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Following a recent government consultation, the regulations for Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarms in England are set to expand for both privately and socially rented homes. The amendments will seek to increase resident safety and bring more consistency to regulations between the rental sectors.
The consultation proposed to amend the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 and Approved Document J, with the aim of extending the existing private rented legislation to socially rented properties; it also considered the important question of whether the existing legislation was sufficient.

Aico are delighted to announce the launch of their very own awards ceremony – the Community Awards.

Designed to recognise excellence within social housing and the local community, the Aico | HomeLINK Community Awards have 11 different categories, all of which are now open to entries, from College Initiative of the Year to the Rising Star Award, the Women in Fire Safety Award to the Best Distributor of the Year, including a Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative award.

Entries close on Thursday 31st March 2022 with finalists announced in early April, ahead of the awards ceremony taking place in May. The inaugural ceremony will be held at the International Convention Centre, Birmingham with host George Clarke, architect, and TV presenter, renowned in the industry. With an evening of celebration, recognition, and entertainment, the Aico | HomeLINK Community Awards will celebrate the achievements of inspirational individuals and organisations working within social housing and the local community; innovating, demonstrating excellence, and putting people first.

The British Board of Agrement has awarded BBA Certification to world leading spray foam insulation company, Huntsman Building Solutions, for its H2 Foam Lite E product.
Huntsman Building Solutions [HBS] is currently the only manufacturer of spray foam insulation solutions to carry the prestigious BBA certification, which covers its H2 Foam Lite E product for use in a range of construction application including pitched and flat roofs, suspended floors and external walls.

Housing Association magazine’s Joe Bradbury discusses the importance of improving energy performance in Britain’s flats and apartment blocks.

On the 18th November 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson presented a broad ten-point strategy to help the UK become carbon NetZero by 2050. In a bid to make our homes, schools and hospitals greener, warmer, and more energy efficient, he set a goal of installing 600,000 heat pumps annually by 2028. This, he said, would create 50,000 jobs by 2030.

When the industry first heard this, we had all assumed that getting to 600k annually would entail the installation of individual air source heat pumps on individual properties. However, a recent innovation challenges this assumption completely, offering multiple ways of delivering sorely needed heat pumps to the Nation.

Ecodan Hydrodan is a new, highly efficient water-to-water heat pump for the multi-residential market from Mitsubishi Electric.

Housing associations face two highly important retrofit challenges. One is to bring about the decarbonisation of the UK’s social housing stock as part of the battle against climate change, the other is to make their homes more energy efficient and, thus, more affordable for residents. Stewart Little, CEO of IRT Surveys, explains how social housing associations can make smart retrofit decisions to guide them on their path to decarbonisation and energy efficiency.

There are two forces driving energy efficiency within social housing. The most pressing is climate change. With the Climate Clock  predicting that, at the current rate of emissions, the 1.5°C rise in temperature will be surpassed in 2032, there is an existential need to make the UK’s housing stock more sustainable. If this is not achieved by 2050, it is predicted that housing will be responsible for 95% of the UK’s built-environment emissions.

New hub helps specifiers construct safe, comfortable and sustainable homes

Predictions suggest that an additional 9.3 million people will move to the UK’s cities by 20221, driving the trend for vertical construction to create more space for homes. In response, ROCKWOOL has developed a new high rise hub designed to support the specification of non-combustible stone wool insulation solutions for residential projects – ultimately helping specifiers to meet stringent fire safety, thermal and acoustic requirements while constructing high rise properties.

A central feature of the new hub is ROCKWOOL for High Rise Residential Projects, a comprehensive guide which explores the role of tall buildings in our society and focuses on key high rise topics including fire safety, thermal comfort, energy efficiency, acoustic performance and sustainability. Containing specific building regulations guidance as well as stone wool insulation case studies, advice and best practice, ROCKWOOL for High Rise Residential Projects is the go-to resource for high rise developers and specifiers.

Outward opening window hardware has always been a staple range for leading hardware distributor Carl F Groupco, who offer fittings to suit most window styles. Supporting this, a new guide for outward opening window hardware has been produced which highlights product options from established manufacturer partner, Roto.
Recently published, the new document provides a clear and simple summary of Roto hardware suitable for different outward opening window styles, including FRH Reversible, Projecting, NT Tilt and Turn hardware and the TSL and SSL espagnolettes. The guide is aimed to assist fabricators and specifiers, making hardware selection easy and hassle free.