Managing IT to deal with Climate Change
Posts tagged London
The Need for District Heating
0District heating schemes have a mixed reputation in the UK, although they are firmly established in other Northern European countries. That’s partly because some schemes, built in the 60s and never properly upgraded, don’t work very well. Stories abound of residents whose only temperature control is to open the window, and people feeling free to use heating extravagantly because there is no individual metering. It’s also partly because, with the advent of North Sea gas in the 1980s, small, single-dwelling boilers became more popular, with all the individual control they offer. And the difficulty the UK has in funding and building city-wide infrastructures hasn’t helped either.
With climate change, the rise in gas prices and the increasing uncertainty of supply, its vital that we rethink our approach to heating our homes, particularly in cities. Piping heat through the streets, as we do our gas and water, is normal in Vienna, More >
Solutions for the Inner City
0I’m passionate about Somers Town, the small corner of central London where I’ve chosen to make my home. Nestled in between the gothic splendour of St Pancras and the fifties austerity of Euston, its a tiny district of densely built low rise apartments, home to the British Library, the RMT and Unison, railway stations and about 8000 people from all over the world. I can walk to the West End, have Regents Park on my doorstep, and every amenity I could wish for a short stroll away. I’m not one of those ‘buy a small-holding in Wales’ Greens, and I’m sure Wales doesn’t want me and my 8000 neighbours to try.
Per capita carbon emissions for domestic and road transport use in areas like this are low(1), because public transport is good and the cost of heating small apartments is much less than houses. If we’re to meet the energy More >
Burning coal in central London
0The smoky coal fires of London were banished in the fifties and all that remains of that smog filled, grimy time are the blackened buildings of parts of Bloomsbury which haven’t been cleaned. Sunny days with blue skies are now common, but open fires very rare indeed.
Much to my surprise, coal burning is still possible. The Clean Air Act of 1993 makes it illegal to emit smoke in a designated Smoke Control Area, such as the London boroughs. You’re only allowed to use authorised fuels which include gas, electricity and anthracite – ie. coal.