CFL LOW ENERGY LIGHT BULBS – WHAT ARE THE HAZARDS?

I was disturbed to hear the story of a couple who accidentally broke a low-energy CFL (compact fluorescent) light bulb over their bed. It was late evening and the woman was pregnant, so there were few sources of advice. But the advice they were given by NHS Direct and a light bulb manufacturer was to remove and destroy their bedding.
When I looked into this I found little UK information; the packaging of the CFL bulbs that I had in the cupboard did not have any warnings that caused alarm. Then I started delving on the internet and found that the source of this advice was based on incidents in the USA, which had also been picked up by New Zealand (investigatemagazine.com August 2008). http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=are-compact-fluorescent-lightbulbs-dangerous Was this an anti-CFL campaign by those who didn’t like this type of bulb, or are there genuine concerns? If the latter, then why isn’t the information readily available when we buy CFL bulbs in the UK?

Have the hazards of CFL bulbs been played down in the drive to reduce our energy demand? For a while these were the only alternative to conventional tungsten light bulbs, which are less energy efficient and generate heat as well as light. Maybe CFL bulbs were a stop-gap whilst other energy-efficient alternatives were being developed, e.g. light bulbs based on light-emitting diodes (LED). Maybe the benefits of reducing our energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions, through the use of these bulbs, outweighed any risks due to accidental breakages. After all, how often do you accidentally break a light bulb?

Here are a few facts I discovered:

CFL and ordinary fluorescent tubes do contain mercury;
Mercury is toxic, but whether the toxicity is manifested depends on what form it is in and the length of exposure;
The key issue seems to be to remove the mercury from the home in a way that won't disperse it around the house, that avoids it accumulating in organic material, e.g. fibres such as bedding, carpet or wood, and reduces the time that anyone is exposed to it;
The first thing is to ventilate the room for 15 – 30 minutes, with the doors closed, with any air circulation system turned off, and everyone out of the room;
Putting bedding in a washing machine, or vacuuming the floor just disperses the contamination. This should not be done as it then creates a need to decontaminate the washing machine or vacuum cleaner;
Instead the broken pieces should be removed using a dustpan and stiff piece of card (not a brush) or sticky tape for very small pieces;
The advice available strongly suggests getting rid of any bedding/carpet that was in actual contact with the broken pieces of the lightbulb, as the mercury could lodge in the fibres and just stay there. Any materials removed will need to be double-wrapped before being taken to a waste site;

For a discussion of the issues around CLF bulbs, and the LED alternatives, it’s worth looking at Holistic Health Talk. http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/compact-fluorescent-light-bulbs-the-dangers-of-cfls/

THE GOVERNMENT’S GREEN DEAL

The claims made for the Green Deal are that every one of the 26 million homes in the UK could benefit in some way, as well as many of the UK’s businesses. Putting a bit more detail on that, it has been estimated that there are 14 million insulation measures such as loft, cavity and solid wall insulation still to be done to make Britain’s homes more energy efficient.

Britain has some of the oldest housing stock in Europe and by 2050 most of our housing stock will not meet the modern requirements for insulation. So the Green Deal is to encourage us to improve these houses, including those difficult to insulate houses that haven’t been improved under previous measures. What does this mean? Well, apparently the most energy inefficient homes in the UK could save around £550 per year by installing insulation measures under the Green Deal.

The first step in the Green Deal will be an energy survey to give advice on the best options – so like an EPC then?

The second step is the finance for householders, which will be provided by energy companies and high street stores. Houseowners will then pay this money back over a period, the repayments being a lesser amount than the savings on energy bills as a result of the measures. The loan stays with the house.

The third step is that the householder (or business) receives their energy efficiency package. Only accredited measures will be installed by appropriately-qualified installers, overseen by Government – sounds like money generation for the training and accreditation bodies.

Our high street stores are already getting involved in green measures, e.g. providing vouchers in return for recycling in the Maidenhead area; provided you spend some money on goods from their stores! Our energy suppliers are under an obligation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from homes, therefore they have an incentive for all schemes of this type to succeed.

The Green Deal is also meant to provide employment, increasing the insulation sector from 27,000 to 100,000 employed. Does this mean that there will be reasonably paid work for Domestic Energy Assessors at last? Or will we have to jump through another £3,000 + VAT of training hoops to get a look in, only to find everyone else has done the same?

We should soon see some detail as a bill is shortly to be introduced – the Energy Security and Green Economy Bill, but it will be around 2 years before the Green Deal is available for take up. My own feeling about all this is that once again large companies will tie up deals between themselves to the exclusion of small businesses or products outside the mainstream, such as natural insulation materials; without any regard for the expertise of these people or the benefits of their products.

What I would like to see is a step change in the very near future so that our old houses are properly insulated, so that they are comfortable, cheaper to run and less costly to the environment.

