Zero Ambitions Podcast

This week we've got a two-parter for you with returning guests, Bill Bordass and Adrian Leaman. At first, we thought we'd do an episode in response to that Times article that was doing the rounds last week, and we did. It just didn't turn out as we expected.At the last minute, we asked Bill Bordass and Adrian Leaman if they'd like to join us. Jeff had remembered just how deeply those guys had been involved in the subject of energy performance assessment, so we asked them, they were free, and we were delighted.Bill and Adrian were really generous with their time, hence us having enough for two episodes this week. The first part (this one) was mainly spent looking into the past while Bill regaled us with a tale of what might have been, how EPCs came to be what they are, and where it all went wrong. Part two is more focused on how we might do better in the future.It has a particular UK focus but the themes are universal. There are lots of lessons that we can learn from the tension between modeling and estimation, and the reality of how buildings perform in use. We start the episode proper about seven or eight minutes in, so you can jump ahead, but you may miss Adrian's story about his energy efficiency tour behind the Iron Curtain and Albanian refugee defectors.Notes from the episodeThe Usable Buildings websiteThe article that sparked the episode - EPCs are a national scandal, from The Times CIBSE TM 22 Buildings the Key to Energy Conservation (1979) The chart that Jeff starts talking about from The Energy Performance Survey of Irish HousingEnergy Performance of Non-Domestic Buildings: Closing the Credibility Gap**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

With the EU closing in on a major revision to perhaps the single most important legislative driver for decarbonisation of buildings, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), we spoke to the architect of the proposed changes, Ciarán Cuffe, who gave us some fascinating insights. It was a chance to talk about thinking big and the challenges associated with instituting large-scale change.A veritable sustainability, built environment, and political polymath, Ciarán is the Green Party MEP for Dublin and rapporteur for the European Parliament on the next recast of the EPBD.Originally published in 2002, the EPBD is the reason we have EPCs/BERs/DPEs, for all their flaws and benefits. It’s also the reason we have the nearly zero energy building (NZEB) standard as a mandatory requirement for new buildings across Europe since 2019.But the original directive and previous recasts have left certain problems unresolved, and Ciarán told us about work to update the directive to ensure it can help to drive meaningful change in decarbonising the European building stock.It's worth noting that Ciarán's not just a politician too. He’s a qualified planner, architect, lecturer at Technological University Dublin, and a former Minister for Planning in the Irish government.**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

All new homes in Scotland are set to be built to a Scottish equivalent of the passive house standard, under plans announced by the government recently. But at what cost? A recent article in Project Scotland, while describing the aim of the policy as “admirable”, warned that it will “undoubtedly lead, at least in the short to medium term, to greater expense in a construction industry already suffering from spiraling costs and, ultimately, the price of housing rising.”But does this concern stand up to scrutiny? To find out, we spoke with Dr. Shane Colclough, an academic and energy consultant who co-authored two papers comparing fully costed breakdowns of building to the passive house standard versus building regulations in Ireland and Northern Ireland, respectively. But even if construction costs increase, that doesn’t mean development costs or house prices increase by a single penny, as construction economist Prof Tom Dunne argued in the progenitor of Passive House Plus magazine way back in 2007 (link below: Safe as Houses).Notes from the episodeDr. Shane Colclough on LinkedInThe article that prompted this episode: Will the Scottish Government's move towards 'Passivhaus' support zero carbon ambitions?Ulster University paper Cost Optimal UK Deployment of the Passive House StandardShane's Investigation of nZEB social housing built to the Passive House standardAnd that 2007 article on why higher energy performance specs don’t mean higher development costs: Safe as HousesShane in Passive House PlusPassive House Association of Ireland (PHAI) **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

We sat down with Ele George and Emily Braham to talk about all things Energiesprong and how they're making things happen for other people in the retrofit industry. They don't have all the answers, but they're determinedly seeking them with the right questions.Energiesprong UK is a project that's finding ways to mitigate the myriad barriers to improving people's homes, reducing maintenance costs, and developing robust supply chains. From finance to manufacturing, managing relationship-between tenants and landlords, they're prototyping ideas and developing processes that are catalysing a nascent retrofit industry.Importantly, a fascinating outcome of the novel approach that they're taking is how it supports inclusion and diversity, without even having to make an additional effort. They are full of ideas. We learned a lot and were imbued with a massive sense of hope after speaking with them, enjoy.Notes from the episodeEnergiesprong UK websiteThe passive house that Raphael built**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications (zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

