Details

Written by: J C Burke

Published: 25 April 2023

Last Updated: 22 November 2025

Hits: 15915

Sun Earth Energy Ltd, Qsir Ltd and Zero Energy Systems Ltd - see separate ARTICLE HERE are a consortia of companies and individuals, with considerable expertise in Energy, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environmental Sciences, Ecological Sciences and the co-ordination of all that these subject areas entail. In addition, we have expertise in Funding and Banking that will allow for the financing of such projects from a National, International and Continental perspective. From planning and building self sustaining cities, to flood control, we have solutions within construction paradigms and high value project management.

ABOUT US Sun Earth Energy Ltd

Five Decades of Expertise in Energy Efficiency, Building Physics, and Sustainable Construction

Executive Summary

With over fifty years of professional experience spanning academic training, industry leadership, and hands-on project delivery, we bring unparalleled expertise in thermodynamically efficient building design, combined heat and power systems, and integrated energy infrastructure. Our journey began in 1972 at Leeds Polytechnic, where the seeds of distributed energy thinking were first planted, and continues today with innovative care home developments that demonstrate what is possible when engineering fundamentals take precedence over political narratives.

Academic Foundation

Honours Degree in Building (1972-1976)

Our technical foundation was established through a rigorous four-year 'thick sandwich' degree programme at Leeds Polytechnic (now Leeds Beckett University), graduating in 1976 with an Honours Degree in Construction Technology and Management. This distinctive programme structure alternated academic study with substantial industrial placements, providing both theoretical depth and practical industry experience that proved invaluable throughout subsequent decades.

The significance of this educational approach cannot be overstated. On the very first day of the programme in 1972, students engaged in discussions about distributed utility service ducts in new city developments, a concept that was remarkably forward-thinking for its time and one that remains central to efficient urban energy infrastructure today. This early exposure to systems thinking and integrated infrastructure planning shaped a career-long perspective that buildings must be understood as complete thermodynamic systems, not collections of isolated components.

Diploma in Management Studies (1983)

Building upon the technical foundation, a Diploma in Management Studies was obtained in 1983, adding crucial business acumen and strategic planning capabilities to the existing engineering expertise. This combination of technical knowledge and management skills proved essential for navigating the complex intersection of building physics, energy policy, and commercial viability that characterises successful sustainable development projects.

Milton Keynes Energy World Exhibition (1986)

A pivotal moment in professional development came in 1986 at the Energy World exhibition in Milton Keynes, where participation occurred as Regional Manager for Pilkington Fibreglass Ltd. This groundbreaking exhibition featured fifty individual energy-efficient houses built to demonstrate various approaches to sustainable construction, representing international collaboration and innovation at its finest.

What Made Energy World Significant

Energy World was not merely an exhibition of concepts; it was a living laboratory of proven solutions. Fifty different approaches to energy efficiency were demonstrated in real, occupied buildings. International architects and builders collaborated to showcase best practices from across Europe and beyond. The exhibition provided comparative performance data from actual homes, not theoretical calculations, and served as both public education and professional development venue. The innovation competition aspect drove genuine advancement in building technology and design.

Integration of Advanced Systems

Working with companies like Scandia Hus, who brought Swedish building standards and timber frame construction to the UK, exposure was gained to remarkably sophisticated integrated systems. These included earth pipes (ground coupling systems) with intakes positioned twenty metres from houses to pre-condition incoming fresh air using stable ground temperatures. Heat recovery ventilation systems captured waste heat from extract air. Kitchen cooker hoods were integrated into whole-house ventilation systems rather than simply dumping warm air outside. Super-insulation was treated as standard practice, not a premium option.

The Swedish approach understood what much of the UK construction industry has still not grasped: you cannot technology-fix your way out of poor building physics. The Scandinavian sequence was clear, starting with radically reducing demand through excellent fabric performance, then recovering waste heat through mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, and only then meeting the remaining minimal demand with efficient systems. This 'fabric first' philosophy, which later became formalised in the Passivhaus standard, was already proven practice in Scandinavia in the 1980s.

