The Fab 55

Posted on December 19, 2021December 28, 2022 by Phil Beardmore

Saving the planet with The Fab 55

Does your home or small business have a combination boiler? With no hot water cylinder? You could save energy, money and greenhouse gas emissions by turning the boiler temperature to your radiators down to 55 degrees or below.

If you have a boiler with a hot water cylinder or heat store? You could still save – but it’s slightly more complicated with this type of boiler. So read on …

Making better use of existing heating controls is one thing almost every home or business can do to reduce their Greenhouse Gas emissions NOW … and it’s free.

The government has recently announced that on all new heating systems, the maximum boiler temperature should be set to 55 degrees. This is long overdue. But you don’t have to wait until you have a new heating system. You can be part of The Fab 55 right now.

The Fab 55

If your boiler has been installed in the last 15 years, it is almost certainly a condensing boiler, whether it’s mains gas, heating oil, or LPG. It is designed to run at lower temperatures than older gas boilers. In fact it MUST be run at 55 degrees or lower in order to operate in condensing mode. If you run it at too high a temperature, then the water going back to the boiler from your radiators or under-floor heating will be too hot, and this excess heat will escape through the flue. This is not how condensing boilers were designed to work. Condensing boilers have a second heat exchanger, which is what makes them potentially more efficient than older boilers. But if the boiler temperature to the radiators is too high, then the boiler will run in non-condensing mode, wasting energy, money and greenhouse gases. Unfortunately I often see clients, both householders and businesses, where the boiler temperature to the radiators has been set to 60 or even 70 degrees.

Will it be cold if I turn the boiler temperature down?

You can get the same amount of heat to keep your home or business warm by running the heating for longer. A steady background heat during the heating season is more efficient than short bursts of on/off using the timer. You should also regularly monitor your room thermostats. You should not treat the thermostatic radiator valves like a motorbike throttle – it’s not good to turn them up and down too frequently. It’s best not to let temperatures fall below 16 degrees in a home at night, because that can be dangerous for people with cold related medical conditions.

If you have a combination boiler, you can experiment with turning your boiler temperature to the radiators to below 55 degrees – to 45 degrees. Do it in stages, not all at once.

How do I know if I have a combination boiler?

These are the signs:

A combination boiler doesn’t have a hot water cylinder or heat store
Google the manual for your boiler make and model – it will tell you if it’s a combination boiler.

If your boiler does have a hot water cylinder or heat store, then it’s not a combination boiler. See below.

How do I know if I have a condensing boiler?

insulated condensate pipe — *Insulated condensate pipe*

All boilers can be condensing boilers. This includes combination boilers, and boilers with a hot water cylinder/heat store.

A condensing boiler will have a condensate pipe (see photo) that evacuates condensed flue gases down your drain. This will usually be an insulated diagonal pipe outside. If your washing machine is below your boiler then the installer might have done a very clever thing where the condensed flue gases run out of your washing machine outlet pipe, so there won’t be an additional condensing pipe outside your home.
Google the manual for your boiler make and model – it will tell you if it’s a condensing boiler.

If you don’t have a combination boiler …

Then you can still have the boiler temperature for the radiators at 55 degrees or lower, but it’s too complicated to explain in a blog as it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Google the manual for your boiler make and model.

If you have a hot water cylinder or heat store, then you must ensure that the stored hot water is not at risk of legionella bacteria. Normally this means making sure the temperature is raised to 60 degrees periodically to kill off the bacteria. Do not take risks with a hot water cylinder temperature – consult the boiler manual.

If your home is heated by a different type of heating system, e,g, electric radiators or storage heaters, then the same principle applies, that a steady background heat is preferable, although this might be harder to achieve with storage heaters.

Getting your building “heat pump ready”

If you are considering having a heat pump, then it is essential that you run the heat pump at lower temperatures of 55 degrees or lower. Practising running your existing boiler at lower temperatures is one of the most important thing you can do to make your home or business heat pump ready.

Let’s make you energy confident

If you sign up to one of my energy advice packages, I will help you get energy confident so you know you are doing the right things to reduce the environmental impact of your home, business or non-profit.

About me

Grinning at Moor Street Station

I am the West Midlands’ leading expert in:

energy saving
renewable energy
procurement of energy saving products
water saving.

My customers include householders, landlords, public bodies, small businesses, charities and coops.

I am independent and impartial.

Phil Beardmore, FRSA AIEMA.

CONTACT ME NOW

TESTIMONIALS

Nathalie Rush

Phil is truly an expert in his field. I can understand why most people around the West Midlands choose to go to Phil for energy-saving consultancy. Phil has a thorough understanding of energy conservation and sustainable living. Would highly recommend. Nathalie Rush, MD, Six Star Insulation.

Claire Spencer

His knowledge of community-led sustainability is second to none, and his perspective on local and national issues is invaluable to us. He adds value, and is everything a good consultant should be, and I would recommend him to anyone in our field Claire Spencer, Sustainable Moseley.

