Surveying Property - 2012 Greatest Hits!



Source: Google Images

After publishing my first article on Surveying Property in May this year I never imagined that I would receive over 18,000 page views in the first 8 months. This however is what has happened and the blog already has a wide and growing audience from all over the world. The blog also has nearly 1500 followers on Twitter! As we are approaching the end of 2012 I thought it would be a good opportunity to thank everyone who regularly reads my articles and for providing such positive feedback over the first 8 months.

This is the last posting for 2012, however, I have plans for some very exciting new articles for 2013, the first of which will be published on Tuesday 8th January 2013. I will continue to publish a new article every week, so make sure that you bookmark the site to ensure you do not miss out! I also thought that it would be a good idea to publish the 'top ten' most viewed articles of 2012.  You can view each article by clicking on the link below if you have not already viewed them.  Please also feel free to forward a blog link to anyone you think may be interested.

Surveying Property 2012 Greatest Hits!:

1.  Damp in Buildings – Part 1 – Condensation – How it Occurs

2.  In the dark about Permitted Development?

3.  Damp in Buildings – Part 2 – Condensation – How to reduce the risk!

4.   What's the crack? The importance of correct diagnosis of cracking in buildings

5.   Energy Efficiency – Save Heat - Save Money – Save the Planet!

6.   E-mail – Beware! - Once You Press Send - You Can’t Amend!

7.   Asbestos - Will new amended legislation result in higher removal costs?

8.   Construction Site Health & Safety - Is Legislation Enough?

9.   Planning Permission - Will a Section 106 Agreement 'Holiday' Stimulate Development?

10.  Older House or Modern House? – ‘Quirky’ can come at a cost!

I would like to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!  See you in 2013!

Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.

Energy Efficiency – Save Heat - Save Money – Save the Planet!

One in every five UK households are currently in fuel poverty. Coupled with the fact that energy providers are continually raising their prices, this issue is becoming increasingly prominent; the basic necessity of keeping warm can no longer be taken for granted. It is estimated that a minimum of 5.5 million people within the UK are living in houses that are inadequately heated



Source: Google Images

Fuel poverty occurs when a household spends 10% or more of its income on fuel; figures show that one in every five UK households are currently in fuel poverty. Coupled with the fact that energy providers are continually raising their prices, this issue is becoming increasingly prominent; the basic necessity of keeping warm can no longer be taken for granted. It is estimated that a minimum of 5.5 million people within the UK are living in houses that are inadequately heated due to self-rationing, made necessary by insufficient funds (The Guardian 2011). Modern new build properties benefit from legislation such as Part L of the Building Regulations, which ensure that construction is adequately insulated. Efficient methods of heating property are also being implemented more regularly; this however, provides no relief for the millions of people living within existing housing stock.

Source: Google Images

While there are ways in which homeowners can improve thermal efficiency, methods often require financial investment (sometimes substantial), and exhibit long payback periods. Improving thermal efficiency, using external wall insulation for example, can result in payback periods of 12 years and cost as much as £65 per square metre (Oxford Solar n.d.). This can mean that while people may want to improve their homes, the same financial concerns which mean they are subjected to cold living conditions, prevent steps being taken to make improvements.  In addition to financial benefits, increasing efficiency will also result in fewer carbon emissions. The Climate Change Act 2008 has made the UK the only Country which has introduced a legally binding framework intended to address climate change by reducing emissions by at least 80% by 2050, when compared to the levels seen in 1990 (Committee on Climate Change n.d). Ensuring that existing homes are used efficiently is a cost effective way of contributing towards this target. The coalition government see Green Deal as a vehicle of meeting these targets; however the early signs are not positive with the media reporting lack of publicity, lack of clarity and a general lack of interest from the public as early signs that Green Deal will not have the effect that the government were hoping for. 

Daniel Coghlan, a student of mine at Coventry University, considered energy efficiency in residential dwellings as part of his final year dissertation, and undertook some very interesting research. The purpose of the research was to ascertain whether heating costs could be reduced by using an existing heating system more efficiently. If this was possible then this would allow savings to be made with little or no financial investment. The research involved taking meter readings in a selected residential property both before and after alterations were made to the use and set-up of the heating system. The usage during both periods was then compared to ascertain whether the alterations that were made have affected the efficiency of the central heating system, and if they have, to what extent.  The property selected was a detached 1970’s house with insulated cavity walls. The heating system comprised of a condensing combination boiler which fed a wet radiator array; heat was controlled using a programmer integral to the boiler, a central room thermostat and thermostatic radiator valves on each of the radiators.

