What the Code for Sustainable Homes means to

What the ‘Code for Sustainable Homes’ means to you D F Mitchell Technical Director

Code for Sustainable Homes

• A single national standard to cover aspects of sustainable design and construction of new homes in England • Eco. Homes 2006 remains in Scotland, Wales, N Ireland • Driving continuous improvement and greater innovation in sustainable home building • A mark of quality enabling developers to demonstrate the sustainability of their homes and differentiate themselves from their competitors • Voluntary in short term – may become mandatory in future

• ‘It is intended that the Code will signal the future direction of Building Regulations in relation to CO 2 emissions from, and energy use in homes’ • HBF view on simplification of the Regulations • Stepping stones mentioned in ‘Building a Greener Future’ Zero Carbon Code Simplification of Regulations

Key features of the Code • • Based on Eco. Homes 2006 Applied on a whole house approach 9 categories of environmental sustainability Mandatory standards to ensure environmental robustness • 6 levels rating system

What’s in the Code

• Energy/CO 2 Code Categories • Water • Pollution • Materials • Health and Well-being • Surface Water Run-off • Management • Waste • Ecology

Minimum standards Categories Flexibility Energy Efficiency 6 levels of minimum standards; one for each level of the Code Water Efficiency Three levels of minimum standards, each covering two levels of the Code Materials A single basic standard at Code entry level Surface Water Run Off Waste Pollution Health and Well-Being Management Ecology No minimum standards

Minimum performance standards for Energy/CO 2 Code Level Energy Performance Equivalent rating Level 1 10% improvement EST Good practice Level 2 18% improvement Level 3 25% improvement EST Best practice Level 4 44% improvement Approx. Passiv. Haus / EST exemplary Level 5 100% improvement Level 6 Full Zero Carbon

Scoring Code Levels Total Points Score out of 100 Equivalent Eco. Homes rating (approximate) Level 1 ( ) 36 Points Pass Level 2 ( ) 48 Points Good Level 3 ( ) 57 Points Very Good Level 4 ( ) 68 Points Excellent Level 5 ( ) 84 Points Level 6 ( ) 90 Points

Weightings (in percentages) Energy Potable Water Surface Water Runoff Materials Waste Pollution Health and Well-being Management Site Ecology 36. 4 9 2. 2 7. 2 6. 4 2. 8 14 10 12

What the ‘Code for Sustainable Homes’ means to you • • • ‘Goes Live’ from 10 th April 2007 Voluntary EP+HC = Communities England Planning Conditions 10% renewables v code levels

Mandatory Assessments ? • Under consideration by ministers • Introduction in the future • Requirement to carry out assessment and display • No specific performance requirements

Why Mandatory Assessments ? • You might already be above Level 1 • You might be very close • You might want to go to Level 1 (Do you want to display ‘no stars’)

Assessment A two-stage process • Design Stage • Post Construction Review • Approved Code Assessors

Customer Awareness • Does the public - Know - Understand - Care - Want it

What next • • Code seminars - CLG/HBF Code for buildings other than dwellings Existing housing stock The road to Zero Carbon 2016

Thank you D F Mitchell Technical Director