5 years on and the futures bright for BRE National Solar Centre

In 2013, Greg Barker, the then Minister State for Energy and Climate Change officially opened the BRE National Solar Centre, the UK solar industry was flourishing with approximately 8,800 new PV systems being installed every month adding over 1.1GW of capacity within the year. A lot has changed for solar over the last 5 years.  … Continue reading “5 years on and the futures bright for BRE National Solar Centre”

£65k ZEDpod aims to shake up affordable homes market

Pioneering new housing solution for cities joins BRE Innovation Park’s family of trailblazing buildings ZED Pods Limited, a new independent UK company, is providing a clever solution to the challenges of building affordable city homes where land is scarce or expensive. The ZEDpod is a low cost, prefabricated, super energy-efficient micro home that requires absolutely … Continue reading “£65k ZEDpod aims to shake up affordable homes market”

BRE partners on cross-Europe energy performance research project

Four-year QUANTUM project aims to close the gap between predicted and actual energy performance in European buildings through quality management QUANTUM, a new research project funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, is aiming to close the estimated average 25% gap between designed and actual energy performance and 1.5% for comfort performance … Continue reading “BRE partners on cross-Europe energy performance research project”

BRE’s Peter Bonfield on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours

The BRE Group’s CEO Dr Peter Bonfield OBE FREng appeared today on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours to talk about the publication of The Property Flood Resilience Action Plan, an independent report commissioned by Defra and chaired by Dr Bonfield. Being recorded @BBCRadio4 You and Yours with @BritishInsurers Mark Shepherd @DefraGovUK Flood Resilience Action Plan … Continue reading “BRE’s Peter Bonfield on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours”

Fire safety issues with Balconies

Many dwellings, especially high-rise dwellings or blocks of flats, are now provided with a balcony.  With high demand for housing and limited space, there is likely to be a continued increase in high-rise developments.  As such, balconies are considered an important amenity in modern living. Indications are that fires on balconies are increasing. Download the … Continue reading “Fire safety issues with Balconies”

External Fire Spread

BRE Global has been awarded a contract by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to continue fire investigation activities on behalf of DCLG until 2018.  An important element of this contract is to ensure that findings from fire investigations are made available to the fire community, and other stakeholders. The articles below addresses … Continue reading “External Fire Spread”

Heat release and smoke production from burning Mobility Scooters

Ensuring fire safety for the residents of care homes and sheltered accommodation for the elderly is one of the biggest challenges facing the fire safety community in the coming decades.   The need to maintain fire safety provisions in such buildings often conflicts with the every-day life of the occupants. But, as well as the potential … Continue reading “Heat release and smoke production from burning Mobility Scooters”