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Stewart Dalgarno, Stewart Milne Group
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The Sigma prototype home at the BRE's Innovation Park
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As well as building the property, Stewart Milne investigated low-energy housing
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Across all aspects of life, sustainability is on the agenda – particularly in the field of construction. There is a plethora of different initiatives in both housebuilding and commercial developments with this in mind: the Code for Sustainable Homes in England; legislation under consultation in Scotland and Wales; BREEAM environmental standards for commercial building; and the forthcoming launch of the Carbon Reduction Commitment for businesses in April.
The most advanced of these is undoubtedly the Code for Sustainable Homes, which it is to be hoped will result in a common UK standard – if elements of it are taken on board by Scotland. But are zero carbon homes achievable? How cost-effective is it going to be to come up with mass market solutions? And, more fundamentally, is the market even ready for them?
Work in progress
In working to achieve the Code for Sustainable Homes in England and Wales, which calls for zero carbon homes (level six) by 2016, housebuilders are taking research and development seriously. Much of this work is informing the progress towards meeting Government targets and fuelling debate about what is needed to be successful.
The housebuilding industry has been saying that there is a need to concentrate on energy provision and existing housing stock as well as newbuild. And Government is listening. Not only have we seen several tweaks to legislation already, feedback from the sector has informed thinking beyond the Code itself. We are seeing policy changes that affect the bigger picture with initiatives such as upgrading energy efficiency of existing housing stock through more effective boilers and insulation, and ‘greening the grid’ by providing smart meters and encouraging large-scale windfarms.
Realistic goals
The challenge now is to work together as an industry to determine whether Code level six – zero carbon – is practical and cost-effective, or whether level four is a more realistic target to achieve mass market production of homes that consumers will want to buy and to live in. Even achieving level four is quite a step change for the sector and consumers alike and the market will ultimately be driven by affordability. However, it is clear that demand is emerging, so the market is there.
Unified approach
The imperative is to build higher performing products for less cost and innovation comes at a price. Thankfully, for an industry that is historically driven by contracts and which is highly competitive, and never more so than in times of recession, there is a willingness to collaborate. Government funding is starting to be made available to allow R&D projects to be brought forward and a more unified approach can be taken.
Research project
Through our own work on our Sigma prototype home at the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in Watford, we concluded that aiming for low energy before zero carbon is by far the most realistic way forward. As well as building the home, we embarked on a research project with a family living in the house in four seasonal tranches. The results convinced us that if we are to deliver a product that is affordable, easy to use, and which offers a quick payback in energy savings, then total decarbonisation probably needs to come at a later stage. In our opinion, achieving levels five and six is neither commercially achievable nor technically robust in the short term.
Simple solutions
Our answer is to aim for a solution that achieves carbon reduction but keeps things as simple as possible for the end user. Add-on microrenewables can be expensive, with potential issues around consumer use, longevity, repairs and maintenance. Therefore we believe there is a need to look at the fabric first, with fit-and-forget products and energy-efficient measures built in.
As a result we have developed our Sigma II build system, due to go into live production and then evaluated for ease of build, efficiency and cost. Only then will we be able to understand how best to bring the homes of the future to market.
Sustainable stimulus
Sustainability is being led by the public sector and public procurement initiatives are the biggest catalyst in the drive to achieve it. BREEAM will be the mechanism by which the 2019 standards for commercial developments will be met. The Carbon Reduction Commitment will rob Peter to pay Paul and require high energy businesses to take their own steps to reduce their carbon footprint.
There is much debate around embodied carbon and whether the Code might be regarded as a cosmetic solution in terms of increasing efficiency for end users while ignoring the carbon implications of the materials used and the build process. Issues of cost remain and in many ways it is easier for the public sector than the private sector to take a whole life-cycle approach to new developments.
However, private housebuilders are proving that they are willing to pioneer and push ahead with innovative projects, which must be encouraged. Only by true collaboration, pooling of knowledge and supply chains, developing trust and working with Government – all of which is already underway - will we achieve the much-needed step change that is needed for real sustainability.
Stewart Dalgarno is director of product development at Stewart Milne Group .
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