March 2010

SuperHomes Spring Opening

The SuperHomes Spring Opening on 28th March 2010 gives the perfect opportunity to visit one of the exemplar refurbished Superhomes, each saving at least 60% of their carbon emissions. The Old Home SuperHome network is an alliance of exemplar renovated properties throughout the UK.  These homes are open to the public to educate and inspire.  Previous visitors have gone on to initiate changes in their own homes and have found the advice that they have received from the homeowners to be invaluable.  To visit a SuperHome near you log on to www.superhomes.org.uk

February 2010

Guardian Money Section Review of Parity Home Energy Masterplan

We received an excellent write up of our report for Editor James Randerson on 20th February 2010 in the Money section and online here: LINK

(NOTE - the figures quoted for solar panel savings are for Solar PV not Solar Thermal as written)

January 2010

Parity Projects supports PAYS finance trial in Sutton

Parity Projects will be supporting an innovative scheme for homeowners in the London Borough of Sutton. The Home Energy ‘Pay As You Save’ (PAYS) pilots will give households the opportunity to invest in energy efficiency and micro-generation technologies in their homes with no upfront cost. Householders will make repayments spread over a long enough period so that repayments are lower than their predicted energy bill savings, meaning financial and carbon savings are made from day one.

The London Borough of Sutton is one of only four UK boroughs that have been chosen to pilot PAYS and we are now looking for 100 residents who would like to participate. Delivered in a partnership between Sutton Council, B&Q, BioRegional, the Energy Saving Trust and the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the scheme aims to deliver immediate financial and carbon savings to Sutton residents.

Participants in the scheme will receive an eco audit from B&Q to find out what should be done to their home to make it more energy efficient. They will then receive a grant and a subsidised loan to carry out these improvements.

Full details and the sign-up form can be found here

December 2009

Parity Projects to support Lewisham Council Low Carbon Zone

As part of the newly awarded funding for its designated Low Carbon Zone, Lewisham Council has awarded Parity Projects a contract to build a comprehensive database of the buildings in the desigated project area. Parity Projects will use its site surveyors and its in-house software to provide Lambeth with a database on which to build their project.

November 2009

Lambeth Council contracts Parity for Stock Assessment

As part of its newly awarded funding for its designated Low Carbon Zone, Lambeth Council has awarded Parity Projects a contract to assess the 1,000 dwellings for potential energy efficiency measures. Parity will use its site surveyors and its in-house software to provide Lambeth with a comprehensive view of the existing energy consumption and CO2 emmissions and analyse the benefit of a range of energy efficiency measures.

Parity Projects feature in New Book

One Planet Communities: A real-life guide to sustainable living by Pooran Desai

Link to the publishers website and description

Link to Amazon for this very reasonably priced book

"Starting from first principles and using the practical experience of developing sustainable communities cost-effectively, One Planet Living cuts through the confusion. It presents a clear and simple framework that will allow students, developers, surveyors, engineers, policy-makers, architects and planners to structure their thinking. It will no doubt be the standard introductory text for design professionals and the development and planning industry."

Pooran has kindly used our demonstration house as an example in this book.

October 2009

Parity Projects takes a role in new Geffrye Museum Exhibition

On 13th October the renowned Geffrye Museum in North London launched its Eco Home special exhibition. This exhibition hopes to address, without preaching, widespread and increasing concerns about ecology and the state of the planet and how this links to our homes and the way we use, decorate and inhabit them. It examines current ideas around ‘eco-living’ in an informative and timely way.

Parity's Russell Smith features in a permanent video display to take visotrs thruough the ideas and leassons learned in PArity's work and its demonstration house in Sutton, surrey.
The video will shortly be available here.
Follow this link to the museum's website.

12th October - Parity Projects assesses Victorian house for the Great British Refurb Campaign

Parity Projects has teamed up once again with other members of the Great British Refurb Campaign to assess a typical Victorian house in Manchester in time for the Tory Conference.  Click here to see what happened.

September 2009

25th September 2009 - Russell Smith speaks to The Guardian's Alok Jha about eco lightbulbs.

To read the full article go to The Guardian website

25th September 2009 - Russell Smith to speak as part of the 'How to Make your Home Greener' panel, 8th October.