A meter reading was taken on the 1^st October 2011 and one was obtained from the resident for the 1^st September 2011. The resident at the property was then left to utilise the heating system as they normally would; repeat readings were taken at the first of each month for a total period of 3 months, ending on 01^st December 2012. The purpose of this was to ascertain energy usage over a set period of time prior to any system alterations. Following this, alterations were made to the system. These alterations included:



1. Bleed radiators to remove trapped air

2. Balance System

3. Discuss room use and set TRVs accordingly

4. Reduce temperature of system slightly

5. Remove restrictions surrounding TRVs

            6. Set a programme timer suitable for general daily us

Source: Google Images

The results from the case study showed that alterations made to the set-up and use of the central heating system within the property resulted in a reduction of 18% in energy usage. It is understood that there were a number of limitations to the research, however this result gives a strong indication that considered use can improve efficiency. In addition to the case study a questionnaire was devised to establish the levels of understanding of the use of a central heating system. Of the returned questionnaires, only 14% of those who responded used their central heating systems efficiently. Therefore, the combined result of the research shows that the efficiency of a central heating system can be improved by altering use, and currently, there is a deficiency in understanding or common practice of incorrect central heating system use within the UK. 

Limitations with the research were;

Within the case study, monitoring was undertaken for three months in each period consecutively. This meant that varying weather conditions will have affected the boiler efficiency and the consequential energy consumption may not be completely representative of the alterations made.

Another consideration is gas usage within the case study property as gas is not used exclusively for heating; the cooker hob is also fuelled using gas. This means that, while the same number of residents were residing within the property during both periods, varying eating patterns may have introduced further inaccuracy into the results. December for example is a time when residents are off work, and likely to entertain, again resulting in more cooking, higher gas usage and less reliable results.

Different families are likely to have different comfort requirements and eating habits for example. In addition to this, differing windows, doors, thermal insulation, boiler type and radiator sizing for example would all make data obtained from different properties less directly comparable.

In addition there are a number of potential limitations commonly associated with observational information gathering techniques, such as when individuals or groups of individuals are aware they are being watched, they can sometimes change their behaviour, a phenomenon known as the Hawthorne effect (Kumar 2005: 120-121).

Despite these limitations the research demonstrated that energy and consequently cost savings can be made by educating and encouraging people to use their heating systems more efficiently.  Notwithstanding the fact that buildings also need to be made thermally efficient in the first instance, otherwise all of the heat created is likely to disappear through the walls.

(The above article is a summary of research undertaken by Daniel Coghlan BSc(Hons) as part of his final year dissertation at Coventry University and is published with the express permission of Daniel)

Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.

E-mail – Beware! - Once You Press Send - You Can’t Amend!

The content of an email will tell the recipient a great deal about the individual who sent it, the organisation they work for and also act as barometer for measuring competence and professionalism of both. Therefore a swiftly drafted email with spelling mistakes, other grammatical errors and poorly worded sentences will undoubtedly not inspire a Client to have confidence in other services you may be providing for them.



Source: Google Images

How many times have you pressed ‘send’ on an email, then immediately had that sinking feeling when you realise that you have included something that is incorrect or of a sensitive nature or you have send it to someone you shouldn’t?  In the professional world this can often lead to embarrassing situations, damage to reputations, loss of work, or ultimately legal action. Nowadays many of us both use and rely upon email as the main form of correspondence in our professional lives.  This is because it is instant.  Technology means that we no longer have to hand write things, proof read and amend, put them in an envelope, add a stamp and post, and then wait a day or two for it to be delivered to our recipient.  All we need to do now is type a new email as quickly as we can or reply to an e-mail we receive, press send and job done!  Sounds easy and indeed it is easy, however this high speed approach also comes with a high element of risk.

