Plus latest Grant Shapps letter and resource crunch
Follow links below for more info.
Elmhurst non-compliance study; Aircon opp; Grant Shapps letter; SAVABX £30 EPCs; Resource crunch
Elmhurst non-compliance study
Only 27% of commercial properties had the legally required EPC
Elmhurst non-compliance study (pdf)
Grant Shapps letter
Any moves by the HIP industry to establish a non-compulsory, exchange-ready pack will not be opposed by a future Conservative government. However, the heavy hand of government would not be used to enforce them. If, as you say, HIPs are a useful - and cost efficient - source of information for consumers, the market will undoubtedly move to ensure their success.
Grant shares your concerns about non-compliance with EPC obligations and has already outlined the Party's pledge to bolster EPCs, giving them more importance, not just in the home-buying process but also more generally. For that reason, EPCs would be retained and strengthened and the role of DEAs will not be changed. The regime governing EPCs prior to April 2009 will be reinstituted.
Reply from Grant Shapps office - The Home Inspector Forum
SAVABX £30 EPCs
SAVABX will drop fees to £30 wef 1st February 2010 due to increasing competition and a slow start to the housing market
SAVABX drop fees - The Home Inspector Forum
EU worried about resource crunch - green technologies threatened
Got cut-off before I could do this justice but well-worth a read.
High-tech raw materials are of particular concern as they are increasingly the basis of innovative 'green technologies' associated with renewable energy and the reduction of greenhouse gases, the Commission pointed out.
For example, China produces 95% of all rare earth concentrates (needed for hand-held consumer electronics, LCD displays and high performance magnets), Brazil 90% of all niobium (needed for steel alloys in gas pipelines and super alloys in high-performance jet aircraft) and South Africa produces 79% of all rhodium (needed for car catalysts), the Commission said.
Platinum and palladium, for instance, are used in the fuel cells that power hydrogen cars, while silicon, gallium and silver are used in solar cells. Cu-Indium-Gallium-Selenium (CIGS) alloys are used in 'thin-film' photovoltaic technology for solar cells.
