by Paul Forrester, Recticel Insulation
With the publication of a single report – ‘Fixing the Foundations: Creating a More Prosperous Nation’ – the Conservative government performed a U-turn on policy first announced in 2007 and decreed that zero carbon homes are no longer a priority. The wording of the report went so far as to suggest that the zero carbon standard could have been a barrier to house building and, for many people, even a barrier to home owning.
In abandoning the 2016 target of zero carbon domestic buildings (and non-domestic buildings in 2019), there was also no provision for a change in the Building Regulations for the foreseeable future. The only hint towards future policy was a statement to, “keep energy efficiency standards under review”. Understandably, the construction industry is frustrated and disappointed at this turn of events.
How the government intends to maintain its commitment, made under the Climate Change Act, to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 is unclear. Building stock currently accounts for around a third of all carbon emissions, so tackling the design and performance of new homes would have been a positive step – before the imposing challenge of tackling existing buildings.
At Recticel Insulation, one positive we can see is that it gives time for the current versions of Approved Document L (2013 in England, 2014 in Wales) to become better established. Transitional arrangements put in place during previous regulation changes mean houses are being built in 2015 to thermal standards established a decade ago. That could hardly be described as “supporting hard-working people” who buy a house unaware that it will cost more to run than it should.
The current thermal regulations, although not zero carbon, can achieve a good level of efficiency – if they are built right. It is to be hoped, therefore, that a period of stability will allow the construction industry to build on recent work to research where deficiencies exist in current practice and improve knowledge and training to help achieve better. The performance gap between building design and building construction can still be tackled, even without new regulations.
With the government seemingly washing their hands of the responsibility, it only emphasises the need to maintain existing collaborations – and find new ones. Recticel Insulation has acted, and continues to act, on the work done by groups like the Zero Carbon Hub to contribute its knowledge to the industry and learn from others. And we look forward to helping the NHIC, with its diverse membership and variety of expertise, truly support “hard-working people” by communicating the benefits of owning a healthy, comfortable, thermally efficient home.
For more information about how Recticel Insulation can help you achieve better building fabric, visit www.recticelinsulation.co.uk.