Homeowners are being forced to tear out air conditioning from their properties under Net Zero laws that prioritise “passive cooling” and only permit “active cooling” as a “last resort”. The Telegraph has the story.
Council planning officers ordered residents to remove air-con units over fears they produce too much carbon dioxide, stating they should only be used as a “last resort”.
The Net Zero clampdown is part of building regulations that state “active cooling” should only ever be allowed when all other means of “passive cooling”, such as opening windows or using fans, have been exhausted.
The Tories said Britain was being “kept in the dark ages” under a Net Zero mindset that denies people “modern conveniences that are completely normal in other countries”.
Meanwhile, temperatures are forecast to reach as high as 40°C this week, with Britain sweltering under a record heatwave that has forced schools to close, brought trains to a halt and led to the Met Office issuing a red “risk-to-life” warning.
Widely published advice states planning permission is not required to install air-con. However, planning is required in certain situations, such as in conservation areas, and there are different rules for flats, leasehold homes, as well as shared buildings.
It means there is a risk units are installed under the assumption they are permitted, but are later caught by council enforcement officers.
In one of a string of cases uncovered by the Telegraph, a resident living in North London was forced to “permanently remove” two air-con units from the back of their home.
Planning inspectors working for Camden council said there was “no justification” for the air-con units and that they failed to comply with the local authority’s so-called “cooling hierarchy”.
In an appeal, the resident was told to open the windows and balcony doors of their first-floor flat to ventilate the property “by natural means”.
Their concerns about security were dismissed, with inspectors saying the risk was not “as great as those associated with ground floor windows” and that the windows could be shut at night.
Planning documents stated that “the main issue” of concern for inspectors was whether the “need for active cooling is justified, with particular regard to local policies” on energy.
Another resident was ordered to remove three air-con units from their property, despite complying with all planning requirements.
Camden council planning inspectors made “particular note” of the “absence of ceiling fans” in their home, even though it was not listed as a requirement.
Despite inspectors finding that they were “neither intrusive nor harmful” to the character of the local area, the resident was told to rip out the units.
They were eventually allowed to keep the air-con on appeal to the Planning Inspectorate – in spite of the council’s strict climate tests – by demonstrating that the property already had numerous eco upgrades such as solar panels.
Air-con engineers told the Telegraph that they had been called out to remove perfectly operational units worth thousands of pounds across London.
Worth reading in full.
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Three points:
1) Opening windows when the temperature outside is hotter than the uncomfortable temperature inside is stupid.
2) Why are brise soleil type sun deflectors not widely available for domestic applications? By preventing the sun reaching windows they do a lot to keep indoor temperatures down. They are only available as “bespoke” solutions for domestic premises, at a premium price, but are widely seen on commercial buildings.
3) The current heatwave did not “force” schools to close. School managers chose to close their premises, in contrast to the heatwave of 1976 when I didn’t lose a single hour of schooling.
Ceiling fans? No need to. Just give immigrants jobs as punkah wallahs.
What about the deaths as a result. The addressing of global boiling is to offset deaths. The measures to address warming shouldnt increase deaths. Its too hot today
Yet again exposing net zero for what it is – lunacy. Surely when it is hot and sunny the solar panels are producing plenty of electricity. Indeed the daily sceptic recently said householders were getting electricity free and we were paying other countries to take it in order not to overlad the grid. Norfolk County Council Offices are air conditioned and all windows are locked shut – so much for hierarchy. I wonder if the council offices in the article are air conditioned.
I like to run my house at around 20 degrees and lower at night. In winter I add heat and in summer I would prefer to take it away.
As a corollary, my solar panels provide all the electricity my ACU uses. And magically the more power the cooling takes, the more power the panels produce. It even works overnight with storage batteries charged to peak during the day.
Do you think a council could understand that, or is it not a matter of understanding but one of being dictators.
It’s nothing to do with the technology, it’s a race back to the dark ages…
They just hate everyone and enjoy their power over you.
Surely if you sign up to a power company that sources all its electricity from renewables, then your air conditioner is responsible for exactly zero CO2 emissions?
You’re having a giraffe!
No, just playing the retards at their own game.
This is a joke isn’t it? Isn’t it?!!
I find my portable active cooling unit useful in this summer weather – it exhausts through an open window and leaves no trace for the inspectors when summer ends.
A single unit cools the whole house to an acceptable degree when placed upstairs.
I have got a small evaporative cooler running although I forgot about putting the two ice blocks in the freezer that chill the water down. It works in a single room to give a bit of relief when the outside air is still warm. Being in the countryside it usually cools down at night.
You mean open the windows during the day so the warm city air can come in?
Dick’eads.
I wonder if their council offices are air conditooned?
Almost certainly – they will be exempt of course!
Unions would kick off if not.
BUT, could be wrong!
If not then the council workers will demand to work from home… oh… wait…
So we can’t install heat pumps instead of gas boilers either for same reason?
I suspect these clowns don’t know air-con is a heat pump, which can run in either direction, and “heat pumps” are air-con units operating in reverse.
We truly are on the age of idiots in high places.
Lunatics running the asylum.
Moving a small amount of heat inside from out = good
Moving a small amount of heat outside from in = bad
I wonder what the Met Office’s modelling shows as the effects of the different direction of heat transfer?
Yeah these bloody efficient heat pumps being used for the wrong reason.
No one will listen to protestations from the Tories. They have been fully committed to Net Zero. Only five MPs voted against the Climate Change Act. It was Tories that changed the target to 100% carbon reduction.
The Tories are up to their necks in it.
Never forgive. Never forget.
Labour, Liberal or Green run councils are always likely to be the most stringent in adhering to the bogus man made global warming scam.
They’re zealots NOT councillors.
Unfortunately they are zealots AND councillors.
Air-conditioning is the only sensible use for solar panels in England.