet the target etc. but I need more questions. Also can someone tell me where I can find information on the German Passivhaus scheme. As in how they set the target, and how they met it etc.

Your help will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Hello: I have a friend and i we are both into going green and doing whatever we can for the planet and our country energy problems.  He has alot of info on Europe and what the Eastern country's have been doing as far as energy goes.  I dont want to post his info on here tho w/o permission but if you get back to me i will forward his name and how to get ahold of him.  Hope i can help. Curt

Answer 2

u may look here for all tht u need regarding zero carbon homes:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6176...

all questions tht u want for zero carbon homes are here:

http://www.zerocarbonhouse.com/FAQs.aspx

The energy efficient German / Austrian PassivHaus standard is recognised by the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) as one design approach for dwellings that goes some considerable way towards the government's ‘Zero Carbon' target, as TRADA's new Construction Briefing explains.

The PassivHaus standard is considered by the Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) to be broadly equivalent to Code Level 4 in the CSH. It recognises that the principles underlying the PassivHaus approach have been driven by the simple desire to drastically reduce the demand for energy in buildings, yet they also achieve an enviable build quality that UK designers and housebuilders might well wish to study.

The following clear targets are set for each dwelling:

The building must not use more than 15kWh/m2/year in heating energy

The specific heat load for the heating source at the desired temperature must be less than 10W/m2

Air leakage levels at 50Pa must not exceed 0.6 times the house volume / hour (approx. 1m3/hr/m2 @ 50Pa)

Total primary energy consumption (heating, hot water and appliance electricity) must not exceed 120kWh/m2/year.

PassivHaus principles cover both new and upgraded buildings and have been broadened beyond dwellings to include educational and commercial buildings. Another major difference between PassivHaus and the CSH is that although the scheme is voluntary, it has grown in popularity particularly because funding mechanisms have been set up to make it commercially attractive to the developer and to give financial support for training to architects and others involved in the build process.

And in true German fashion, the scheme is carefully monitored at every stage. An architect trained in PassivHaus principles and practice designs the dwelling in accordance with all PassivHaus requirements. The design must be successfully appraised using the PHPP (Passive House Development Package). PHPP is a software program similar in concept to SAP2005, designed to consider many aspects of the dwelling's energy performance at the same time. It seeks to achieve a much higher level of energy performance than that set out in Part L 2006, however, and concerns itself with a wider range of issues.

The PassivHaus Institut (PHI) double-checks the design calculations using PHPP. Products certified by PHI for the external envelope, windows and ventilation systems are then chosen by the architect / client. An air tightness test is carried out at an optimum time in the build process.

The architect is responsible for the Quality Control on site and specific checks must include the following:

Design of heat bridges - using bridge-free connection details or calculating the losses at heat bridges

Design of airtight connection details

Design of all heating, plumbing and electrical systems

Installation of heat free bridges

Installation of insulation layers which are continuous and without air pockets

Installation of joint details and service penetrations for air tightness

Adjustment of ventilation in normal service.

Although there is flexibility in the design of homes and the materials chosen, there are, however, a number of significant constraints in translating the PassivHaus design into a workable scheme for the UK, as the TRADA Construction Briefing explains.

Many within the UK construction industry would agree that we are not building to a sufficient quality to meet even current minimum standards within Part L for energy conservation. The important points about the PassivHaus standard in relation to quality are that:

The actual quality of the building is probably related more to what cannot be seen than by what we can see

The high quality of design and build are not just ‘nice to have' but fundamentally necessary to achieving the low energy usage

The acid test to for the homeowner will not be whether it looks high quality but whether the quarterly energy bill is near to zero. This test is entirely objective and indisputable!

In short, we would need a very long awaited cultural revolution in design and site practice if we were to adopt the PassivHaus approach, as this would mean embracing the methodical and on-going training, auditing and testing on site which are necessary components of the PassivHaus process.

all ur answers regarding Passivhaus are here:

http://livemodern.com/buildblogs/ac420e4...

hope i've helped!gudluck!!