Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer of 9 July 2019 to Question 272120, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the statement in BRE's paper of 7 February 2018, that there is therefore an increased risk that boilers will in fact be non-compliant.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
BEIS discussed the matter with BRE following release of their paper of February 2018. BRE do not agree with the interpretation of their paper that boilers sold in England do not meet the efficiency standards set by Government, and they have confirmed that they have never held this view.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he had made of the number of new models of boilers introduced since October 2017 that have been tested for compliance with the new boiler plus regulations.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
We have not made an estimate of the number of new models of boilers introduced since October 2017.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information he holds on the number of UK households that have installed (a) additional and (b) replacement loft insulation in each year since 2011-12.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The table below presents the number of loft insulations per year delivered through major Government schemes since April 2011. These include an estimate of the lofts insulated using DIY material provide as part of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target up to December 2012. The total number of insulated lofts will be higher through DIY measures which are not recorded by BEIS.
It is not possible for BEIS to disaggregate loft insulation measures for all schemes between additional and replacement loft insulations.
Loft insulation measures per year (thousands)
Year | Total measures |
2011-12 | 1,243 |
2012-13 | 1,413 |
2013-14 | 130 |
2014-15 | 217 |
2015-16 | 75 |
2016-17 | 59 |
2017-18 | 36 |
2018-19 | 37 |
Total | 3,209 |
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 274430 and with reference to paragraph two of the Building Research Establishment (BRE) document FGHRS Data Processing Changes Relating to Canetis GasSaver GS2 Data Record held in Products Characteristics Database, dated October 2018, if he will require the BRE to publish the method used to assess that technology.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
This paragraph refers to a pre-processing (averaging) method that has been used by the Buildings Research Establishment (BRE) where raw test data cannot be entered directly into its methodology for assessing Flue Gas Heat Recovery Systems (FGHRS). BRE intends to publish a document that describes the averaging method shortly.
The methodology used by BRE for assessing FGHRS for the Product Characteristics Database is published already at the following URL: https://www.ncm-pcdb.org.uk/sap/filelibrary/pdf/calculation_methodology/SAP_2009/FGHRS_calculation_method_28_10_10.pdf.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 274432 on Waste Heat Recovery, in what ways the entries for certain flue gas heat recovery systems have not been calculated in full accordance with the standard BRE methodology.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The reasons that entries for products from two manufacturers have not been calculated in full accordance with the standard BRE methodology are specific to each product. They have been communicated to the relevant companies.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2019 to Question 272120, if he will make an assessment of the compatibility of his statement that the BRE has not changed the assessment with the BRE's statement in its 7 February 2018 article that There is therefore an increased risk that boilers will in fact be non-compliant.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
BEIS discussed the matter with BRE following release of their paper of February 2018. BRE do not agree with the interpretation of their paper that boilers sold in England do not meet the efficiency standards set by Government, and they have confirmed that they have never held this view.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2019 to Question 258964, how the variable features of a household heating system described in that Answer affect the efficiency of the boiler rather than the heating system.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Condensing boiler efficiency is affected by water return temperature to the boiler. The design, efficacy and maintenance of the heat distribution system can impact this temperature. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 25th June 2019 to Question 266061 for further details.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 11 of the report entitled, Net Zero, published by the Committee on Climate Change in May 2019 on setting a target of net zero emissions by 2050 and if he will make it his policy to set an earlier target date for reaching net zero.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Committee on Climate Change make clear in their report that they do not currently consider it credible for the UK to aim to reach net-zero emissions earlier than 2050.
We have considered their advice and legislated in line with it. The UK is the first major economy in the world to set a legally binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This world-leading target will bring to an end our contribution to climate change.
Having set this target, we are calling on other countries to similarly increase their ambition.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many new models of boilers introduced since October 2017 have been tested and submitted to the BRE to comply with the new Boiler Plus regulations.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The testing and registration of new models of boiler by the Buildings Research Establishment (BRE) is not part of compliance with the Boiler Plus regulations.
In order to comply with the Boiler Plus regulations, the boiler unit must meet Energy-related Products (ErP) standards with a minimum ErP efficiency of 92%. Compliance is carried out by Notified Bodies, as defined by EU Directive 92/42/EEC: Hot Water Boilers. A list of Notified Bodies can be found at the following URL: http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/nando/index.cfm?fuseaction=directive.print&refe_cd=92%2F42%2FEEC
The BRE maintains the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) for the energy performance of homes. For the purposes of SAP, boiler efficiency values are derived using a calculation known as Seasonal Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the UK (SEDBUK). This is the value that is recorded by BRE in the Product Characteristics Database.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which EU Member States have adopted targets for zero net emissions by (a) 2050, (b) 2040, (c) another date and (d) a date not yet specified.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The UK was the first major economy to legislate for a net zero target. The action we are taking in setting this target will continue our proud tradition of climate leadership.
The EU Member States that have targets for net zero greenhouse gas emissions in legislation are Sweden (by 2045) and the United Kingdom (by 2050). France is currently in the process of legislating for a 2050 net zero greenhouse target.
In addition, a range of Member States have adopted or are currently publicly considering adopting plans for net zero carbon or greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and in some cases have stated their intention is to legislate for a target. These include Denmark, Germany, and Portugal and Finland. Other Member States with plans to significantly reduce emissions by 2050 include the Netherlands, which has a law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 95%, and Spain, which has a draft law proposing an at least 90% reduction (in both cases the reduction is compared to 1990).
The EU is also considering adopting a bloc-wide net zero 2050 target, with a large majority of Member States, including the UK, supporting a net zero EU target by 2050 at the June European Council this year. Through ratifying the Paris Agreement, the EU and its Member States have already committed to aiming for a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of the century, as set out in Article 4.1 of the Agreement.