Memorandum submitted by the Commission
for Architecture and the Built Environment
The Commission for Architecture and the Built
Environment (CABE) welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence
to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee for its
inquiry on "Existing housing stock and climate change".
This short paper sets out CABE's response to the Committee's inquiry.
Before addressing the specific questions asked by the Committee,
we set out CABE's role and experience in relation to housing and
climate change:
1. CABE was set up by the first Secretary
of State for Culture, Media and Sport in 1999 with the mission
to promote high quality architecture and design within the built
environment in England. CABE's vision is of a country that by
2010 will lead Europe in understanding and harnessing the ability
of great buildings and spaces to transform neighbourhoods, to
generate social value and to sustain economic growth.
2. CABE is now jointly funded by Communities
and Local Government (CLG) and the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport (DCMS). The sponsorship arrangements are with DCMS.
3. CABE's statutory role, as set out in the
Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (2005), includes the
promotion of education and high standards in the management and
maintenance, as well as the design, of the built environment.
4. CABE's enabling programme provides hands-on
expert advice to public sector bodies that are procuring new buildings
or masterplans, giving strategic advice on how to get better value
from their projects through better design. The advice covers issues
such as project vision, client resources, briefing and competitive
selection of design and developer teams.
5. Our enabling programme is experienced
in working with housing masterplanning projects around the country,
as well as mixed urban, town centre, and public realm projects.
It is closely tied into areas of public investment identified
in the government's sustainable communities plan, such as housing
market renewal, housing growth and mixed communities. In the case
of housing market renewal, we have offered a bespoke programme
of advice and on-the-ground enabling assistance to each of the
Pathfinder organisations.
6. The importance of recognising the intrinsic
value of the existing housing stock underpins our advice on assessing
the nature of physical transformation required in housing market
renewal areas. This embraces social, cultural, economic and environmental
factors, and must include the impact that any intervention has
on mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change.
7. Furthermore, CABE believes that design
is a continuous process throughout the life cycle of any building
or neighbourhood, and does not stop once the initial construction
phase is complete. We view refurbishment as playing a significant
role in creating a well-designed built environment which achieves
the qualities of longevity, flexibility and efficiency, that are
of vital importance in tackling climate change.
SUMMARY OF
CABE'S POSITION
In line with the best available evidence, CABE
believes that improvements to the energy efficiency of the existing
housing stock must play a key role in meeting the required carbon
reduction targets across the residential sector as a whole, on
the path to 2050. These measures should be twin-tracked with the
provision of public infrastructure to supply low carbon energy
and to recycle and distribute heat. All measures should be balanced
with the need to adapt homes to the effects of future climate
change. A strategy to increase the energy efficiency of existing
homes to well beyond current levels is urgently required.
We believe that central government should lead
a new initiative to set out standards and timescales for the refurbishment
of existing homes to the lowest possible carbon standards, to
guide local authorities and other decision-makers and the construction
industry. This should include support and incentives for homeowners
and landlords to help deliver greater energy efficiency. Energy
suppliers should also be required to play a role, by introducing
smart metering into all homes.
CABE also considers that there is an urgent
need for government to review the current VAT regime which currently
disadvantages improvements to the existing housing stock, and
works in favour of new build. We recommend an approach where a
reduced VAT can be accessed only by achieving enhanced energy
performance standards.
CABE advocates a spatial approach to delivering
greater energy efficiency that links new build projects with existing
homes and communities whenever possible. Regional Spatial Strategies
and more local plans such as local development frameworks could
set out how to identify opportunities to share energy infrastructure,
and other types of infrastructure and services, between new and
existing homes, and between different types of building. This
approach would also identify how contextual factors such as density
and energy efficiency characteristics of the existing stock influence
the cost-effectiveness and design of technical solutions. It would
allow improvements to the fabric of existing homes to be linked
with other agendas dealing with environmental quality and quality
of life.
Where appropriate, carbon offsetting for new
housing developments could be linked with investment in improvements
to the energy efficiency of existing homes and neighbourhoods,
and to improving and maintaining green space. However, we also
believe there is scope for an offsetting programme which would
allow a wider range of businesses to contribute to improving the
energy performance of existing affordable housing and public and
non-profit ownership.
Good design and management of buildings, spaces
and places has a key role in influencing energy use across the
residential sector, but also other sectors such as transport and
services. It plays a key part in achieving broader environmental
objectives, including minimising water use, recycling of waste
and biodiversity. Using design-led processes, existing buildings
and spaces can be used creatively to help deliver a high quality
public and private realm that provides greater potential for reducing
carbon emissions, as well as meeting wider environmental and other
objectives.
A whole life approach is required to assess
the costs and benefits of the future substitution of fuels through
the provision of new public infrastructure. In areas where large-scale
renewal is taking place, a whole life approach should be used
to assess the relative environmental impacts of demolishing and
rebuilding, versus refurbishing, existing housing.
