Our Systems
and Products:- Timber Frame Systems
- Steel Frame Systems
- Roof Systems
- Floor Systems
- Thermoplan Ziegel Wall Systems
- EWI Masonry Wall Systems
- Pavadentro Renovation Systems
- Lime Plasters, Renders, Mortars
- Contract Eco Paints
- Natural Insulations
The Company
Useful Information:
Code for Sustainable Homes
There has been much discussion in the press around the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes and whether or not the sustainability targets laid down in the Code are sufficiently challenging, particularly at levels 3 and 4.
The Code was developed with the aim of delivering significant improvements to the environmental performance of new build homes. It does have the potential to drive forward a step change in building practices, but there are still some aspects of the Code, particularly with regard to energy and carbon standards, which can be confusing - and vulnerable to exploitation.
One such example could lead to thousands of homes emitting more carbon and consuming more energy than under the 2006 Building Regulations. According to the Building Regulations, homes heated entirely by electric systems are permitted to create more carbon emissions than homes heated by other methods, and in particular by mains gas. This has been incorporated into the mandatory energy/carbon section of the Code which requires homes to make further percentage carbon savings on Building Regulations to meet the different code levels (for example level 3 requiring a 25% reduction and level 4 requiring 44%).
It means that an electrically heated home can be classified as level three, despite its carbon emissions and energy consumption being greater than those actually required by the basic Building Regulations for gas heated buildings. There is a ‘double whammy’ for the environment too, because electricity generation creates more CO2 emissions per unit of energy then gas, so the Code can actually encourage the use of less efficient energy sources – the reverse of its purpose.
This is encouraging developers and specifiers to use electric heating as an easy option to meet current Code requirements, and is not addressing the real issues of carbon reduction, sustainability and climate change. It is vital, that the Code is approached in a way that genuinely seeks to reduce carbon emissions, and not merely ‘pass the test’ if real environmental gains are to be achieved. The Code has provided us with a real possibility of change within the building industry and we must embrace the challenges in the manner in which they were developed and not seek ‘loopholes’ in which to make the task easier.
For more information, please contact NBT
