Plumbing, heating and renewable energy trade show at St Pierre Park Hotel on Tuesday 14 May 2013

May 11th, 2013 by Events

The Plumb Center invites you to attend the 2013 Channel Islands Trade Show for plumbing, heating, and renewable energy on Tuesday 14 May 2013 in La Fontaine Suite of St Pierre Park Hotel, Rohais, St Peter Port, Guernsey.

(please click image to download it as a PDF file to your computer)

Doors open at 2 pm and the event closes at 9 pm.

If you would like to attend please register your details with Su.yeoman@wolseley.co.uk or call 01752 604342. Continue reading

Guernsey Water raw water main installation requires traffic lights at Les Banques from 7 to 26 May 2013

May 7th, 2013 by Guernsey Water

Guernsey Water will be laying a raw water main under Les Banques, St Sampsons from Barker’s Quarry to the grassy area on the coastline.

Traffic lights control traffic flow from Barker’s Quarry to the grassy area along Les Banques (click map to expand – ©States of Guernsey)

This work will necessitate the use of temporary traffic lights on the coast road from 7 May to 26 May 2013.

The main-laying is part of the project to replace the Marais Stream clean water pumping station, which collects raw water from more than 25% of the Island’s total catchment area and is then pumped into the Longue Hougue reservoir for Continue reading

Good Urbanism: 6 steps to creating properous places

March 7th, 2013 by Island Press

(Please click on book cover to go to publisher’s website)

Many places are surviving but not thriving, and improving the places we live depends upon our ability to envision and carry out better alternatives, argues Nan Ellin in her new book Good Urbanism: Six Steps to Creating Prosperous Places.

Instead of focusing on what is wrong with these places, she advocates for identifying the strengths of the place and how to build upon those strengths.

Ellin describes the consensus reached in recent years by planners and urban designers about what constitutes good urbanism.

In this book, she explains the yawning gap between this theory and reality, providing six steps for bridging it:

1. 1. Prospect: What do I see, hear, smell, taste, and feel about this place? What do others love and value about this Continue reading

Recycling Guernsey airport asphalt & concrete provides many benefits

December 21st, 2012 by States of Guernsey Public Services Department

Piles of concrete rubble in Lagan Construction's main construction compound opposite the Guernsey Airport terminal (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

Thousands of tonnes of old concrete and asphalt are being recycled as part for the essential maintenance and improvements at Guernsey Airport.

The extensive works at Guernsey airport include the complete excavation and reconstruction of all the concrete aprons outside the terminal where aircraft normally park.

Once removed, the old concrete will be crushed and reused as a base material in the new aprons.

Material excavated during the recent closures, when a 50 metre section of runway at the western end was removed, has also been recycled.

Much of it was crushed on site while this operation was being carried out, and used in the base layers of the newly reconstructed section. Continue reading

No heating bills for energy efficient community centre

December 5th, 2012 by Bere Architects

The energy efficient Mildmay community centre built to Passivhaus standard with photovoltaic panels on the roof (please click image to expand - image courtesy of bere:architects)

Bere Architects have moved their office into the Mildmay Centre on Woodville Road in London.

Justin Bere wrote in his company’s blog that by the end of November 2012, not a single penny has been spent on heating at the Mildmay Centre yet the indoor temperatures throughout the building remained very comfortable at between 21° and 22°C.

Cutting electricity use with energy efficiency measures is cheaper than generating more electricity

November 29th, 2012 by HM Government Department of Energy and Climate Change

The UK Government has published proposals to dramatically reduce electricity demand across the whole UK economy.

Cutting the amount of electricity used in Britain’s homes, businesses and industry can be much cheaper than paying firms to supply it; saving money through lower bills and reducing the need for new generation capacity.

Just a 10% reduction in electricity demand could produce savings for the UK economy of around £4 billion in 2030, which would more than compensate for the cost of making efficiency investments upfront.

A 10% reduction in demand would also cut 4.5 megatonnes of carbon, equivalent to that produced by one large city in a year, and save an amount of electricity comparable to that generated by five power stations in a year. Continue reading

Efficient low cost solar cells can be printed directly onto glass

November 16th, 2012 by Oxford Photovoltaics

Oxford researchers have developed a photovoltaic (PV) technology that has the potential to deliver low cost, efficient solar cells that can be readily incorporated into glass building facades.

Solar cells incorporated into glass (click image to expand - image courtesy of Oxford Photovoltaics)

Results published in the journal Science promise to provide the lowest cost-performance photovoltaic solution on the market.

The technology makes use of a simple manufacturing process with inexpensive and abundant raw materials.

Prototypes of these new Meso-Superstructured Solar Cells (MSSC) have already achieved an impressive 10.9% efficiency. Continue reading

Guernsey Salvage creates a market for household material for reuse

October 24th, 2012 by Linda Barton

All year round we’re upgrading or downsizing, restoring or replacing the materials of our homes and gardens.

Some of us want to replace new for old, while others want more modern lines.

Unfortunately a great deal of useful material and items with restoration value still end up in the Mont Cuet landfill.

A door that needs a light retouch could be the perfect solution to someone requiring more light in an interior room (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

Guernsey Salvage aims to become an important salvage destination. Not only for ordinary householders but for schools, institutions and the building trade who often have some real gems gathering dust in their yards and store rooms. Continue reading

Ecobuild, largest sustainable design event, at ExCeL, 5 to 7 March 2013

October 9th, 2012 by Events

The Ecobuild exhibition floor (click image to expand - image ©International Business Events)

Ecobuild 2013 takes place at ExCeL London from 5 to 7 March 2013.

The world’s largest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment will see major investment and a wealth of new features and content from organiser UBM Built Environment.

The Ecobuild Arena, designed to inspire, educate and inform, returns to the exhibition floor, showcasing the best of Ecobuild’s prestigious conference programme.

The Arena will host key industry speakers, ministers, lecturers and academics as well as a sprinkling of celebrity speakers and hosts. Continue reading

Managing our built environment in a changing climate

October 8th, 2012 by Routledge

(click on book cover to go to the publisher's website)

The Earth’s temperature is rising. To limit catastrophic outcomes, the international scientific community has set a challenging goal of no more than 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) average temperature rise.

Economists agree we will save trillions of dollars by acting early. But how do we act successfully? And what’s the backup plan if we fall short?

Setting politics aside, Two Degrees reviews the current science and explains how we can set practical steps to reduce the extent of warming and to adapt to the inevitable changes, all while improving the bottom line, beautifying our communities, and increasing human health.

The book is a practical guide intended for a broad audience of those who occupy and shape our built environment.

The authors provide a clear framework for communities, policy makers, planners, designers, developers, builders, and operators to help manage the impacts and capture the Continue reading