Woods Hardwick's Review of Ecobuild 2011

March 24, 2011 (Press-News.org) The focus of the conference this year (1-3 March 2011) was on emerging issues, new thinking, challenging ideas and the new policy priorities of the coalition government responding to the need for budget cuts.

Unfortunately, the day didn't start well, as, despite organisers knowing in advance that a record number of delegates were attending (apparently to the tune of 85,000), as well as more exhibitors than ever before (1,300), travel to the new venue, Excel London, was long and tiresome and not much short of a logistical nightmare. Perhaps Earl's Court wasn't so bad after all?

Further chaos ensued on arrival at the exhibition as the majority of delegates hadn't received their badges prior to the event, causing large queues of unhappy, stressed people waiting for them to be printed whilst the seminars got under way. We can only hope the organisers have taken note of the situation and next year we'll see delegates seamlessly making their way to the event, walking through the doors and steadily making their way to their first chosen seminar with a smile on their face. We'll see.

Teething problems aside, once in the seminars, they were informative and definitely worth attending, such as Latest developments in Technology: using vertical ground loops for storage by Nic Wincott (Neoenergy, Sweden). Donna commented, "although Nick's precedents were in Sweden, they provided food for thought that it was possible to do ground source heat pumps successfully. He offered a great example of Nasby Park Castle with 150m depth GSHP and an actual pay back in three years, and a retrofit example on Kristinehamn's Hospital in Sweden that was also very successful."

Also enlightening was the seminar entitled What are the factors to consider when assessing suitability of ground source heat pumps? All three of the speakers were full of ideas and tips, certainly for Woods Hardwick to mull over. Donna continued, "Richard Shennan of Mott MacDonald Fulcrum raised many interesting points, but I particularly liked his ideas about the possibilities of using aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) on smaller scale projects. ATES works well with seasonal variations so England is a good location."

Denys Stephens (Sustainability Manager, Penwith Housing Association) addressed the ease of fitting ground source heat pumps in low income housing, illustrating what little impact it had on residents. Amazingly, they can remain in their property whilst building works are carried out, causing minimal fuss. The only evidence in the aftermath is a standard box to house the kit and replacement radiators, and in some cases, electricity bills have been reduced by as much as 50%. Inspiration for all of us.

Rob Curtis from Earth Energy was particularly philosophical and candidly pointed out that if we are to hit government targets for reducing carbon emissions then we need to retrofit GSHP as well as ensuring it is actioned on all new builds. He highlighted the fact that the main problem in the UK is the quality of the installations and that if this was not addressed, we will potentially make the situation worse.

"Ultimately, the casing point echoed by all the speakers", said Donna, "was that of specification and installation of the GSHP. If this isn't right, one can only imagine what the repercussions could be in a couple of years' time."

A completely different subject matter, Part L and F in practice, was also worth attending, with speakers discussing the effects the latest part L and F revisions have on calculation tools - the key problem being heat loss at junctions. One very useful suggestion by Architect Lynne Sullivan, was the need for an interactive calculation tool that architects can use during the design stage. Potentially something to watch out for.

After a long few hours in the seminars, it's always nice to have a change of scenery and peruse the stands and exhibitors, however this year was a little disappointing. Yes, the organisers were right to confidently state there were more exhibitors than ever before, however, as we all know, quantity isn't always quality. Sustainability is such a big thing now, and many companies are jumping on the band-wagon to shout about their latest product/service that slightly fits the mould. Rather than trying to fill as many stands as possible, it may be a better approach for the organisers to be more selective with the products being showcased and ask, 'Is this product able to contribute towards a low carbon built environment?'.

But let's not get too caught up in the negatives, as there were still obviously many fantastic stands and exhibitors, with plenty of impressive products. Woods Hardwick's 'pick of the conference' has to be the UFM ProFi deck. This deck is made from recycled wood based fibres and plastic polymers to form planks that can be used in applications that would have previously used timber decking. The pros being that it is slip-resistant, non-porous, impact resistant, has various colour options, requires minimal maintenance, is PVC-free and non toxic.

At present, it's only used significantly in Holland and Germany where it is manufactured, however with Travis Perkins now stocking the product, it has the potential to become very popular in the UK. Woods Hardwick's Donna was extremely impressed with the product and concluded, "although it does not have cradle to cradle certification, I still really rate it as an eco-product as when it is no longer needed it can be mushed up and recycled again for something else, so it effectively never becomes waste. Genius!"

So all-in-all, the conference is still well worth a visit and with some fine-tuning, next year could be even better (but perhaps not bigger!) than before.

Woods Hardwick is a leading UK architecture firm, offering sustainable, cutting-edge designs. For more information on our range of services, please go to our website.

Woods Hardwick is one of the UK's leading multi-disciplinary architectural practices, delivering exceptional, sustainable designs within the residential and commercial arena. To find out more about our full range of services, go to our website http://www.woodshardwick.com or call us at (01234) 268862.