A "super insulated" block of homes with annual heating bills of under £100 is one the buildings featured in an exhibition at the Building Centre in London’s Store Street (off Tottenham Court Road).

Another is a low carbon refurbishment in southeast London showing how carbon dioxide emissions can be cut by 80 per cent: triple glazing, a condensing boiler, solar thermal collectors, LED lighting and photovoltaics together achieve fuel savings of £800.

Noting that decentralising energy is one of the London Development Agency’s key goals, the exhibition says some of the biggest gains could come from local-level combined heat and power (CHP) schemes.

Dealing with the planning system when working in existing buildings will be harder than planning for new buildings, and there is pressure for the establishment of a body, Energy for London, to cope with the problem.

The City of London is considering setting up its own CHP, and two biomass-powered CCHP (combined cooling, heat and power) stations are to be built for the Olympics.

The exhibition sees a place for renewables on a smaller scale, particularly for solar hot water. Biomass is also mentioned, ideally from material such as timber from demolished buildings. The London Waste Energy Recycling Board is exploring ways of obtaining energy from the 500,000 tonnes of wood and one million tonnes of food waste that are sent to landfills every year.

On the flood protection front, Islington gets an honourable mention as the first council to make a commitment to have no loss of permeable spaces (that let water drain away) to hard surfaces.

* The Building Centre, Store Street, 1E 7BT. Tel: (0)207 692 4000/ www.buildingcentre.co.uk/
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.30am - 6pm; Saturday: 10am-5pm

http://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/home.asp

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