NEWS | DIGEST IN BRIEF Greta effect could boost Stem careers Almost a quarter of young people say they are considering a career in combating climate change because of what has been dubbed the Greta effect, according to research. A survey by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) found that more than half of respondents aged 15-18 said climate change was the biggest problem the world was facing, and they were inspired by Greta Thunbergs listen to the science message. More than a quarter of the 1,000 teenagers surveyed said scientists had the biggest role to play in addressing climate change. The RSC said educators should make the most of the opportunity to encourage more students to opt for Stem careers. BCIA announces Sharp new president Terry Sharp is the new president of the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), taking over from Jon Belfield, who held the role for two years. The associate at NDA Consulting has worked in the sector for more than 35 years, and was appointed BCIA vice-president in January 2019. His experience includes UK and European leadership roles at Johnson Controls, Sontay, and Satchwell Control Systems. I look forward to continuing from where Jon left off, Sharp said, using my knowledge and experience to help form closer relationships between manufacturers and installers, and ensure the building management systems industry plays a prominent part in 21st-century building design and management. Fire Safety Bill holds building owners to account The bill empowers fire and rescue services to take enforcement action The government has introduced a new Fire Safety Bill that places a legal requirement on owners of multi-occupancy residential buildings to inspect cladding and fire doors. The bill states that fire and rescue services would be empowered to take enforcement action and hold building owners to account if they are not compliant. It amends the Fire Safety Order 2005, to clarify that the responsible person or dutyholder for multi-occupied, residential buildings must manage and reduce the risk of fire for the structure and external walls of the building including cladding, balconies and windows and entrance doors to individual flats that open into common parts. The bill will also provide a foundation Phase 2 of the Grenfell inquiry has been suspended for secondary legislation to take forward recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase One report, which stated that building owners and managers of high-rise and multi-occupied residential buildings should be responsible for a number of areas. These include: lift inspections and reporting; reviewing and updating evacuation plans; ensuring residents are provided with safety instructions; and ensuring flat entrance doors in buildings that have unsafe cladding comply with current standards. The ongoing Phase 2 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has been suspended because of the Covid-19 outbreak. Inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick said: We shall be giving careful consideration to whether it is possible to resume hearings using electronic means, but even if that is not possible the work of the inquiry will continue. Before the suspension, the lead architect behind the Grenfell Tower refurbishment admitted he did not read the relevant sections of the Building Regulations covering fire safety in tall buildings. Studio E associate and project lead Bruce Sounes told the inquiry he had not been aware of the specific guidance in Approved Document B for buildings taller than 18m, and did not know that aluminium panels could melt. Some expert witnesses have stated that it was clear proposals for the refurbishment would make the tower less safe than it was before and the architect admitted he was not familiar with the details in the guidance on external fire spread or the compliance route for the external envelope. Europe aims for climate-neutral first Energy for heating more than two times higher in non-Passivhaus homes A European Commission climate law will commit Europe to becoming the first net-zero emission continent by 2050. The European Climate Law, which still needs to be approved, will be supported by a new 2030 target for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. The regulation proposes that, by September 2023, and then at five-year intervals, the European Union will assess the consistency of national commitments and international measures with the long-term goal in mind. The energy used for space heating is 2.4 times higher in non-Passivhaus dwellings, a Building Performance Network review has found. Launched at Futurebuild 2020, State of the Nation review: performance evaluation of housing found that the energy performance gap in non-Passivhaus (NPH) dwellings was nearly twice that of Passivhaus (PH) dwellings. The study looked at 91 housing-performance evaluation studies of new housing, covering 826 dwellings, of which 105 were PH and 721 NPH. It found that PH dwellings used 62% less energy than NPH homes, with a mean energy consumption of 73kWh.m-2 per year, compared with 117kWh.m-2 per year for NPH dwellings. Despite the differences in energy use, indoor temperature profiles in the heating and non-heating season were similar in PH and NPH dwellings, with mean indoor temperature ranging from 20.1-24.6C. However, consistently higher mean monthly CO2 concentrations were observed in NPH dwellings than in PH dwellings, with the difference being more significant in bedrooms. Resident comfort and satisfaction with indoor temperature were found to be higher in winter than in summer across PH and NPH dwellings, with indoor temperatures perceived to be hot. 12 April 2020 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Apr20 pp12 News.indd 12 20/03/2020 16:25