Russell will be speaking as part of a panel on 'How to Make your Homes Greener' followed by a private view of the exhibition, Lower Carbon Drive at Home in conjunction with the Building Centre.  Click here for further details about the event

August 2009

11th August - Parity now taking part in the 2009 Open House London weekend in September

We are opening our eco-demonstration house to the public as part of the Open House weekend on Saturday 19th September.  The weekend is the Capital's largest architectural showcase now in its 17th year.  It is a celebration of design excellence, 700 buildings of every conceivable type, shape and size will open their doors to Londoners completely for free. For more information about the weekend please visit the website at www.londonopenhouse.org

We are holding 4 tours during the day (10.00am, 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.00pm) and we ask that you book in advance with us so we know that you are coming - this avoids any disappointment on the day!

For further information and to book your place please call Claire Elliot-Square on 020 8722 4614 or email claire.elliot-square@parityprojects.com

July 2009

14th July - Parity Projects takes role in Kevin McCloud's Great Brtish Refurb Campaign.

Parity Projects built a model house publicising the delivering of a petition by Kevin McCloud to 10, Downing Street on the 14th July. Our house was erected in Victoria Park adjacent to the Houses of Parliament ready for Kevin and a crack team of MP's to 'speed retrofit' with insulation. Did you see us on national TV?

The campaign hopes to put pressure on ministers to take a lead with long needed Government policy and regulation to force major change in our domestic housing stock. If you would like to sign the petition please go to: http://www.greatbritishrefurb.co.uk/ 

Photo of the Model

Photo of our David Shewan giving advice to Kevin McCloud and Ed Milliband MP

Photo of Kevin McCloud and the PP Team

1st July - Parity Projects takes a lead role in the UK Green Building Council's 'Pay as You Save' Finance Working Party

Parity Projects is working very closely with other UKGBC members to take forward  work on low carbon existing homes through a UK-GBC task group, which will run for just 6 weeks and report in late July.  The task group will focus on overcoming the barriers to practical implementation of a “Pay As You Save” (PAYS) scheme for financing the refurbishment of homes. PAYS featured in the report by the UKGBC last year (download 'Low Carbon Existing Homes') and was a prominent feature of the Government’s draft Heat and Energy Saving Strategy.

Parity's MD, Russell Smith, is chairing the Standards and Accrediation working party.

The final report will be submitted to Government, who are very supportive of the work and who are part funding the task group.

Follow this link for more information: http://www.ukgbc.org/site/taskgroups/info?id=10

June 2009

8th June 2009 - Russell Smith will be speaking at Greenbuild Expo 2009 the exhibition and conference of sustainable building. 

The conference in Manchester is to be held on Wednesday 17th June - Thursday 18th June.  To find out more please visit the Greenbuild Expo website

May 2009

13th May 2009 - Russell Smith will be presenting at the renowned Hay Festival at The Guardian Green Home Clinic on Sunday 31st May at 10am on the Dream stage. 

To find out more about the festival visit the Hay Festival Website

11th May 2009 - Parity Projects featured in the months Grand Designs Magazine

In this month's Grand Designs magazine Parity Projects' Eco-Demonstration house is featured as part of their Great British Refurb Campaign.  Click here to read the full story.

April 2009

20th April 2009 - Russell Smith placed on The Guardian's Expert Eco Panel

As part of the Guardian website's Green Your Home series, Russell Smith forms part of the team of eco experts.

He will respond to queries sent to the website and has already taken part in a short video report as a Guardian correpsondant seeks to improve the energy performance of his home.

March 2009

24th March 2009 - Parity Projects supports Earth Hour

The lights out initiative, which began in Sydney in 2007 as a one-city environmental campaign, has evolved into a grassroots action that has captured the attention of the citizens of the world. In 2009, the target of 1,000 cities participating has already been exceeded and now stands at 1,398 cities, towns and municipalities in 83 countries.  

To find out more visit www.earthhour.org

February 2009

18th Feb 2009 - Parity MD Russell Smith to speak at Ecobuild 2009, Earls Court on Tuesday 3rd March & Thursday 5th March. 

Russell will be giving presentations on Tuesday at 11.30am and also Thursday at 2.15pm.

