Sustainable housing

• Posted by Karyn Middleton on 24th Sep ’07 at 08:36 UTC
• 0 comments

Housing currently contributes around 27% of UK CO2 emissions, with buildings as a whole bringing this figure to nearly 50%. Therefore, in order to have a hope of reaching legally binding emission reduction targets, and achieving more sustainable forms of development planning, design and construction processes, buildings must be made more sustainable. The aim is to make all residential construction carbon neutral by 2016.

The Code for Sustainable Housing which came into force in England in April 2007, uses a scale of 1–6 to illustrate the sustainability of new homes with 1 being the minimum standard and 6 being awarded to a zero carbon home. Everything from the type of construction used through to the orientation of the property is factored into this assessment.

At present the Code is voluntary but on the 23rd of July 2007 The Department of Communities and Local Government issued a consultation document, proposing to make rating new homes against the Code for Sustainable Homes mandatory. When this happens is yet to be agreed.

In a time where we are all becoming more aware of our impact on the environment and the rising costs of fuel required to heat and power our homes, the provision of this information will allow purchasers to make informed decisions about the impact and lifetime cost associated with purchasing their homes. After all, when purchasing a car we enquire about not only the cost of running the car, but increasingly what impact it will have on the environment around us. It seems a logical step that the same approach should be taken when purchasing a home. Obviously there are other deciding factors such as location, school catchment areas etc, but increasingly, environmental concerns are moving up the priority list.

The introduction of the Code will see benefits for many different groups including house builders, social housing providers and consumers, not to mention the environment. It provides:

• A mark of quality
• Regulatory certainty
• Lower running costs
• Informed choice
• Reduced environmental footprint
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions

John Everitt, Head of Architecture at Evans Jones comments: "As a construction consultancy working in several sectors of the industry including planning, architecture, surveying and project management, Evans Jones has seen a growing interest in, and a move toward more sustainable forms of construction as a response to increasing concerns about the environmental impact we are all having on the planet. In fact, over the last 18 months Evans Jones has been approached by a number of individuals wishing to commission eco friendly homes.

Some of this interest has been generated via revisions to legislation to improve the efficiency of buildings. Through the planning system, schemes are being approved with conditions attached, which require 10% of a building’s energy to be generated via on-site renewable energy sources."

More sustainable methods of construction

75% of the residential schemes Evans Jones is involved in now use timber framed construction, with the timber being specified from renewable sources. And, as a practice Evans Jones has been involved in schemes using solar panels to heat water and bio mass boilers to provide heating. More recently Evans Jones has looked at a project using ground source heat pumps.

Continuing, John says: "In our opinion an important part of the process is selecting the most appropriate form of renewable energy for a scheme rather than the one with the most kerb appeal. We strongly believe that significant improvements in reducing the environmental impact of our future buildings can be made during the design / specification and construction stages of the building by specifying environmentally friendly products that reduce the amount of energy the building requires."

"At Evans Jones we believe it is better to construct a building which requires 20% less power to run than to add a wind turbine which may generate 5% of the power required, if the weather is right for it. Better still, both approaches should be used."