Rosemary Coyne

It has been hugely inspiring to work with Phil. While others talk, Phil gets on and does it. Rosemary Coyne, Coordinator, Sustainable Housing Action Partnership

Ray Walker

In working with Phil I have been impressed by his level of knowledge and enthusiasm. He has a vast array of contacts and has brought us into contact with other stakeholder in the energy business that would have been much more difficult to achieve without him. I am also struck by his commitment to supporting communities and the most vulnerable client groups.

Ray Walker, Disability Resource Centre

Cllr Karen McCarthy

Phil Beardmore has a long association with Localise West Midlands and is a valued associate on environmental, housing and fuel poverty projects.

He works with us both as an individual practitioner and leading multi-disciplinary teams on larger projects, delivering high quality results on time and on budget.

Cllr Karen McCarthy, Localise West Midlands

Membership of the AECB – Association of Environmentally Conscious Buildings – enables me to keep my skills up to date

making birmingham green

I won a Making Birmingham Greener Award for Outstanding Personal Achievement.

green leader

I was nominated twice by my peers as one of the top Green Leaders in the West Midlands

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My business rents a space – how can we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions?

Posted on December 3, 2021December 3, 2021 by Phil Beardmore

If your business rents an office or shop premises from a landlord, then don’t worry, there are still many things you can do to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions.

And most importantly, however much or little you are able to do, you must tell your customers what you are doing. People like to buy from businesses that are ethical and sustainable.

Here are my top tips for improving the environmental performance of your business if you rent:

Turn off lights, computers and other machines when not in use. Put up stickers, particularly in parts of the building that are intermittently used – e.g. kitchens and bathrooms.
Make sure doors and windows are closed in cold weather. The Close the Door campaign shows how you can do this without losing trade.
Can you reduce the number of journeys made by car or van? Where journeys are unavoidable, are your staff aware of eco-driving techniques? Has home working and remote working had a positive or negative impact on your environmental performance?
How local is your supply chain? Can you buy local?
If there are heating and air conditioning controls that you have access to, have you reviewed how you use them? Better control of heating and air conditioning is one of the most effective ways to reduce your energy consumption.
Are there any empty fridges or freezers? Are they turned off? Where there are fridges that have stuff in them, are they kept full and frost-free?
Devise a simple monitoring strategy to show how you are getting on. Take photos. Tell your customers via your website, social media, in your window. They will feel good about buying from you if they know you are an environmentally business.

Can you think of any others? My workbook (pay as you feel) will help.

If you need expert help with taking environmental action then check out my energy advice packages for small businesses. Tell me what makes your business great and we’ll make it greener and more profitable. #EnergyConfident

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Can heat pumps solve fuel poverty?

Posted on October 20, 2021November 3, 2021 by Phil Beardmore

One of the weaknesses of the government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy is that the grants available for heat pumps are most likely to be taken up by better-off households, and that fuel poor households are at risk of missing out. Suddenly, fuel poverty is in the news, and the internet is full of self-proclaimed experts who claim that heat pumps are no good for the fuel poor.

Let us never forget that our reliance on gas for heating homes is one of the main reasons why fuel poverty is on the increase. Even the most efficient gas boilers are only 95% efficient, whereas heat pumps are at least 300% efficient. Gas boilers are frequently over-sized, and incorrectly designed to run at high temperatures, which means they operate at much less than 95% efficiency. Gas is part of the problem.

Fuel poverty is a complex social issue. It is caused by poor efficiency of buildings and appliances; lack of understanding of how to use appliances efficiently; low income; all compounded by the fact that the fuel poor are most likely to be on the worst tariffs and use the worst payment methods. People with cold and damp related medical conditions are at greater risk of fuel poverty.

There is no magic bullet to solve fuel poverty.

Effective fuel poverty interventions include some or all of the following:

Improving the thermal efficiency of a home;
More efficient heating appliances;
Income maximisation;
Supporting fuel poor households to find the cheapest payment methods and tariffs, which is difficult in a time of price volatility.

Successive governments have failed to implement strategies that achieve a holistic approach to solving fuel poverty. Heat pumps are right for some homes and not right for others. What fuel poor households need is a whole-house plan to make their homes more efficient, starting with improving the building fabric.

Proper design is key to the successful installation of a heat pump in any home. The UK is short on heating engineers who understand how to design and install heat pumps. This needs to be addressed urgently.

Read a report I wrote about a project in Birmingham to help vulnerable fuel poor households.

Here is a video of the successful use of heat pumps to help fuel poor households.

Featured image by Amy Purdie for Saltley Community Association.

What does the government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy mean for your small business? Top tips for your business to act now.

Posted on October 19, 2021October 19, 2021 by Phil Beardmore

The Heat and Buildings Strategy is a plan from the government to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced by heating buildings. It has strengths, but also limitations.