Historical Documentation

The Official Guide from Energy World 1986 remains in our possession, representing a valuable historical document that demonstrates what was already proven possible decades ago. Additionally, archive boxes contain original technical drawings and specifications from that era, including Scandia Hus designs with earth pipe systems, ventilation schematics, and insulation specifications. These documents provide irrefutable evidence that energy-efficient building is not new or complicated, but rather that the UK construction industry has systematically ignored proven solutions for nearly four decades. The potential re-release of the Energy World Official Guide could serve as a powerful educational tool, showing today's architects, builders, and policymakers what was achieved in 1986 and asking why such standards have not become universal practice.

Swedish Heat Pump Insights

Research into Swedish heat pump applications during the mid-1980s revealed a crucial insight that remains largely ignored in current UK energy policy. Swedish heat pump installations were successful because they were deployed in buildings that already met what we now call Passivhaus standards. The buildings featured super-insulated envelopes as standard, airtight construction with rigorous quality control, excellent windows (triple glazing was normal), and heat recovery ventilation as a baseline requirement.

Because heating loads were already minimal, heat pumps could be much smaller capacity, run efficiently at lower temperatures, operate reliably in cold climates, and provide genuinely economical heating. Contrast this with the current UK approach of installing heat pumps in poorly insulated, leaky buildings with inadequate windows and no heat recovery. This is thermodynamic insanity, attempting to heat a sieve with expensive technology that only achieves high efficiency when heating demand is already low.

Combined Heat and Power Expertise

Extensive experience has been developed in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems and district heating networks, understanding these as primary infrastructure rather than alternative technologies. CHP systems achieve 80-90% overall efficiency compared to 40-50% for separate electricity generation and heating. This fundamental thermodynamic advantage has driven advocacy for decentralised energy paradigms throughout professional practice.

Bio-Methane Integration

A particular focus has been the integration of bio-methane from organic waste streams as fuel for CHP systems. The UK produces approximately 3-5 million tonnes of food waste annually, plus substantial agricultural and sewage waste streams. These could produce significant quantities of bio-methane through anaerobic digestion, which when used in CHP plants achieves both maximum efficiency and decarbonisation objectives simultaneously.

This approach delivers multiple benefits: solving waste management challenges, generating renewable fuel, producing electricity and heat at high efficiency, creating digestate fertiliser for agriculture, and providing dispatchable generation that renewable-heavy grids desperately need for stability. The existing UK gas infrastructure provides an ideal distribution network for bio-methane without requiring massive new investment.

District Heating Networks

Understanding of district heating has been informed by successful European implementations in Denmark, Finland, and other markets where CHP-driven heat networks are primary infrastructure achieving over 60% of heating supply. The UK's current less than 2% district heating coverage represents a massive missed opportunity. Work has included analysis of existing UK CHP installations and engagement with regulatory frameworks such as Ofgem's Heat Network proposals, consistently advocating for treating such systems as strategic infrastructure rather than alternative technologies.

Super-Insulated Care Home Development

Current project work focuses on developing 75-85 bed nursing and care homes built to ultra-high thermal insulation standards with integral CHP systems running on bio-methane. These facilities represent the practical application of decades of accumulated knowledge, demonstrating that buildings can be simultaneously high-performing, financially viable, and genuinely beneficial for occupants.

Integrated Design Philosophy

The care home designs incorporate multiple synergistic elements. Deep basements provide exceptional thermal mass that stabilises building thermal loads, making CHP systems more efficient through predictable heat and power demands. Earth tube systems reduce ventilation loads, crucial for care homes requiring high air change rates for air quality and infection control. Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery provides excellent indoor air quality and temperature stability. Super-insulation beyond Passivhaus standards minimises heating requirements. Landscape integration creates wind sheltering and solar shading that directly impacts building performance while creating therapeutic garden environments for residents.

