National Energy Foundation

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The National Energy Foundation (NEF) is an independent British charity, established to encourage the more sustainable use and generation of energy.

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[edit] Aims

The charity's mission is to mobilise individuals, businesses and communities to make their contribution to reducing carbon dioxide emissions through energy efficiency and use of sustainable energy sources (notably renewable energy) in order to maintain affordable energy services and combat global climate change.

[edit] Activities

NEF was founded in 1988 by Milton Keynes Development Corporation in order to preserve for the future benefit of the UK public some of the energy initiatives that had been undertaken within the new city. Its initial projects included extending a technical home energy label (known as the Milton Keynes Energy Cost Index - MKECI) into a more generally applicable home energy rating called the National Home Energy Rating (NHER), and technical energy monitoring work on low energy homes in the Milton Keynes Energy Park. In 1994, the NHER Scheme was injected into a subsidiary company which still runs the business on behalf of the charity.

From 1993-2001 NEF worked closely with the Energy Saving Trust, setting up the UK's network of Energy Efficiency Advice Centres (EEACs) on their behalf, and managing the network for the first five years. But as domestic energy efficiency moved more into the mainstream, NEF expanded its interests into Renewable Energy (from 1995) and non-domestic energy efficiency, through its management of the Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme from 1998 onwards. Since 2005 this scheme has been owned by the Carbon Trust but still managed by NEF.

Many of NEF's activities are concerned with renewable energy and, in particular, with integrating it into buildings and assisting local authorities and other bodies to create the right environment for a wider uptake of sustainable energy. It also provides secretariat functions to two trade associations. In support of these functions NEF runs a programme of training courses and educational activities, some of which are delivered through its mobile display unit, the Green Energy Machine. In 2007-8 it launched a global warming game called LogiCity, funded by the Defra Climate Challenge Programme, in an attempt to raise interest in the subject among young adults. Most of the charity's work is within the UK, although it participates in a number EU projects and has undertaken some work in SE Asia. Local and regional domestic energy efficiency activities have been handed over to the Milton Keynes Energy Agency (MKEA).

The National Energy Foundation offices in Milton Keynes, England
The National Energy Foundation offices in Milton Keynes, England

[edit] Buildings

NEF occupies a purpose built low energy building designed to demonstrate some of the features that it espouses. Built in 2002-3, its office is heated by a Ground Source Heat Pump, with hot water being partly provided by an evacuated tube solar water heating system. There is a winter back-up heating system in the form of a wood pellet stove. The building is naturally ventilated, with brise-soleils to prevent overheating in summer, and use of daylight is encouraged through light tubes ('SunPipes'). Around a fifth of the office's energy is supplied by a 6.47kWp photovoltaic array. As well as energy features, its environmental credentials include the use of rainwater for toilet flushing and a low thermal mass sustainably sourced timber frame structure.

NEF's subsidiary company operates in an older low energy building (1999), designed to show how super-insulation can enable a 1,000m2 building to be heated from a gas condensing boiler little larger than would be used in a typical UK home.

[edit] Leadership

[edit] See also

Energy Portal

[edit] External links