ACR Journal

Cautious welcome for energy efficiency plan The government’s strategy for spending up to £2.5bn on improving the energy e ciency of homes and public sector buildings has been given a cautious welcome by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). The association, whose members play a key role in thousands of building improvement projects, said the investment could be an important step towards meeting energy security and carbon reduction goals, but only if it was focused on the long-term performance of buildings and not confined to one-o installations. The funding was announced last September but the government has now published details of how £630m will be spent through its Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) for privately owned properties, and £780m via the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, for homes owned by local authorities and other social housing providers. Social housing will also benefit from a further £1.1bn of match funding from local authorities, social housing providers and charities. The government believes its scheme will provide energy e ciency improvements for 115,000 homes with an EPC rating of C or lower and will support 20,000 construction and home retrofit jobs. Commitment A further £409 million will be spent through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme divided between 114 English public sector bodies aiming to improve the energy e ciency of hospitals, schools, universities, museums, and leisure centres. This is part of the UK’s commitment to reduce emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037. The funding will be available from April for measures including insulation of lofts and walls, new windows and doors and draft proofing measures, as well as the installation of heat pumps and solar panels. “This is significant and important funding,” said BESA’s technical director Graeme Fox. “It could make a huge di erence to the overall performance of the built environment, but only if the measures have a whole lifecycle focus. “It is not enough to carry out one-o installations. We must look at how any retrofit measures are maintained and serviced throughout their lifetime, so they continue to meet their potential for long-term energy and carbon savings. “This will also require a major step up of investment in training and recruitment to ensure we have a suitably competent workforce capable of taking on this considerable challenge.” 46% of UK housing has an EPC rating of C or above, up from 9% in 2008 – with 66% of social housing said to meet that standard, according to government figures. Legislation requiring all homes to achieve a C rating by 2035 is under consideration. NEWS 06 April | May 2023 Volume 9 No.3 Team TEV to tackle Great North Run A group of eight colleagues from Brighouse-based refrigeration and air conditioning manufacturer TEV will be taking on the Great North Run this September in support of national healthcare charity Sue Ryder, which runs Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice in nearby Oxenhope. Now in its 42nd year, the Great North Run will take participants on a 13.1-mile route from Newcastle to South Shields and is the largest half marathon route in the world. Richard West, sales manager for Marstair at TEV, who is heading up the team, said: “I took up running during lockdown and in December 2020 I decided to sign up for Sue Ryder’s December Daily Dash challenge as my wife was just about to start a new job at Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. After that I then went on to run the London Marathon for Sue Ryder in 2021, which was an amazing experience.” Last year Richard, who lives in Bingley, once again added to his fundraising total for Sue Ryder by running the iconic Great North Run alongside John Dobson, managing director of TEV. “John and I are both keen runners, and we thought that this could be a great challenge for a team of colleagues to take on together in 2023, while raising money for a very worthwhile charity,” he said. “Once we shared the idea with TEV, we were delighted that six more employees were keen to get involved.’’ To donate to the TEV Ltd team’s JustGiving page, visit: justgiving.com/team/TEVGNR2023. Lawton Tubes named top Beijer supplier Coventry-based copper specialist Lawton Tubes was named Beijer Ref UK & Ireland supplier of the year for 2022 at the wholesale group’s annual supplier dinner in York. Greg Cattell, Beijer Ref purchasing director, recognised the positive and speedy flexibility of Lawtons, who also won the award in 2016. From left, Sally Woodward, Sam Ali, Jonathan Thorne, Richard West, Chris Ashton, James Garwell, Omar Soliman and John Dobson Pictured, from left, Chris White (Lawton Tubes), Greg Cattell (Beijer Ref UK & Ireland) and Oliver Lawton (Lawton Tubes)