Click here for more information

13 Feb 2009 - Low Carbon Existing Homes a Step Closer - includes comments from Parity's Managing Director Russell Smith.

Link to blog

Hattie Hartman's Sustainability Blog part of the Architects Journal Blog Network

12th Feb 2009 - Launch of UK Government “Heat and Energy Saving" Consultation

The Government will today launch its "Heat and Energy Saving" consultation document. This seeks to pose the Government's vision of how we will convert the required 450,000+ houses per year to meet our 80% CO₂ targets.

Sister company Parity Eco Solutions is referenced in the report as best practice.

Link to consultation

9th Feb 2009 - Parity Eco-Renovation House Open Day - New Dates Announced

We are throwing open our doors to the public and building sectors once more!  Our Carshalton Grove Eco-Renovation Demonstration Project will now be open on;

Thursday, 12th March 09 - 09:30am - 11.30am, 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Saturday, 4th April 09 - 09:30am - 11.30am, 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Managing Director Russell Smith will be on hand to give you a full tour of the house.  To book your place please email Claire Elliot-Square at info@parityprojects.com

November 2008

Parity Projects Wins Local Green Guardian Award: Green Building Category

The award is to recognise environmental excellence in both new build and older buildings, within the awards area which has been adapted to make them more environmentally friendly.

August 2008

Russell Smith, MD of Parity Projects interviewed for Building magazine

You can hear Russell discuss the UKGBC consultation on existing homes at www.building.co.uk

UK-GBC Launches Report on Existing Homes

UK-GBC has teamed up with the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, the Sustainable Development Commission and the Technology Strategy Board to carry out a wide-reaching industry and stakeholder consultation on reducing carbon emissions in the existing housing stock. http://www.ukgbc.org

June 2008

Parity Projects to attend the Camden Green Fair

The Camden Green Fair is held in Regent's Park every year on the first Sunday of June, to coincide with World Environment Day and London Sustainability Weeks. The Fair aims to teach Londoners about the huge and growing number of sustainable companies, products, campaigns, and lifestyle choices that are available to us all. http://www.camdengreenfair.org.uk

April 2007

Parity Projects hosts launch of Lib Dem's Climate Change Starts at Home campaign

Parity Projects Ltd, this week hosted Sir Menzies Campbell, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party at its Eco-Renovation Demonstration Project in Sutton, South London, as he launched his party’s ‘Climate Change Starts at Home’ Campaign.

The Party approached Russell Smith, Director of Parity Projects, as they felt the measures being adopted at the Victorian House conversion were an ideal backdrop to ideals that they wanted to project.

Mr Smith said, “We were only too pleased to host this launch. It is the first main glimmer of a hard policy on changing the performance of the UK’s existing housing stock offered to date by any of the political parties. With domestic housing devouring 27% of the UK’s energy it should be a concern to us all that three quarters of the housing stock that will be standing in 2050 has already been built and no policies currently exist to improve the energy efficiency of this stock to meet acceptable levels. Bringing the performance of our existing homes to the political agenda helps to address a major missing factor in the fight against climate change.”

Sir Menzies, who was accompanied by his Shadow Environment Secretary Chris Huhne, and local Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake, commented, “I am greatly impressed by the range of innovations applied, in particular the use of recycled materials for insulation such as recycled newspaper and sheep wool.”

The house, built in 1870, was chosen for the project as it is a challenge to make energy-efficient due to its solid (non-cavity) walls and no south facing roofs. It is a showcase for how energy efficiency solutions, low energy heating systems and water recycling can all be retrofitted into existing buildings. Each room has a unique solution applied, allowing visitors to pick the most appropriate solution for them. Each solution will also be tested in-situ, eventually providing valuable direction for designers and specifiers.

Mr Smith continued, “The key to improving our existing housing stock is in giving confidence to property owners that the efficiency solutions will actually provide the benefits advocated. Our demonstration allows them to see and feel the options, but also to witness the performance.”

Tom Brake MP said of Parity Projects, “This is a fantastic venture! It bodes well for the community, the country and even the world at large. The kind of knowledge that will be acquired from this project about what really works environmentally is priceless."

The Carshalton Grove Eco-Renovation Demonstration Project will open its doors to visitors during this year’s London Sustainability Week, on 6-10th June 2008.