John Rowan & Partners head of affordable housing Mash Halai and A2Dominion regional development manager explain how to use renewable energy technology in affordable housing schemes:

__

The Strata Tower in Elephant and Castle (pictured below) – which is the first building to ever include wind turbines as an integral part of its structure – recently hit the headlines amidst calls from tenants that the building was too hot and the turbines were barely moving. If this £113m eco building with renewable energy at the core of its proposition can suffer from concerns about its efficiency, then some may ask what chance do the rest of us have at getting it right.

While in reality it is likely that once complete the Strata tower will live up to expectations, it does help to highlight the minefield that developers face in choosing how best to meet the energy requirements of an affordable housing project.

Needs not wants…

Our advice to developers is to focus on what the registered providers’ (RP) needs are and not what you, the developer,  wants to provide. Taking that long term view will always pay off dividends, because without it you are likely to simply design something in order to get the project through planning. But if this isn’t a design or a solution that an RP can maintain or isn’t seen as a benefit to its site then you will be unlikely to win its support and funding.

In 2007, the Government released the energy white paper which set the target for the UK to produce 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 while encouraging planning authorities to prioritise renewable energy generation on all housing developments. While the UK has a minimum requirement of 10%, most London boroughs will now expect upwards of 20% of a housing development’s energy to be created by renewable energy sources.

In addition to this, the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 expects a 25% reduction in carbon dioxide than the 2006 building regulation standards.

The important thing to do is consult with an RP or a consultancy at the earliest possible stage as many RPs have strict policy on acceptable options. While as a developer you may be working out what you can bolt on to your development to achieve 20%, RPs have to consider the maintenance challenges, costs of usage for consumption of heat and power as well as end user details – such as how easy it can be controlled by residents.

One thing that is clear, is that simply adding a fancy wind turbine or heat pump is not the solution. The first element to take into account is passive design, as the less energy the development uses in the first place the smaller amount of renewable energy will be needed to meet the new targets. Most importantly the amount of energy required to heat a house will therefore diminish.

Whilst this may seem obvious it would appear that it still isn’t being taken on board.

Only once you have minimised the energy need can you look into the different types of renewable energy. The numerous case studies and news articles on renewable energy projects in the media clearly highlight that there is no magic formula. Our advice is to use the devices that are tried and tested, have minimal running and maintenance costs and take up the least amount of space on a development.

On the bright side, there are a number of benefits: RPs can reap whole life cost benefits from reduced running costs and renewable energy can help fight fuel poverty, improve tenant satisfaction, help planning applications and make the private homes in the development more marketable.

___

Mash Halai is head of affordable housing at John Rowan & Partners and Gareth Turner is an A2Dominion regional development manager.

• Crown Estate sets affordable housing tests for London resi sale
• Councils given the right to sell renewable electricity
• Partnership crucial to deliver affordable homes
• Public sector should lead on community energy
• Councils lack energy network skills