Ecobuild claims to be the world’s biggest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment – although that claim doesn’t sound very ‘eco’. Bigger? I though Small is Beautiful. Anyway…

Ecobuild show Excel London 2012 solar display

This show is focussing on “new eco thinking and challenging designs“. Although Eco is still outside the mainstream. New Building Regulations are very good for insul;ation – which is the main factor for an eco home. Other things tend to be a bit expensive, so stay in the luxury or niche market. Such as grey water recycling, sustainable materials (like hempcrete – hemp to make building blocks), straw, recycled materials, etc.

Ecobuild is at London’s ExCeL on Tuesday 20 – Thursday 22 March 2012. This is over in Canary Wharl to the east of LOndon, and is quite an interesting place, makes a change for Earl’s Court. Grand Designs is in ExCel, it is a very good venue for this sort of thing (vast consumer show).

Ecobuild show Excel London 2012 big crowds

So what’s on?

• more than 1,500 exhibitors – more! bigger! sustainable construction systems and products
• conference – with Sir John Beddington, Angela Brady, Greg Dyke, Monty Don, Stephen Bayley and others
• over 130 free seminars – these are promos by companies so be prepared, select with care
• many interactive displays which are fun – including Solar hub, Fabric first, Renewable heat and Natural, traditional and sustainable

Important
Before you go, make a list of what you want to do and see, or you will get swamped by the diversity and volume of things there.

To get a free ticket, register at:

Ecobuild 2012 at London ExCel tickets >

Where and When is it?

Tuesday 20 March 2012 10.00 – 17.00
Wednesday 21 March 10.00 – 18.00
Thursday 22 March 10.00 – 16.00

ExCeL London
One Western Gateway
Royal Victoria Dock
London
E16 1XL

See also our Building DIY pages on Green Building advice >

and

Building DIY pages on Solar power, solar thermal advice >

The Conservative Government is reducing the FIT rate by half from December 12th 2011. Any solar PV panels installed and also registered with an energy company will qualify. So it is no good booking it in as the waiting times are long, as there is now a rush to sign up. There is always a delay in physically fitting the panels (6 weeks is very short time).

Also the energy companies ar ein no hurry to register your panels for the increased FIT rate – as they have to subsidise it as part of some energy reduction deal.

Comment
This is typical of the start-stop approach to anything green by both the recent Labour and current Conservative governments. They don’t really have any interest in green issues, it is just a lot of noise to fool the public. Plenty of money can be found for almost anything else – current spending cuts are a drop in the ocean of UK debt.

If a green initiate is successful, it has to scaled back or stopped, in case it is… too successful. So what is the point of that?

Solar PV from Building DIY ebook

This sounds too good to be true as even a small system can cost well over £10,000 so what is the deal? Is it a scam? How does it affect your house and mortgage?

The deal is this: a company (there are a few doing this, with varying standards) will buy and install a large grid of solar PV panels, typically 12 or more, onto your roof if suitable.

The panels will generate electricity (electrons) when receiving light (photons) from the sun (an action first postulated by Einstein in 1905, as an explanation for the photoelectric effect previously ‘discovered’ by Heinrich Hertz in 1887).

Solar PV fitting by the Green Home Company, who are accredited

How does it work – financially

So how does this work financially? What are the benefits to you and to the company?

The solar PV panels will generate electricity. Some is used ‘live’ in the house. However a lot of electricity is used in the evenings and night, when it is dark, so the actual percentage of ‘live’ electricity from the panels will be smaller than your actual overall electricity use. So you will still get electricity bills.

The company gets the excess electricity that is sent back into the grid. The Government has a new (April 2010) Feed In Tariff (FIT) scheme which means they make the energy supplying companies (like EDF, or First Utility etc) pay a set amount for any electricity put back into the grid, at a set rate that is over the market value. This could have been done 10 years ago by the supposedly ‘green’ Labour Party but was not… to busy spending money on other things.