There is financial support in the Strategy for homeowners, landlords and the public sector to decarbonise homes and public buildings. Heat pump grants for householders are likely to be predominantly taken up by more affluent households with higher carbon footprints.

There is no financial support for small businesses in the Heat and Buildings Strategy. All is not lost, however, because there are many things that your small business can do to save the earth, without costing the earth.

Here are my top tips for what you can do now:

Review the way you use your heating controls. In every single building that I have ever helped, I have advised on better use of existing heating controls. More strategic use of existing heating controls needs no capital investment. Upgrading to smart heating controls is a cost-effective way of saving carbon.
Switch to LED lighting throughout the business and don’t forget lighting controls – for example, passive infra-red controls in areas of intermittent occupancy such as bathrooms and corridors.
Consider the impact of home working and flexible working on your business. Just because there are fewer people in your building, it doesn’t always follow that your building is using less energy. Now is a good time to undertake an energy audit.
Improve the airtightness of your building. Look for gaps where the floors meet the walls and where the roof meets the walls. They can be sealed quite cheaply and will effectively stop heat escaping from your building. This is particularly useful in older buildings where it is difficult and expensive to insulate the walls and floors. But if you can insulate, then walls, roofs, floors, and window reveals. Thermal imaging is great for identifying priority areas.
Move desks and equipment to make use of natural light.
Use laptops instead of desktops as they use less energy.

Tell me what makes your business great, and we will work together to make it greener and more profitable.

If you’re a business that needs expert help with energy saving then please check out my energy advice packages.

If you’re a homeowner please click here. I specialise in advising homeowners on whether a heat pump is suitable for their home.

If you’re a charity, public sector body or housing provider please click here.

Consumers want to buy off businesses that are ethical and sustainable. Now is the time to act on the climate emergency.

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Would you like your green home makeover to be certified and publicly listed on the Low Carbon Buildings Database?

Posted on July 21, 2021November 8, 2021 by Phil Beardmore

Are you giving your home a green makeover? Would you like the work you have done to be certified? Would you like to tell the world about what you have done to save the planet?

I am accredited by the Association of Environment Conscious Building (AECB) to certify housing retrofit projects as having achieved the AECB Retrofit Standard, and to list them as a case study on the Low Carbon Buildings database. Both privately-owned and rented homes (including social landlords) can be certified. Non-domestic buildings, including businesses, charities, coops, and places of worship can also be certified on the Low Carbon Buildings database.

Please contact me for a no-obligation discussion about helping you to get your green home makeover certified. As an introductory offer, this service is currently priced at £299.

Featured image credit – Levitt Bernstein, Elementa, Passivhaus Trust and Etude commissioned by West Oxfordshire, Cotswold and Forest of Dean District Councils, funded by the LGA Housing Advisers Programme.

The government’s new Community Ownership Fund can support the journey to Net Zero

Posted on July 21, 2021July 28, 2021 by Phil Beardmore

Are you looking to take over a neglected building or asset into community ownership? Is it leaking heat and wasting energy and money like the building in the picture?

The government’s Community Ownership Fund was announced in July 2021. It has been set up to help communities take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of closure, and will run for four years.

Interestingly on the subject of Environmental Sustainability, the fund’s prospectus says that “We welcome projects that can support the journey to net zero and incorporate low or zero carbon approaches. We also welcome projects which consider their impact on the natural environment and appropriate mitigations.”

This means the Fund could potentially support:

energy saving measures in buildings
renewable energy installations such as solar, heat pumps, wind turbines.

If you’re bidding to the Community Ownership Fund and are interested in making your community ownership project low carbon, then please contact me to see how I can help you. I have lots of experience of working with community-owned buildings on energy saving, renewable energy and water saving.

Watch this video on YouTube

Are you a public sector body who wants to reduce their energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions?

Posted on March 23, 2021March 23, 2021 by Phil Beardmore

Are you a school, academy, NHS trust, university, college, nursery or other public body?
Do you have a fossil-fuel based heating system that is coming to the end of its useful life?

If so, then you may be eligible to apply for grant funding to reduce your energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Eligible costs under the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme include a contribution towards capital works, enabling works, and some consultancy costs.

A typical project might include installing a heat pump in a public sector building, with associated works such as insulation, heating controls, LED lighting and lighting controls, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.

What I can do to help you

I can help you with:

deciding which are the most cost-effective energy saving measures for your public sector building
writing your application to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme
choosing suppliers of energy saving measures and suppliers
demonstrating the greenhouse gas emissions savings to the funder.

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is open for applications from 7th April 2021 and is expected to be quickly over-subscribed. If you would like me to help you with your energy saving project then contact me now for a conversation about what you need from me.

About me

Grinning at Moor Street Station

I am the West Midlands’ leading expert in:

energy saving
renewable energy
procurement of energy saving products
water saving.

My customers include householders, landlords, public bodies, small businesses, charities and coops.

I am independent and impartial.

Phil Beardmore, FRSA AIEMA.

CONTACT ME NOW