News
How to approach the new London Whole Life Carbon policy
Posted on May 14th 2020
Obtaining planning consent in London now requires addressing Whole Life-Cycle Carbon (WLCC) emissions. Here we explain our approach to this now and how it may evolve in the future. At present, WLCC emission assessments are undertaken for BREEAM purposes and for general understanding of a building’s embodied carbon content However, the Draft London Plan, once adopted, will require improvements to …
We are moving office
Posted on May 14th 2020
After almost 6 years based in Harrow we are moving to a new canal-side office in Rickmansworth. We are excited for the opportunities the new office brings in terms of providing a high-quality space in comfortable surroundings whilst retaining excellent transport links to central London and further afield. With excellent natural daylighting, efficient modern building services and many facilities for …
No Place for SAP 10.1 Factors in New GLA Guidance
Posted on May 14th 2020
Recently released Energy Assessment Guidance from the GLA continues to ‘expect’ applicants to utilise outdated SAP carbon factors that result in significantly higher capital costs to developers. The GLA expect that SAP10.0 CO₂ emission factors are used in planning applications as opposed to the more up to date SAP10.1 CO₂ emission factors. Energy strategies which opt for heat pumps in …
Has the Home Office fallen out of design?
Posted on May 14th 2020
Incorporation of some key design features in new homes can meet the expected aspiration for home-buyers to work from home in a healthy, effective and environmentally friendly manner. Providing for a single home-worker needs the following to be considered and incorporated into designs to improve wellbeing and productivity: Home office space provided in a room other than the kitchen, living …
Benefits of storing solar PV energy thermally
Posted on April 3rd 2020
Connection of PV panels to hot water cylinders in homes will provide benefits in terms of carbon performance as well as reduced resident energy bills. Decarbonisation of the electrical grid is reducing the carbon benefit of installing solar PV on buildings. However, current policy is still encouraging the installation of renewable technologies to help meet carbon reduction targets. As peak …
Hodkinson’s Research Results on Noise Levels with Windows Partially Open
Posted on April 3rd 2020
Our post-completion research demonstrates the significant impact that opening windows even a small amount can have on internal noise levels. Once they are open, increasing the width that the windows are open have an almost imperceptible difference in noise levels, despite offering the potential for a vast improvement in ventilation levels. Balancing window openability for acoustics, ventilation and overheating is …
Hodkinson CPD Webinars
Posted on April 3rd 2020
We are continuing to offer CPD presentations on a variety of topics so please get in touch with one of our team if you would like one on a particular topic. As we all adapt to isolation and home working these will of course be presented online. We hope that these will continue to enlighten and provoke the discussion that …
Heat Network Regulation Imminent
Posted on April 3rd 2020
Regulation of Heat Networks is on the horizon. The responsibilities to be imposed on developers and operators do not appear too onerous but may introduce mandatory technical standards. Proposals now under consultation aim to attract investors and reduce capital and operational costs. There will be a greater onus on new developments to connect to heat networks, but developers will have …
COVID 19: How we are responding
Posted on March 17th 2020
We want to reassure our clients that we have implemented a remote working facility for all of our staff to enable us to properly deliver our services in these unprecedented times. We have implemented a range of strategies to help deal with the impact of the Coronavirus, ensuring we continue to successfully deliver projects. Our robust IT and governance systems …
How bespoke thermal bridging calculations can help your project
Posted on March 4th 2020
Calculating heat losses resulting from thermal bridges is one of the only ways to improve SAP calculations without the need to re-design any aspect of the building, making the price per carbon of this process very low. This is because SAP punishes the lack of calculations by assuming very high values for the thermal bridging heat loss. So, to ensure …