The company is renting a large part of your roof space and has a 25 year lease. That will add complications if you want to sell your house, although they claim mortgage companies do not mind. I would like to see some actual examples of people selling their houses with this fitted. It might not annoy the mortgage company or their solicitors (although they are very picky), it might deter buyers, or it might encourage buyers. Generally, you are giving up rights to part of your house for a smallish return.

This FIT scheme is to encourage people to fit solar panels. It is the European model, used a lot in Germany, where people cover their house and gardens, in solar panels to get a profit from the FIT rate.

So the installing solar company make this profit from excess electricity that is fed back into the grid.

Now, this is easily the majority of the electricity generated, as the panels will be producing the most energy in day time and summer days when no lights or heater are on in the house. Also in the winter when an electric bar or convector heater might be used to warm up rooms, the panels will be least efficient and producing less electricity – so you will still be using grid (pay for) energy.

You will definitely save on your electricity bills, the companies claim up to 50% – but that of course includes 10% or so.

Note: solar panels can’t be fixed to normal slate roof tiles as they damage too much, only clay or solid tiles.

So in brief:

Summer - lots of solar power – no use for it – excess energy goes to the grid – FIT money goes to the installing Company
Winter - hardly any solar power – lots of use for it – no excess energy – no FIT either

So over the sunny months, the investment of the installing company does very well, in the winter, it is in hibernation. Of course if the UK was more southerly, the solar input would be more equal all year round.

So you can see how this is quite profitable for the solar company, but not so great for the householder. The solar company is renting your roof space for their profit. You will gain only a small part of the electricity benefit as explained above.

This is obvious once you think about it, as otherwise, why would they buy the expensive panels and go to all the trouble of fitting them and doing all the paperwork etc?

Despite this it still might be a good idea if you are running a home smelting company (or a home office with several computers), if you work mainly in the summer.

See the Building DIY section on Solar Panels and Solar Energy >

Advanced systems include PV-T which is Solar PV and Solar Thermal combined – see our advice >

To save a bit of money by using solar energy to heat water see the Building DIY Solar Thermal panels advice and fitting >

Solar thermal even works in the winter as the new high tech vacuum systems use a temperature difference not absolute temperature to generate heat.

Make the most of this weekend and the most of your home at The Homebuilding & Renovating Show, Surrey!

When?

THIS Weekend!
Join us Saturday 10am – 5pm &
Sunday 10am – 4.30pm

Where?
A venue close to home: Sandown Park Race Course, Esher KT10 9AJ
Easy access by car, rail or air.

Why?

NOW 200 companies! 50 more expert companies to compare than last year

Save Money by comparing 1000s of products and services

Gain confidence when you Ask an Expert for free advice

Make the most of your plans -
Ask an Architect for FREE

Unmissable seminars to help you plan your project

Must see masterclasses
to help you stay on time and on target

Discover Tricks of the Trade with the
DIY Doctor

Discover eco-efficient products and
new technologies

How?

Book Now! The Box Office closes at 3pm on Friday – book now to get advanced tickets for ONLY £5!

Tickets are £8 on the door, and all under 16s go in free

Workshops on renovation, DIY, remodeling, building for amateurs.

There are Masterclasses and also open format Ask the Experts sessions.

Masterclasses are on:

9.30 to 10.15 am Walking Tours – Self Build & Renovation
These are on all day and comprise an expert walking and talking around the many standing exhibits in the centre.

10.30 to 11.15 am Is It For Me?

Some jobs are too big for beginners. So get an idea of the scope of a job before you create a disaster.

11.30 to 12.15am Finding and Funding Your Project
This covers financing for land, construction, materials, workers, insurance etc.

1 to 1.45pm Design, Planning & Sustainable Building

Just get it in budget. This is a hard one as things get added (let’s have a wine cellar!), or the spec improves (you are buying flooring and suddenly decide the better version is what you want) so always add a bit – perhaps 50%.

3.00 to 3:45pm Project Management

Don’t made horrible expensive mistakes. Hire an expert to run your job – you can still be hands-on.

