A round table held this week in London exploring the practical challenges and benefits of specifying secondary heating systems for new homes, in the light of the recent Government announcement that wood burning stoves would in fact be permitted in homes under the Future Homes Standard.
Staged by netMAGmedia’s title Housebuilder & Developer, and sponsored by manufacturers Charlton & Jenrick, Jotul UK and Percy Doughty, the event saw a range of experts in the field discuss the options for housebuilders around heating using solid fuel as well as electricity and gas, as decarbonisation takes hold.
Held at the Institute of Directors in London, this Building Insights LIVE round table was once again a lively discussion, airing the issues of housebuilders and consultants, in particular the future pressures likely on the electricity grid meaning secondary heating may be essential. Delegates recommended a range of measures for housebuilders striving to combine futureproofed solutions for customers with desirable lifestyle features such as wood-burning stoves, and counteract negative publicity around indoor air quality.
Delegates included Naomi Sadler, sustainable design consultant at SEES, who gave a real-world perspective on both the considerations for housebuilders, and what homeowners needed to do to ensure their heating solutions were sustainable for the future. The delegates agreed that there was a “mismatch between Government policy and how people live” in terms of current approaches to heating homes, and the need to counteract misinformation around the risks of modern wood-fired stove systems regarding air quality and risks.
The group looked at how solutions such as wood-burning stoves including pellet options could now provide realistic solutions for mainstream housing, and not only as an aesthetic ‘luxury’ option. Sponsors asked practical questions on driving the agenda forward, including “how can manufacturers and designers work together to ensure secondary heating is specified in a way that balances resilience, comfort, and compliance, without undermining efficiency targets” (Charlton & Jenrick), and “What influences specifiers’ choice of wood stoves as a secondary heating source in new build properties, and who is the decision maker in this process?” (Jotul UK).
With many of the group coming from a similar position of trying to encourage a wider acceptance of wood-burning stoves in volume housebuilding, the discussion also centred around getting messaging right to housebuilders. Simon Bower, from sponsor Percy Doughty, asked the group what education consumers, installers, designers, and local authorities needed to “empower them to make informed choices about secondary heating and home heating methods.”
He also advocated that the wood stoves sector “work collectively toward a sustained, proactive marketing campaign to influence public opinion and steer perceptions, rather than reacting defensively to the unfairly manufactured negative narratives surrounding stoves.”
The event’s chair, James Parker, editor of Housebuilder & Developer, commented:
“This was a focused, expert group discussing one of the key challenges which might as yet be under appreciated by housebuilders. Namely, how many of their customers may require secondary heating options as new homes decarbonise, and the realistic options available including wood burning that may now be possible for meeting the Future Homes Standard in a healthy way.” Setting out the benefits as well as the challenges clearly, this was another excellent and timely round table and we’re very grateful for our attendees’ contributions, including those of our sponsors.”
The full list of delegates for the Building Insights LIVE round table was:
Danielle Michalska Director of Research & Technical Innovation, Taylor Wimpey
Calvin May Head of Technical & Certification, HETAS
Jason Harries Head of Woodsure
Erica Malkin Executive Director, Stove Industry Association
James Verlaque Director of Policy, Regulation & Technical, Stove Industry Association
Dennis Milligan British Flue & Chimney Manufacturers Association, FETA & NHIC
Ruoyang Yuan Lecturer, Off-Grid Heating, Supergen Bioenergy Hub (University of Sheffield)
Naomi Sadler Director, Sadler Energy & Environmental (SEES)
Neil Holland Chairman, UK Pellet Council
Sponsors’ Attendees:
Simon Bower Technical Director, Percy Doughty
Peter Mintoft Managing Director, Charlton and Jenrick
Mark Ryan Managing Director, Jotul UK
A Building Insights podcast capturing some of the key sections of the debate, will be available at: insights.netmagmedia.co.uk, and the full report on the event will be available in the November/December edition of Housebuilder & Developer.
About netMAGmedia:
Publishers of leading construction industry media titles, including Architects’ Datafile, Housebuilder & Developer,
The Selfbuilder and Housing Management & Maintenance. Building Insights and Building Insights LIVE are
netMAGmedia’s podcast and round table brands respectively.
Contact details:
netMAGmedia Ltd
Tel: 01435 863500, email: amadigan(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)netmagmedia.co.uk