2008-02-18 Carbon Savings in the Buildings Sector

The on-site generation of electricity and heat from renewables – often called microgeneration - has been proposed in the U.K. for saving carbon – reducing carbon emissions – in the buildings sector.

This has been taken up by local and national government. For example, the Merton Rule is said to require that 10% of the building energy demand be met from on-site renewable measures. However, there is no evidence that these are the most cost-effective at saving carbon.

The Government has proposed that new homes reach a ‘Zero-Carbon’ target from 2016, apparently with the help of on-site renewables. However, there is no evidence that this is the most cost-effective way of reducing the carbon emissions of buildings.

I produced a study showing the performance and cost disadvantages of such small scale, on-site measures compared with energy saving and large-scale, off-site measures, as used on the Continent.

2008-02-18 Carbon Savings in the Buildings Sector

The on-site generation of electricity and heat from renewables – often called microgeneration - has been proposed in the U.K. for saving carbon – reducing carbon emissions – in the buildings sector.