Red faces at department's green HQ

Robert Booth
The Guardian,
Monday August 25 2008

The headquarters of the government department responsible for slashing buildings' carbon emissions has emerged as among the least energy-efficient.
The 10-year-old glass and steel offices of the communities and local government department in central London have been granted an F rating for energy efficiency - the second worst possible under a new labelling initiative. The revelation is likely to be embarrassing to ministers because they drew up the rules requiring the energy use of all public buildings above 1,000 square metres to be prominently shown from October in what will be known as Display Energy Certificates.
The labelling system runs from A to G, in the same way as the energy ratings stickers that now appear on cars and fridges. Cars with an F rating include the Lexus RX 4x4 SUV and the BMW 7 series saloon.
Department officials said inefficient heating and ventilation systems and an unexpectedly high occupancy at the headquarters, Eland House, are behind the poor result. They are aiming to improve its efficiency to a D rating, more akin to a two-litre Volvo S80 diesel.
An earlier assessment of the building's design, but not its fuel consumption, suggested it should achieve a C rating.
Paul King, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council, which advises the government on energy efficiency, said: "It supports our argument that these certificates should be rolled out to all buildings, because without the label nobody is going to do anything about it."
Eland House proved less green than the Natural History Museum, a 128-year-old building with single-skin brick walls, drafty single-glazed windows and exhibits that require constant heating and lighting. It has an E rating and is set to pin up its certificate in the entrance this week.
"Our rating for Eland House tells us we must clearly do better to make a difference to our energy performance," the department said. "We are now acting on recommendations from our advisory report to help us improve future ratings." Heating and cooling equipment is likely to be replaced with more efficient models.