The code for sustainable homes goes live this month, and assessments look set to become mandatory next year...
Published by Homebuilder Magazine
On April 10, the code for sustainable homes will “go live”in England. At this point, all houses built on government-owned land or with government funding will need to meet tougher environmental standards – minimum code level three – in areas such as energy and water consumption and materials specifications. While private developers may be breathing a sigh of relief that for most of their schemes the code will be voluntary, the government has made clear its intention to introduce mandatory assessments for all dwellings in April 2008. Not only this, but the results will need to be made available to home buyers through home information packs, according to the government’s code project manager Stephen Phillips.
Compulsory
The latter requirement will effectively make the code compulsory by proxy, as few housebuilders will be content to be left marketing a one-star home next to a competitor’s four-star green dream to an increasingly environmentally-minded consumer. Suddenly 12 months hardly seems like adequate time to prepare. On top of this, the government has stated that: “The code will form the basis for future developments of the Building Regulations in relation to carbon emissions from, and energy use in homes, therefore offering greater regulatory certainty to developers.”
Certainty indeed: that standards for new homes are increase significantly, with all the attendant costs and issues that now need to be planned for. The plan is for new homes to meet code level three by 2010, level four by 2013 and level six, zero carbon, by 2016. Developers need to get to grips with the code now. Of the nine code categories, only three contain compulsory minimum standards – energy/carbon dioxide, water and materials. But to reach the various levels of the code, one through six, points need to be obtained through measures taken across all nine categories. In essence, the more points achieved, the higher the star rating – with a three-star rating equivalent to code level three. Code level one is higher than current Building Regulations, and code level six, equivalent to zero carbon housing, is a standard that has never been achieved anywhere in the world, say experts. Even Passiv Haus dwellings in Europe would only achieve a four-star rating, says Phillips.
Code level four is broadly equivalent to an excellent rating under the Ecohomes scheme, which the code will replace. Level three is “the highest level it is practical to go to with a conventional house,”according to the Energy Saving Trust. Rating a home under the code is no simple matter. For every element, complex assessments need to be made. In the materials category alone, individual materials used in each element of the home, such as walls, doors, windows and roofs, need to be individually inspected and chain of custody certified.
Developers are advised to start looking into building elements that may provide quick and cost effective high-point wins, to boost the dwelling’s overall star rating. With just a year to prepare, and thousands of Ecohomes assessors to be retrained, there is much work to be done across all corners of the industry. Building Research Establishment technical director Alan Yates advises: “As the voluntary method may become mandatory in a year or so, it is evident that it’s important to start looking at the code now to know where you stand.” And as Construction Products Association industry affairs director John Tebbit told housebuilder delegates at a recent conference on cracking the code: “Good luck.”
The code for sustainable homes sets out new standards for dwellings’ environmentalvperformance across nine categories:
1 Energy/carbon dioxide
2 Water
3 Materials
4 Surface water run-off
5 Waste
6 Pollution
7 Health and well-being
8 Management
9 Ecology
- Points are obtained for measures taken tovimprove a dwelling’s performance, with thevnumber of points achieved overall providingvthe dwelling’s code rating, from one to sixvstars – a six-star rating being the highest.
- It will be mandatory to meet minimumvstandards for categories one to three –energy/carbon dioxide, water and materials –with extra points available for building above the minimum.
- There are no compulsory minimum standards for code categories four to nine, but measures taken across these categories will provide additional points, contributing to the rating.
- Star ratings are given to individual dwellings, rather than schemes overall, which was the basis of the Ecohomes method, so two different dwellings on a single scheme may achieve a different rating.
- Assessments under the code will be made at two stages: the design stage and then postcompletion.
- Post-completion testing will be carried out in a similar fashion to existing Ecohomes assessments: Ecohomes assessors are currently being retrained.
- Government has estimated that post completion tests will cost £75 to £135 per dwelling, and the BRE is aiming for a one-week inspection turnaround time.
- Assessments are expected to be made mandatory for all dwellings in April 2008; developers will be required to display the results and make them available to purchasers through home information packs.
- Technical guidance on calculating various code levels is expected to be available when the code goes live on April 10.
COMING SOON - WATER REGULATIONS
A Building Regulation for water efficiency in new homes is imminent, following a consultation which ended on March 9. The problem is, as efficient as a house may be, no regulation will prevent Mr Public leaving a tap on all day. “You could have the most efficient house in the world, but it wouldn’t make a difference if those living in it don’t conserve water,” says HBF head of technical Dave Mitchell. “There has to be a big investment in education so the public know how important it is and what they can do.” Since Britain enjoyed a relatively wet winter the issue has become more pressing. Says Mitchell: “Housebuilders know they have to conserve water but how do we convince the public of this when they look outside and see the rain?”No doubt the industry will be hoping the government commits funding to an awareness campaign to ensure the demands to be made on them are worthwhile. As yet details concerning a water regulation are sketchy.
Mitchell says it is likely the government will decide to include water efficiency in the Building Regulations rather than through Defra, “but it hasn’t definitely been decided yet.” Other important points up for discussion are whether prospective regulations should apply to the whole house or individual appliances within the home and whether flooding and drainage issues, currently dealt with under planning policy statement 25, should be included. Mitchell says housebuilders favour the whole house approach but would prefer flood prevention to remain in planning.
A minimum standard of water consumption, measured in litres per person per day (L/p/d) has also yet to be finalised. Mitchell contests that since the code for sustainable homes (CSH) sets 120 L/p/d as the minimum standard required to achieve a one star rating a water regulation should set a minimum standard of around 130 L/p/d. Andy Senatore, group technical director at Countryside, says the CSH should be integrated into the regulations. “We think water efficiency should fall into the Building Regulations and they should align with the maximum usage suggested in the code.” Since the code is designed to lay the path for Building Regulations it seems logical to integrate the two.
Rain Water Recycling
Senatore adds that any regulation should include a national standard for rainwater recycling. “This is the only way to get more people to take it up,” he says. “Because there is no national standard the water companies don’t have an agreement with developers over the quality of the water going into a building. Water suppliers prefer to over treat the water but this isn’t needed for things such as toilet flushing that rainwater could be used for.” An Institute for Public Policy Research report, published last September, recommended that water companies incentivise customers to install “water butts and sophisticated rainwater harvesting systems that store and use rainwater for non-drinkable uses.”It suggested the government set minimum water efficiency targets with enhanced targets for areas prone to shortages.
It would, though, be worthwhile for housebuilders to look beyond any minimum standard set by government in upcoming regulations since requirements are only likely to get more stringent. The code will form the backbone of future regulations, in order to gain a six star rating housebuilders will need to reduce usage to 80 L/p/d alongside providing rainwater harvestings systems, such as water butts, and reducing surface run-off.