For almost two decades transatlantic commentator  Lloyd Alter has been the rarest of creatures: a popular writer of insightful articles about green building, mainly via the pioneering green living website Treehugger.com. The day before our interview, Lloyd and the rest of the editorial team at Treehugger were told to clear their desks, due to a change in business model that focused more on search engine algorithms, and less on the kind of nuanced, considered pieces that have made Lloyd so renowned. We caught up with Lloyd to reflect on his time at Treehugger. We set out to talk about the state of reporting and publishing in the green building sector but the discussion ended up covering a lot of other ground, ranging from perhaps the most boneheaded culture war of all – the gas cooker variety - to the shortsighted lack of design consideration for aging populations.Roaming cross-cultural perspectives on the built environment, sufficiency, consumption, change, the language of green building, gas stove outrage, transport, adaptation for aging populations, and plenty more.Notes from the episodeLloyd Alter on Treehugger Up Front Carbon, Lloyd Alter on Substack"Caledon homes come laden with luxury" the article about McMansions that Lloyd decries early onThat Observer article about retrofit with our very own Sara Edmonds in itGeorge Monbiot's wood-burning confessionalLloyd Alter on LinkedInFanchea Kelly was the lady from the CIH podcast; she's CEO Blackwood Homes and Care, a charity that deals with retrofit in terms of accessibility rather than energy efficiencySanctuary magazine The Heat is On, Ryan Philp's SubstackGoldsmith Street social housing **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications (zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

We like Kate Simpson, a doctor and a Research Associate at the School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London. It was a bit of a weird episode where the conversation didn't really go to plan and, at times, Jeff found himself being interviewed by our guest. It was good though.From a researcher's perspective, we discussed what motivates retrofit consumers and suppliers, as well as the potential for and nature of retrofit one-stop shops. Notes from the episodeMichael Gove dancingThat rhizome concept The Green Register (Bristol)A bad-quality retrofit LinkedIn postAnother bad-quality retrofit LinkedIn postThe PH+ article about getting tradespeople into retrofit **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications (zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

Insidious misconceptions, false myths, and the lazy thinking pervades the green building sector, we're not happy about it, and nor are the authors of 'Building for 2050 Low cost, low carbon homes'. This is a recently published BEIS research paper about how low carbon construction is held back by a false understanding of what it costs, how hard it is, and what its users actually think about living with it.Alison Crompton (AECOM) and Tom Dollard (Pollard Thomas Edwards) were very generous with their time and took us through as much of the project as we could manage. If you want more, you'll probably find everything you're looking for at www.buildingfor2050.co.uk.In fact, you definitely should take a look at their website.This is the article that Sara posted back in December about how low carbon building was being held back by misconceptions about costs.**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications (zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

Today we saw a LinkedIn post today that Dan wanted Jeff to explain to him; at the heart of it was an image of a retrofit job that looked lacking. Sadly, the LinkedIn post came down but here's the article it presented. It'll make more sense if you take a look too but it's not absolutely essential, you'll get the gist without it.Reading through the post's comments Dan didn't know what to make of it, so he ask Jeff to tell him what he was looking at and to try and school him a little.We also took a little time to acknowledge the tragic death of Paul Doran, one of the best and most forward-thinking builders Jeff has ever encountered. So we took a few moments to pay tribute to a modest man who had a big impact in Ireland. Notes from the episodeLink to the Paul Dorian Go Fund Me page https://www.gofundme.com/f/qpgyk-paul-doran-hero-dad-fundraiserLink to Jeff's blogpost about Paul Doran Paul's seminal feature Why passive house doesn't cost extraPaul's Flat pack passive house articleThere are more links on the blogpost and Jeff's LinkedIn tributeThe Preston retrofit catastropheDefective blockwork story**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications (zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

We had a contentious discussion last Friday about hybrid heating systems, a transition technology that could play a role in the decarbonisation of home heating.Stephen Kelly of OYA Energy joined us for a grilling from a very skeptical Jeff, to make his case for the use of heat pumps alongside legacy gas boilers. It's important to note that this is intended as a transition technology, not an ultimate end.Also, we do not discuss hydrogen as a hybrid heating solution, for obvious reasons.**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications (zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

It's all about how 'incompetence still reigns supreme' as we meander recklessly from GDPR, to jaywalking, before getting into the substance of the podcast. Mainly, we discuss DPE certification (the French EPC) and some appalling advice that was sourced by the French version of Which? magazine, Que Choisir, in an article about shopping around for your DPE. We also talked about EPCs, BERs, and a little bit about ESG (the post-punk band as well as the 'ethical' the value metrics).Some references from the showThe origins of jaywalking Another Way of Looking at a Country's Carbon Footprint: A Tale of Switzerland and South AfricaPost-punk classic, UFO, by ESGAin't no half-steppin' - Big Daddy Kane (prod Marley Marl) Some French-language links We prefer to do rough translation with deepl.com Que Choisir, the militant French Which? Wikipedia background about About Que ChoisirInformation about DPEs, as EPCs are fashioned in FranceGovernment information about DPEsA DPE database containing some information translated and read out on the podcastA direct link to the online issue of Que Choisir that we used**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications (zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**