Pathway to zero-carbon homes

Zoltan Zavody, Energy Saving Trust, United Kingdom

Keywords

newbuild housing, building regulations, low-carbon buildings, energy efficiency, microgeneration, market transformation, strategy, co-ordinated policy

Abstract

This paper looks at what is needed in technical and policy terms to reduce long-term carbon emissions from newbuild housing to acceptable levels.

The paper starts with an assessment of potential carbon emissions from newbuild housing to 2050, the date for which the UK Government has set a goal of a 60 % reduction in national carbon emissions. This assessment shows that the contribution of newbuild emissions will be significant at current rates of build levels of performance.

The paper moves on to look at the need for a long-term vision, with a strategy, for moving to low-carbon newbuild housing as a requirement under Building Regulations. This strategy includes committing to the vision; initiating a co-ordinated research programme; and creating demand. Energy ratings, introduced under the European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings, are one of the tools required in this strategy.

A further key feature of the strategy is that it needs cross-Government and multi-disciplinary buy-in, covering potentially competing priorities, for instance: securing energy efficiency vs market transformation in microgeneration.