Carbon Army & Thermal Imaging

I was talking to Stewart Little of IRT Surveys about the possibility of individual householders getting a thermal image of their own home. This is entirely possible through IRT Surveys, who use thermal images to quantify how much energy can be saved. So not only do householders get an image of their home illustrating where heat losses occur, but this is translated into possible carbon dioxide savings, i.e. reduced energy bills.

In addition, IRT Surveys have made a pledge to the Carbon Army that makes this service even more attractive.

What I really liked though was the IRT video on You Tube, The Carbon Army with Sgt Major Carbon and Captain Dioxide. It just tells it to you straight, and as it’s a couple of kids telling you I think they get away with their straight-talking approach. I recommend a viewing!

I have recently had a lovely weekend with friends staying in the Strawbale Cottage near Howden. This is a holiday cottage that is both spacious and cosy, with the wood burner providing heat throughout the cottage, as well as plenty of hot water. Although it is on a farm, with the Strawbale Cabin nearby, it is on its own secluded plot of land, with views of fields and trees from the windows.

There are plenty of walks accessible from the cottage itself, including the town of Howden. There are also many places of interest within easy reach by train or car, such as York, the Wolds, and nature reserves on the coast near Goole, as well as specialist shops selling local produce or artwork.

The strawbale walls are lovely and thick, giving deep window recesses. The spectacular clay tiled roof gives sloping ceilings in the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom, which is not a problem as the rooms themselves are spacious. There is plenty of space downstairs with the large lounge and kitchen-diner, with a separate study-bedroom off from the lounge. Also off to one side is a large shower-room, together with an area for boots and coats. It's just so well thought out for an enjoyable stay in the Yorkshire countryside.

Still waiting for payment from Express-EPC

There are now over 30 DEA's who have contacted me to state that they have not received payment, or have had part payment from Express-EPC. I don't know whether we are a minority as others are still working for Express-EPC, so presumably are getting paid.
I had an email earlier this month from Express-EPC stating that I would be paid within hours. I went away that weekend thinking that soon this sorry saga would be over. But no, there were follow up questions - which invoices were outstanding? had I cancelled any of the EPC's? I replied to these and waited for payment.
On Monday I sent an email to chase up what had happened to my payment, but have not had a reply, nor my money.
We have highlighted our case through all avenues open to us, recently getting coverage in Estate Agent Today.
However, what is really needed is a change to a system that is still training DEA's when there are already too many. This is bringing revenue for training bodies but is making it possible for others to exploit DEA's by offering rock bottom prices for our work. Whatever we get paid we still have to pay our lodgement fees to the accreditation bodies.
For those DEA's who were doing HIPS their income was slashed at a stroke by a Government that didn't consult on the change and didn't appear to do a full regulatory impact assessment.
DEA's are usually self-employed individuals, so representing the smallest of companies. We work independently and have little contact with each other, so we are not a unified group. We are motivated and professional; we have been trained at our expense and set out on our own to make a living. We get little recognition or support for our efforts and find ourselves working at a pretty low hourly rate.

Express-EPC update

Since my blog in August Express-EPC have paid some of the money they owe me. However, they still owe me money for the rest of the EPC's I did in June or July.

It's not clear from the payment which invoices they have paid but I know how much they still owe. I have contacted them to point this out and am waiting to hear, I'll let you know what happens.

It seems I am not alone; I have received emails from other assessors who state that they have not been paid by Express-EPC either. Let's hope that this situation is resolved in the near future; however we will keep reminding them of the amounts we're owed.

Express-EPC I haven't been paid!

I noticed today that Express-EPC have dropped their price for an EPC from £39.95 to £29.95. Does no-one ever question how they can run a call centre, accounts department and get domestic energy assessors to do the work for such a low price? I don't suppose clients give it a second thought. They don't seem to mind having to pay up front, with no guarantee they'll get their EPC at the end of it - if the process goes wrong with Express-EPC then they may have to find another assessor to do the work.

The reason Express-EPC are so cheap is that they set up a bid for each job, whoever puts in the lowest bid gets the job. The bid can be anything from £1 to the price Express-EPC advertise on their site; this guarantees them a margin every time. OK that's not great for assessors, but clients are probably happy so long as the job is done quickly and they get an EPC.

However, Express-EPC are bad payers! They say that they will settle the account for domestic energy assessors in 30 days. Not true, I now have 6 invoices outstanding for the period 23 June to 12 July and not one has been paid. They actually responded to my chasing of payment by sending emails stating that 3 invoices had been paid. Not true, I've not received a penny.

I'm probably not alone in this experience; they are likely to be other assessors who have not been paid. I hope they are not taking on any more work from Express-EPC.

Be warned!

And to all those people out there needing an EPC for sale or rent of a house or flat; cut out the middle man and go direct to your local Domestic Energy Assessor, an accredited professional giving you a fair price.