There are many innovations transforming building services driven mainly by the huge challenge of achieving Net Zero targets. In a series of articles, we look at these innovations specifically where they are appropriate for apartment blocks.
There are many innovations transforming building services driven mainly by the huge challenge of achieving Net Zero targets. In a series of articles, we look at these innovations specifically where they are appropriate for apartment blocks.
Air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) are widely promoted as a source of low-cost, low-carbon space and water heating. However, a model of ASHP-powered heating in London shows that they compare unfavourably to heating derived directly from mains electricity, especially when compared to real-world data from flats using direct electric heating.
There are many innovations transforming building services driven mainly by the huge challenge of achieving Net Zero targets. In a series of articles, we look at these innovations specifically where they are appropriate for apartment blocks.
Given the recent rise in gas prices and the UK government’s stated aim of making all newly built homes ‘zero-carbon ready’ by 2025, the need to move away from using gas to heat and produce hot water for domestic properties has been brought into focus.
One of the technologies that is seen as an alternative to a gas combi boiler is the electric combi boiler. Here we go through our views of the positives and negatives of this technology. As with all mechanical and electrical technologies used in domestic buildings, the most appropriate one will depend on the type of property that it is to be installed in, and the way that the building is used.
This winter’s hike in international natural gas prices will lead to heating price hikes this winter. It exposes the vulnerability of Britain’s dependence on imported gas, both for heating homes and for generating electricity, and illustrates the importance of initiatives to replace gas heating systems.
If you’ve looked at the news recently, you’ll have seen dire reports of soaring gas prices and dire predictions of either a very expensive or a very cold winter ahead.
Yesterday, the government announced a £450 million boiler upgrade scheme, offering £5,000 grants for households replacing gas-boilers with low-carbon heating systems. The scheme does not specify what low-carbon system should be used although it repeatedly refers to air-source heat pumps.
The internet is the backbone of everyday life, we use it not only to keep in touch with family and friends, but to watch movies, shop and run our finances. There are however many questions still being asked about how we manage all this data, and how we can best distribute the signals through each room in our homes. The all pervasive nature of the internet and the increasingly reliable wireless networks lead to a critical question - wired or wireless?
Passive cooling methods keep the temperature inside a building comfortable without using energy-hungry air-conditioning, fans or heat pumps. Cooling is needed during the summer, when air temperatures get uncomfortably high, but also at cooler times because electronic devices and simple human metabolism can make a building uncomfortably hot.