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Clwyd Alyn housing project surpasses RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge target

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A timber based Clwyd Alyn social housing project in Llanbedr near Ruthin constructed by Williams Homes surpasses the embodied carbon target set down by RIBA in their 2030 Climate Challenge campaign.
An embodied carbon analysis undertaken by Eilidh Forster of Woodknowledge Wales to a measurement methodology agreed by RIBA and RICS returned a value of 253 kgCO2/m2 which is a 16% improvement on the RIBA 2030 target. See below (graph)

This project really does represent an effective response to the climate emergency and demonstrates that Welsh Government should implement an embodied carbon policy so that all homes in Wales are required to be low carbon. This is one of the policy recommendations in our Zero Carbon Homes report launched at WoodBUIILD 2019.

Clwyd Alyn social housing project in Llanbedr near Ruthin constructed by Williams Homes

The 36-unit housing Innovative Housing Programme supported scheme in Llanbedr near Ruthin is one of the exemplars for the Home-Grown Homes Project and provides compelling evidence for timber construction using Welsh trees. Welsh grown spruce supplied by Pontrilas Sawmills was used for the structural frame and larch grown and processed near the site was used for the external cladding. All joinery elements were wood based, and wood fibre insulation was used as an alternative to petrochemical foams.
Now that the Llanbedr project has beaten the RIBA 2030 target for embodied carbon, the Home-Grown Homes team are turning their attention to measuring the operational carbon emissions – the emissions associated with the buildings use. The design energy performance suggests a level that approximates to the RIBA target for 2025 – 70kWh/m2/y. See below (chart).

RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge target metrics for domestic buildings


However, RIBA demands that the operational energy performance is determined through post occupancy evaluation rather than using design energy performance. Over the next 6 months, Cardiff Metropolitan University with the support of Build Test UK aim to conduct an energy performance evaluation using established and novel techniques. This evaluation will determine if the building can be expected to perform at or near its design energy performance to provide a truly low carbon and sustainable home both in construction and use.

Reducing supply chain cost in the timber trade

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Reducing supply costs in any industry is important and the forestry sector is no exception. Forestry and timber production in the UK has suffered from a lack of policy support, investment and innovation for many years. Hopefully that is starting to change as governments realise that trees and timber products are part of the solution to our climate change emergency. That is why it was so refreshing to see the recent announcement of an Innovate UK project focused around the timber trade.
Tilhill Forestry will be working with the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and Innovate UK on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). The KTP programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through better use of knowledge, technology and skills.
The purpose of this partnership, known as “Trees to Timber Mill” is to develop and deliver a digital end-to-end solution that will deliver process efficiencies, improve reporting and reduced supply chain costs. This will be done by a unique decision support system enabling the company to both optimise the standing timber crop’s conversion into logs during tree harvesting operations and maximise the high value sawn timber product cut from these logs at the sawmill.
More funding for research and innovation in the timber supply chain is very welcome and hopefully we will see more project like this in the near future. Woodknowlede Wales is in touch will Universities in Wales working across the timber supply chain so if you do have an idea you would like to discuss let us know and we will try to put you in touch with the right person to talk to.
We look forward to hearing updates from this project over the next few years.
Read the original article posted on the Timber Construction / Timber Trader UK website here.

GHA 2019 Conference: Delivering Net Zero and Future Homes

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The UK Government has recently stated its ambition that all new homes should meet a Future Homes standard, aiming to halve the energy use of all new buildings by 2030, compared to the current Building Regulations requirements, which is a significant step towards meeting a net zero target.
The Good Homes Alliance (GHA) believe that the Future Homes Standard is a key opportunity for Government and the house-building industry to address both energy demand and carbon dioxide emission reductions, in addition to other issues such as quality, overheating, innovation, skills, energy efficiency and occupant health & well-being.
The GHA 2019 conference will bring together policy makers, house-builders and their supply chains to debate the key challenges, discuss how to meet the government’s proposed Future Homes standard and possible net zero targets, and demonstrate how to deliver high quality, low carbon, healthy homes, which are fit for the future.
See the full programme here
Woodknowledge Wales members who would like to attend this event can register at the discounted partner rate,  see below:

* Discounted partner rate of £135 +VAT (General admittance – £170 +VAT)
* 20% EARLY BIRD discount until 30th September (Reducing ticket price to £108 +VAT)
* ‘Buy One, Get One Half Price’ offer using promo code – B1G1HP (includes EARLY BIRD discount, reducing ticket price to just £81 +VAT each. Max. 2 tickets)
 

Timber Cladding Videos from RIBA

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These three RIBA videos by Swedish Wood aim to help you understand and learn about the following topics:
– Understand how to design using timber as an external cladding and the design effects that can be achieved
– Understand how to ensure the sustainability of timber cladding and the procurement of legal and sustainable timber
– Understand how to specify and detail cladding
– Understand how to issue fixing instructions to the contractor
– Understand how to issue coating and maintenance advice to the contractor and customer
– Learn about the relevant British Standards and Building Regulations relating to timber cladding

Timber Cladding: How Timber Cladding Can Meet your Project and Quality Objectives: RIBA Plan of Work Stage 1 (07:18) by Swedish Wood

Timber Cladding: Concept Design: RIBA Plan of Work Stage 2 (15:46) by Swedish Wood

Timber Cladding: Technical Design: RIBA Plan of Work Stage 4 (10:15) by Swedish Wood

 

Airtightness, Vapour Control and Breathability

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The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) launched a new industry briefing paper in August 2019, part of a series that aims at generating a greater understanding of the roles, capabilities and related issues concerning natural fibre insulation (NFI). In doing this, they hope to enable industry to deliver better buildings designed to take advantage of the significant building performance benefits of NFIs.
Airtightness, vapour control and breathability play a critical role in the operational performance of buildings. Understanding how they work together enables us to control air leakage, maximise energy efficiency, optimise indoor air quality and ensures durability of the building fabric.
The paper has been authored by Mark Lynn, ASBP Vice-Chair & Managing Director of Eden Renewables/Thermafleece, and peer reviewed by members of the ASBP’s Natural Fibre Insulation Group.
Open Here

Net Zero The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming

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In this report, the Committee on Climate Change recommends a new emissions target for the UK: net-zero greenhouse gases by 2050.
This recommendation is based on the latest scientific evidence on climate change  as well as considering the appropriate role of the UK
in the global challenge to limit future temperature increases. The CCC has built a new understanding of the potential to achieve deep emissions reduction in the UK and made a fresh appraisal of the costs and benefits to the UK economy of doing so.
The CCC has concluded that net-zero is necessary, feasible and cost-effective.
Necessary – to respond to the overwhelming evidence of the role of greenhouse gases in driving global climate change.
Feasible – because the technologies and approaches that will deliver net-zero are now understood and can
be implemented with strong leadership from government.
Cost effective – because falls in the cost of key technologies permit net-zero within the very same costs that were accepted as the
likely costs by Parliament in 2008 when it legislated the present 2050 target.
The full report can be downloaded here.