4 to 4:45pm Walking Tours – Self Build & Renovation

More walk and talk with the experts.

Go here for Tickets and more details >

Hans Hause prefab modular building

There are new Hans Hause going up in Fife, Scotland and Guernsey in the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. Plus many others. Note none of these is in a large city. Excellent houses though.

There is also a new Hanse Haus DVD. This is a educational journey, and although aimed at the customer (obviously) it is also useful for students finding out about sustainable development and housing, modular buildings, prefab building, and that sort of area.

The DVD goes through these stages:

• fact-finding visit to their German offices and factory
• tour state-of-the-art factory
• see each home being constructed using advanced manufacturing technology
• see the house being assembled
• finally constructed on site in the UK

There is also a new image gallery of housing projects in the UK website.

They have also added a rolling news feature but this is a bit of overkill for a housing company – a blog is fine.

There are also customer stories about their builds. Very good stuff to learn about the process and get an inside view before you take the plunge.

Hans Hause buildings use passive heating (from people’s bodies, pets, lighting etc) and use very low amounts of grid energy to heat. Add a solar panel or two and you could be zero rated.

Have a look at Hans Hause new UK website >

And see our pages on DIY Building and Green building >

Also DIY recycled building materials >

Also have a look at Property development grants and finance >

Try Garden buildings and garden rooms and offices > as this is a related activity.

Building site materials construction - sand

There are many small and large builders merchants all over the country which are happy to do small sales, as it is all money comin gin. Architects and trade people often get a discount (10% or so) from these places, but if you are regular or friendly you too might get a discount. We will be starting an online building supplies directory so keep a look out for that.

We will be adding:

• wholesalers
• building supplies
• green building materials
• green technology
• green roofing
• green house materials
• fabric wholesale for interior decoration and refurbishment and remodeling
• wholesale furniture
• online wholesale supplies
• construction material
• eco building
• wholesale wood and timber

This new section will address building materials and construction, with a green eco slant, as is usual for this site. Buy cheap wood, bricks, slabs, windows, frames, glass, roofing… the list is almost endless. Garden supplies and garden materials will also be included, as you can get through a lot of wood, timber, bamboo, decking, slabs etc doing up a garden.

Save money and get more satisfaction from your building projects.

We are excited by this addition and will let you know what is coming in this building and DIY blog.

See our section on Building Materials and Wood for some information >

Ecobuild 2011

Attraction in the lecture series are:

• Human rights campaigner – Bianca Jagger
• Professor Brian Cox
• Tim Smit of the Eden Project
• Baroness Susan Greenfield
• Many others

Taking a look at the built environment from a different perspective, Ecobuild’s lectures are inspiring, provocative and entertaining and consider

• The age of unreason: the psychology of climate change
• Socially Big
• the role of social enterprise in the regeneration of civil society
• Can science save us?
• Many others

And there is even more:

• Very large exhibition – over 1,300 exhibitors – with many experts to answer practical questions
• Beyond Construction and Design
• Architecture and sustainability
• More than 130 free seminars
• Special attractions:
• Cool workspace
• NaturalZED
• Solar hub
• Many others

For Ecobuild tickets click here >

We have removed the Christmas articles on trees, decorations, green Christmas and presents.

We are adding articles on

• fireplaces
• double glazing
• insulation
• snow clearance

These will be online in the next week.

Dates are Tuesday 01 March to Thursday 03 March 2011.

There are 1300 exhibitors, all sorts and sizes, since everyone does green certified materials and processes these days. This is a fun show and well worth traveling to.

It has over 130 seminars on:

• Future energy
• Energy in buildings
• Sustainable architecture
• Regulations
• Many more

Also installations on Solar, Water, Refurbishment and Remodeling etc.

It says 600 speakers – which seems amazing – with Professor Brian Cox, human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger,
Baroness Susan Greenfield, Construction Advisor, Paul Morrell.

Plus 596 others!

Get your tickets for Ecobuild here >