Code for Sustainable Homes Helps Fight Climate Change
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Sustainable Homes October 9th, 2008 As part of its strategy to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, the UK government has introduced the Code for Sustainable Homes. The code covers many important issues, but one of them has particular relevance to the plumbing and heating industry in the UK. It will impact both new building developments and existing building retrofits.
New properties already have to meet part L1A of the building regulations in force. This part determines a set target for carbon emissions that every new property has to meet. The property developers have to prove in advance that once fully built the property will generate CO2 emissions which is less than (or equal to) the target.
Part L1A was introduced in 2005 setting a target of 20% reduction in CO2 emissions for new property developments. The new Code for Sustainable Homes sets six levels of emissions reduction starting at 10% for level one, up to ‘Zero Carbon’ for level six. By 2016 all new dwellings have to meet the government target of 100% reduction in carbon emissions, which corresponds to level five of the Code.
The scoring for the dwellings is done according to a points system, in which every component of the home is scored based on its energy efficiency and carbon emissions. A score of 57 points is required for level three, while level six requires a score of 90 points.
Currently available water heating systems are already capable of scoring well on the points system. However, experts say that in order to reach the top levels, there would be a need for further efforts to improve the efficiency of the systems.
Using sustainable energy technologies is one of the most effective ways of improving the score of the dwelling unit. Take for example a solar water heating system that can generate hot water from the sun with virtually no carbon emission at all. As a backup system (for short and cold winter days), a gas boiler or an electrical immersion heater set inside a well insulated water tank can be used.
Although currently the code mainly talks about new build projects, experts urge the government to apply the code in retrofits as well. Replacing an old boiler with a new high efficiency boiler will reduce the carbon emissions but also will help the home owners reduce their heating bills. An A rated boiler, such as a modern condensing boiler will reduce the emissions and cut the heating bills by around 30%. Similarly, a well insulated hot water cylinder will cut the heat loss and reduce heating bills further, compared with an old inefficient cylinder.
The Code for Sustainable Homes is an important block in the governments’ strategy and will have other ramifications on the building industry in the UK. It is thus important to ensure that the industry is adequately prepared for it, as it is likely to influence the building regulations expected to be introduced in 2010.
Engineering and technological capabilities in the UK are high, giving the government comfort in the ability of the sector to roll out the high efficiency technologies. What’s more, the new technologies become ever more attractive to the public as prices drop while performance levels improve.
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