Eco Projects Zero Carbon Homes

Date Published:

29/05/2008

Films, such as Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, and daily news stories of global warming have focused all our minds on climate change. Housebuilders in the UK are paying attention too, and are working towards building sustainable, zero carbon homes.

CO2 and our Lifestyles

Climate change facts make for scary reading: 17 of the 20 hottest years ever recorded have occurred since 1980; each Briton's carbon footprint requires three 'planet earths' to sustain it. Closer to home - literally - 27 per cent of Britain’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which add directly to global warming, come from our homes, according to the Carbon Trust.

The good news is scientists think that climate change is manageable, if not reversible, as long as we act now and act significantly. The British government plans to commit to reduce CO2 output by 60 per cent against 1990 levels. As part of the process it aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. We each have our part to play in the process.

Many of our CO2 emissions can be reduced by simple lifestyle changes. Turning down the thermostat, switching off the TV at night and boiling only the amount of water you need to make a cup of tea, for example, will save carbon dioxide emissions and save money. The Energy Saving Trust estimates you can save £250 and two tonnes (the average UK household uses six) of CO2 annually by undertaking such practices. For more advice on this, see Ways To Save Money And Energy At Home.

But, as important as these measures are, many energy-saving initiatives necessary to make a significant difference need to be implemented on a larger scale. The built environment, which includes houses, offices, factories and so on, accounts for more than 50 per cent of the UK annual CO2 emissions. Fortunately public (social) and private housebuilders are rising to the challenge.

Carbon-Zero by 2016?

The Code for Sustainable Homes demands that all new homes in Britain will have to be zero carbon by 2016. The government defines zero carbon as: 'Where net carbon emissions resulting from all energy used in the dwelling is zero. This includes the energy consumed in the operation of the space heating/cooling and hot-water systems, ventilation, all internal lighting, cooking and all electrical appliances'.

What is the Code?

The Code has six levels with six being zero carbon. To date, in the UK, no housebuilder is achieving higher than level five (the One Brighton development in Brighton). The target is for all new homes to reach level three - a saving of 25 per cent above Part L of the 2006 building regulations by 2010; level 4 by 2013, which is 44 per cent above, and zero carbon by 2016.

Detractors say it is an impossible ambition because the cost of achieving level 6 is too high to be viable, and that the technology and skills are not yet in place to deliver three million zero carbon homes by 2020, which is PM Gordon Brown's declared aim. There also remains the significant issue of where three million new homes can be built on what is already a crowded island.