Financial Model

The financial model proves the economic viability of high-performance construction. CHP systems generate electricity that can be sold back to the grid, creating revenue streams that offset capital investment. Ultra-high insulation dramatically reduces operating costs, with energy cost reductions of 20-40% translating to £75,000-£150,000 annual savings per 75-bed facility. The 24/7 energy demands of care homes make them ideal candidates for CHP optimisation, as baseload consistency allows systems to run at optimal efficiency.

Private investment of £50 million has been secured for acquiring older failing care homes and redeveloping them as larger 75-85 bed facilities, leveraging planning gain advantages whilst building to the integrated design concepts proven through decades of experience.

Sector Transformation

These care home projects represent more than individual developments; they demonstrate a new paradigm for the sector. With the UK facing a need for 440,000 additional care home beds by 2032, and current energy costs averaging £1,233 per resident annually (representing approximately £550 million sector-wide), buildings that achieve net zero standards whilst generating revenue represent compelling investment propositions. Properties with sustainable credentials command 3-20% value premiums, whilst delivering operational excellence and superior resident care quality.

Critical Perspective on Current Energy Policy

Five decades of experience have cultivated a critical perspective on UK energy policy that prioritises political narratives over engineering reality. The term 'Thermodynamic Insanity' has been coined to describe policies that ignore fundamental building physics in favour of technology-focused solutions, such as promoting heat pump installation in poorly insulated buildings.

Fabric First Philosophy

Central to our approach is the 'Fabric First' philosophy: reducing energy demand through excellent building envelope performance before considering mechanical systems. This is not optional good practice but physics requirement. Heat loss from poor insulation must be replaced by any heating system regardless of technology. Improving fabric first reduces required system size and capital costs, reduces running costs for any fuel or technology, reduces peak demand during coldest weather, and reduces strain on energy infrastructure.

The historical Department of Energy Efficiency produced comprehensive, rigorous publications covering all aspects of building design, heating, and ventilation, documents still retained in storage. These were grounded in fundamental building physics and systems thinking, understanding that you cannot technology-fix your way out of poor building performance. Current policy seems to have forgotten these fundamentals.

Advocacy for Rational Policy

Ongoing work includes critical analysis of regulatory frameworks such as Ofgem's Heat Network guidance, advocating for policies that recognise thermodynamic efficiency as the primary objective rather than politically-favoured technology choices. Research proposals have been developed for Engineering Doctorate programmes examining thermodynamically-optimised regulatory frameworks for district energy systems, drawing on fifty-three years of observation from that first day at Leeds Polytechnic through to current practice.

Conclusion

This professional journey represents a rare long-view perspective spanning from the optimistic innovation of Energy World 1986 through to current high-performance care home developments. Throughout this period, the fundamental principles have remained constant: buildings are thermodynamic systems that must be designed holistically; fabric performance is non-negotiable; waste heat is a resource not a problem; and distributed energy infrastructure offers superior efficiency to centralised systems.

The frustration of witnessing proven solutions repeatedly ignored in favour of politically convenient narratives has driven continued advocacy for rational, physics-based energy policy. The archive boxes containing Energy World documentation and Scandia Hus designs serve as evidence that we have known how to build well for decades, and that the challenge is not technical but political and educational.

Moving forward, commitment remains to demonstrating through practical projects that thermodynamically efficient buildings are not only possible but economically superior. The care home developments currently underway will prove that buildings can be energy-generating assets rather than energy consumers, that resident welfare and energy efficiency are complementary not competing objectives, and that genuine sustainability comes from engineering excellence not marketing narratives.

After five decades, the seed planted on that first day at Leeds Polytechnic in 1972, discussing distributed utility service ducts in new city developments, has grown into a comprehensive vision for thermodynamically rational energy infrastructure. The time has come to stop reinventing what was already solved and to build upon the proven foundations that have been systematically ignored for too long.

For further information on our projects, consultancy services, or collaborative opportunities, please contact us directly.