§ Mr. Rostasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the projects approved to date under the energy conservation demonstration projects scheme, giving for each the host company and monitoring organisation, total project cost, the cost of Government contribution and the target of energy saving.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithTo date, 253 projects have been approved under the energy conservation demonstration projects scheme involving numerous host companies and monitoring organisations. The total cost of these projects is £65 million, of which £21 million has been contributed by the Government. The target energy savings from these projects and replication is 4 million tonnes coal equivalent per annum. I shall write to my hon. Friend with details of individual projects.
§ Mr. Rostasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his latest estimate of the number of buildings which have not been insulated to recommended standards in (a) the publicly owned housing stock, (b) the privately owned housing stock, (c) public sector buildings and (d) commercial and industrial buildings.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThere are no specific recommended standards, except in respect to the insulation of domestic lofts and hot water cylinders. Figures for these are as follows:
Recommended standard Estimated number of installations to this level Estimated number to a lower level Loft insulation—100 mm fibre mat 3.3 million 9.5 million Hot water cylinder 80 mm jacket 4.8 million 11.0 million Beyond this householders are advised to invest in other cost-effective insulation measures. These naturally vary according to the circumstances of individual dwellings. There are no comparable figures for industrial and commercial buildings.
Mandatory standards are contained in successive editions of the building regulations. These apply to buildings constructed, or alterations and additions made, after those standards came into force.
§ Mr. Gerald Howarthasked the Secretary of State for Energy what studies he has carried out on the cost-effectiveness of introducing floor insulation measures into the building regulations.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithStudies have been carried out by the Department of the Environment's building research establishment examining the cost-effectiveness of certain energy conservation measures, including floor insulation in new dwellings. The energy efficiency office will consider in the light of that report and other information whether there is a case for requiring floor insulation in new buildings.