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January 2010 - Christmas Charity Donation
Thanks to everyone who voted in our Christmas Charity Appeal. We will be donating to ORBIS and Sight Savers International giving the gift of sight to 6 children.
December 2009 - Impetus alumni
Kelly is now working as Operations Manager (London and South East) at National Energy Action. She has been busy with a number of projects including working with Lambeth Council to develop a new affordable warmth strategy and action plan. In September Rachael joined the London Development Agency as Principal Project Manager for environmental projects. She is currently overseeing the Homes Energy Efficiency Programme, a pan-London homes retrofitting scheme aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the residential sector. Amanda is about to have her second baby. Mandi is planning a move to Berlin with her family in the New Year. Joanne continues to work with Impetus as an associate and has been working with a range of public sector clients on local climate change action and the development of the green economy.
December 2009 - Arun Renewable Energy Advisory Service
Impetus is providing free advice on renewable energy to householders in Arun on behalf of the district council. This is in the form of a report compiled from an online house survey as well as more detailed and tailored verbal advice. Training will also be given to council staff and members on renewable energy in particular on how it relates to planning and building control.
December 2009 - Local Improvement Advisor work
Emma has completed a couple of LIA assignments for the East Midlands Improvement and Efficiency Partnership, developing a climate change training toolkit for members and running a workshop to develop the region's climate change support programme. She is also working on assignments for the Local Strategic Partnerships in Wakefield and Cambridgeshire, helping them develop their NI186 delivery plans. To find out more about accessing LIA support, please click here.
December 2009 - SEEDA case studies
Impetus has written 22 case studies on sustainability for the South East England Development Agency. These have covered a range of topics from a number of different organisations working on sustainability in the South East. Sustainable construction was a key theme (e.g. eco open houses; innovative low carbon housing) and local authority policies also feature strongly (e.g. Kent County Council’s climate change action plan; Eastleigh Borough Council’s CarbonFREE project). However, the case studies also look at issues such as conserving biodiversity in the region, water efficiency, encouraging children to cycle to school and designing developments to cope with flooding and climate change.
All the case studies can be found on the South East Excellence website and the final three will be uploaded in the New Year.
December 2009 - Wood-fired heating
In November, Emma attended a European study tour to find out how wood is being successfully used to fuel district heating networks in Finland. She's currently working with one of the English regional agencies to investigate the potential for setting up a support network for local councils to support the development of woodfuel supply chains in their areas.
December 2009 - HydeMartlet
Working with Greenlight Construction on behalf of HydeMartlet homes, Dave has reviewed the energy performance and carbon impact of a range of rural housing in West Sussex. Having completed this review he is now analysing the potential for making significant improvements to the properties.
December 2009 - Design advice
Impetus continues to support householders and landowners with specific and detailed design advice on energy improvements to their houses, planned extensions, re-developments and new build projects. Working with individual clients, project managers or other professional consultants, we are delivering creative and effective low-carbon solutions to particular buildings, locations and user demands.
Impetus has been providing secretariat services to the Existing Homes Alliance, a coalition of organisations calling for urgent action to transform the UK’s existing housing stock and bring a practical focus to the need for an ambitious programme of low carbon refurbishment.
December 2009 - New Build Wider Stakeholder Forum
Impetus has been working with the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes and the Zero Carbon Hub to organise the first event of the New Build Wider Stakeholder Forum which is due to take place early in the New Year.
December 2009 - Our Warm Community
Impetus is currently working with Blooming Green on the development of an online toolkit to help smaller housing associations tackle fuel poverty. This project provides resources, support and advice to help communities make homes warmer and reduce fuel costs.
December 2009 - Energy efficiency training
Impetus staff and associates have been involved in delivering energy efficiency training to social housing providers, on behalf of Housing Quality Network.
December 2009 - NI186 research project
Impetus is in the final stage of an in-depth research project looking into implementation of NI186. The report should be available early in the New Year; to request a copy, please email Emma.
September 2009 - Fuel poverty in London
Last year, the Greater London Authority commissioned the Association for the Conservation of Energy, Impetus Consulting, Richard Moore and the Centre for Sustainable Energy to understand and illustrate the nature of the fuel poverty in London in order to inform GLA’s new Housing, and Climate Change and Energy Strategies.
Using the Government’s definition of fuel poverty, around 10 per cent of London’s households are classed as fuel poor. However, when higher housing costs are taken into account, this rises to 24 per cent of London’s households, and to 36 per cent if taking into account the additional income requirements that larger families need for them to enjoy the same quality of life as smaller families.
The report found that the most significant determinant is income, with Londoners in the lowest quintile of income over 117 times more likely to be fuel poor than households who are not. The next most significant determinants are the cost of energy and housing type. Although the energy efficiency of London’s homes is being improved, more activity is necessary to prevent Londoners from falling into fuel poverty.
September 2009 - Heat and Energy Saving Strategy – Financing Mechanisms
The Energy Efficiency Partnership for homes, in collaboration with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), organised a one-day workshop, facilitated by Impetus, to explore potential financing mechanisms to support the Government's Heat and Energy Saving Strategy (HESS).
The aim of the day was to develop a series of proposed finance offerings that could enable homeowners (owner-occupiers and landlords) to invest in energy efficiency and small scale renewable energy generation technologies for their properties.
The report is available here.
September 2009 - Low carbon planning evidence base work
Impetus is currently working on two projects related to developing low carbon evidence bases for Local Planning Authorities. In partnership with CSE and Land Use Consultants, we are working for a consortium of five local authorities in West Sussex. Meanwhile, we are working in partnership with CAG and Dotted Eyes for two Oxfordshire district councils. Both project are due to be completed in September.
September 2009 - Renewable Energy Support Service
Impetus is currently providing a Renewable Energy Support Service for Arun District Council. This new service launched on the 1st July 2009 is designed to take the extra step in helping local residents wishing to reduce their fuel bills and carbon footprint. It offers advice to residents how to invest wisely and how to work out the best technology for their house, taking into account the specific features and location of the property.
The advice service covers solar hot water, solar electric (photovoltaic) panels, wood-fired boilers and stoves, heat pumps: air-sourced, ground-sourced and water-sourced and small-scale wind turbines. Further information on the service can be found
here.
September 2009 - Communities and Local Authorities Stakeholder Workshop
The Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes is looking to establish a new working group to facilitate stakeholder coordination that encourages more effective delivery of energy saving measures through neighbourhood communities and local authorities.
On the 9th July, Impetus facilitated a workshop for the Partnership to explore the need for further stakeholder coordination and determine whether and how a new working group may facilitate this.
September 2009 - Energy Design Advice
Impetus’s ecological advice service continues to grow as increasing numbers of discerning clients seek assistance with designing, improving or building to a high energy standard (such as Passivhaus or AECB Gold).
The service covers design input to newbuild specifications, home improvement, conversions, renovations and makeovers to clusters of buildings.
See older news here.
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