bemoreeco

I saw this article in the Telegraph on Thursday 2nd October and found it very interesting that the Government are making us  improve our homes, but still need to get their house in order as well. They should practice what they prescribe.

About 18,000 public buildings are being tested for energy efficiency after a new law was passed dictating that their carbon dioxide emissions must be measured.

The measure ranks buildings’ efficiency on a scale where A is best and G is worst. Both the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, and the Bank of England received a G. Between them, they use enough electricity and gas each year to emit 21,356 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

However it was not only older buildings that were found to be energy inefficient. Despite opening only six years ago, London’s City Hall received an E grade. City Hall was described by Foster & Partners, which designed it, as a “virtually non-polluting public building”.

It is now a legal requirement that every public building with an area greater than 1,000 square metres show a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) - similar to the colour-coded charts which come on refrigerators. The Government has promised to make all new public buildings have zero carbon emissions within ten years.

Emissions from Britain’s public buildings

(The grade reflects the building’s type and size, as well as its emissions)

• Houses of Parliament - G grade - 11,983 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted each year
• Bank of England - G - 9,373
• Imperial War Museum London - G 3,664
• Imperial War Museum North - G - 1,396
• Natural History Museum - E - 10,026
• HM Treasury - E - 4,122
• City Hall, London - E - 2,255
• Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - E - 1,322
• 10 Downing Street - D - 675
• Job Centre Plus, Goole - B - 67

[Source: Display Energy Certificate]

To read the full article published at  www.telegraph.co.uk <click here>