Whilst working in professional practice I can remember numerous occasions when I was under pressure to meet deadlines or respond to clients or to deal with staff related issues. I also remember feeling that there was just not enough hours in the day to meet all of these demands.  It was always at these very moments that a little message would flash up in the bottom right hand corner of my screen and I would catch a brief glimpse of the sender and the first line of a new email before it would fade away.  I would sometimes know, just by either the sender or the short text that the content was not going to be good, so then I had the dilemma of either opening it immediately, or ignoring it until I had finished dealing with the latest crisis!  Many of you will know that the second you open an email, your plans for the day can change in an instant.  Just a few moments ago, what you considered as a priority or urgent suddenly seems less so because the email you have just opened presents you with a whole new situation or set of circumstances that must be dealt with now!  This really sums up how we often become slaves to email, and how we also let email dictate our lives, rather than use it in a more appropriate and positive way.

Source: Google Images

As we are considering correspondence in the professional world, the content of an email received will tell the recipient a great deal about the individual who sent it, the organisation they work for and also act as barometer for measuring competence and professionalism of both.  Therefore a swiftly drafted email with spelling mistakes, other grammatical errors and poorly worded sentences will undoubtedly not inspire a Client to have confidence in other services you may be providing for them. Robust quality assurance of all communication that leaves the office is a fundamental part for most successful organisations.  Letter, drawings and most hard copy communications are much easier to control and these procedures usually require hard copy correspondence to be ‘signed off’ or at least checked by a more senior member of staff, before they leave the office.  Email is much harder to control, as all staff members will have an individual account and will be free to receive and send emails as often as they want.  In most cases there will be no quality assurance procedure for this form of communication and this could prove to be an ‘Achilles heel’ if incorrect advice or information is given via email.  
  

Although most organisations will have an email policy, I wonder if questioned, how many of their staff will have read the policy, or indeed how many will know that one existed?  Typical wording in an email policy will state: ‘It is strictly prohibited to send or forward emails containing libellous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks’, the wording generally covers the content of an email, but does not consider the quality.  So what can an organisation do to monitor and control the quality of an email before it leaves the office?  Well, this is obviously not easy, however if staff are ‘educated’ to adopt a number of good practices when drafting emails then quality is likely to improve and problems are likely to reduce.  Below I offer a few suggestions which may help: 

Never respond to an emotive email immediately – Sometimes it is very tempting to response to an aggressive or emotive email instantly, and ‘give it to them with both barrels’. This however is a very dangerous approach and one on reflection in the cold light of day you may regret.  Always be professional! Take a few moments to calm yourself down and then respond appropriately. 

Write well-structured emails and use short, descriptive subjects  - Emails should not be lengthy.  If the email starts to grow as you are writing it, then consider whether a letter may be a better option, one that you can attach to an email if urgent.  This again is about taking a professional approach in everything you do. 

Always check your grammar and use a spell checker before you send out an email - It is so important to check grammar and spelling because a simple mistake can change the tone or indeed the content of an email. Also, spelling mistakes are lazy and unnecessary and leave a lasting negative impression. Ask yourself what you think about someone who has sent you an email with poor grammar and spelling mistakes all over it.  Always take the time to read through your email before you press send. 

Attachments – Make sure you do not send unnecessary or the wrong attachments with you email.  How many times have you received an email, quickly followed by another email stating ‘here is the attachment’? For certain documents you may want to consider converting to PDF format before attaching them to your email.  This will ensure that there is no doubt about the content of the attachment and removes the opportunity for amendments to be made by the recipient.



Ensure that the email is sent to the correct recipients - The content of some emails may be private and confidential or of a sensitive nature.  In these instances perhaps email is not the most appropriate form of communication. If however email is used it is imperative that it is sent to the correct recipients.  When someone is busy or even stressed, it is very easy to not pay attention to who the email is being sent too and this can cause serious problems..  Always take the time to review the content of the email including who it is being sent too.



Source: Google Images



In the hectic world that we live in we are expected to communicate/respond instantly. It is clear that email is an important and effective way of communicating in the professional world, however it does have its risks, which all start from the moment an email is drafted.  This is worth thinking about because you can amend a draft email as many times as you want, but the moment you press send, you lose the opportunity to amend!

  

Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.