We recommend that Regional Development Agencies
should lead regional examples of good practice, demonstrating
energy efficiency improvements to single homes, groups of homes
and to neighbourhoods. Demonstration projects are needed to permit
the clarification of technical detail and implementation and to
identify where improvements to systems and technologies are required.
Other aspects to consider include visual impact, impact on internal
room dimensions, resolution of specific architectural detailing,
internal environmental quality and ease of use or maintenance
of new components.
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS—ANSWERS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The significance of existing housing compared
to new build and the different levels of performance each display
— CABE believes that improving the
energy efficiency of existing housing is a key part of achieving
the 60% carbon reduction targets in the residential sector required
by 2050 to mitigate the impacts of climate change. We very much
welcome the government's efforts to improve the energy performance
of new homes. However, over 85% of the existing housing stock
could still be standing in 2050[78]
and therefore we believe that the efforts to improve new housing
will have a relatively limited impact on reducing carbon emissions
across the residential sector as a whole. The evidence to date
suggests that the scale of improvements required for the fabric
of existing homes is considerable, and a strategy to tackle them
is urgently required. Furthermore, improvements to the existing
stock have the potential to provide quick wins since many of the
required technologies exist, are relatively low cost and can be
applied immediately, and as such should be considered in relation
to shorter term carbon reduction targets on the path to 2050.
— At the scale of the individual home,
what distinguishes the energy performance of the existing housing
stock most from new-build housing is space heating requirements.
Current space heating accounting for 53% of household carbon emissions[79],
and space heating in new homes is set to be negligible in the
future due to increasingly stringent building regulations[80],
as long as construction quality permits compliance[81].
Hot water is currently responsible for a further 21% of household
carbon emissions. Data on energy efficiency characteristics of
the existing English housing stock[82]
and other studies[83]
indicate there is still considerable potential to improve the
fabric of existing homes and the efficiency of heating systems,
and thus reduce energy use associated with space and water heating.
— A study using the UK domestic carbon
model[84]
showed that, even with significant measures to increase the energy
efficiency of lights and appliances, and the introduction of low
and zero carbon technologies, and with onerous estimates of demolition
of the existing stock, the average SAP[85]
rating of the UK housing stock still needs to increase from 51
(the 2004 average) to 80 in 2050 to meet 60% carbon reduction
targets. Correspondingly, a reduction in the average net space
heat demand of 38% is required, compared to 1996 levels. The study
suggested that the following measures to the existing stock would
be required to achieve this: insulation of 100% of cavity walls
and 15% of solid walls, 100% loft insulation (to a depth of 300
mm), and 100% high performance windows. However, the study may
have underestimated the improvements required to existing homes,
given its assumption about significant increases to rates of demolition
of the existing housing stock, and the greater carbon emissions
(including those resulting from the embodied energy of construction)
related to the government's new housebuilding targets and associated
infrastructure[86].
— It is clear that improvements to
the fabric of the existing housing stock represent one key measure
within a range of measures that need to be applied to the domestic
sector. The development of town- or neighbourhood-scale energy
infrastructure is also crucially important, to provide a low carbon
energy supply and distribute heat. For example, sophisticated
municipal waste-to-energy projects currently being seen in Scandinavia
could be considered. The design of new homes and the retrofitting
of the existing stock should be carried out with sufficient flexibility
to permit the easy substitution of a high carbon with low carbon
energy supply at future dates.
— The exact combination of measures
within a locality will depend on contextual factors such as the
regional characteristics of the housing stock and estimated number
of new build dwellings over time. It will also depend on the density
of the existing housing. Measures to the fabric may be more important
in less dense areas where it is relatively difficult to introduce
infrastructure. For example, London's Climate Change Action Plan[87]
estimates that, for the domestic sector, improvements to the thermal
efficiency of the existing stock will be responsible for 10% of
the carbon savings required by 2030, compared to 5% for new build.
Other measures, including changes to the energy supply, will also
play a significant role. However, the exact proportions will vary
from region to region.
— There is a wide range of energy efficiency
measures available, with varying degrees of cost, ease of implementation
and carbon reduction potential. "Silver bullets" which
are most effective in all these respects include cavity wall and
loft insulation[88].
"Quick wins" include draught-proofing and hot water
tank insulation. Solid wall insulation has a large carbon reduction
potential, but is less easy and cost-effective to implement. Implementation
needs to take into account the fine grain variations in the energy
efficiency characteristics of the housing stock and their potential
to be retrofitted.
— Other impacts of implementing energy
efficiency measures also need to be considered, such as resolution
of specific architectural detailing, visual impact, impact on
internal room dimensions, internal environmental quality and ease
of use or maintenance of new components. For example, appropriate
condensation control measures may need to be introduced. Adaptation
of homes to climate change also needs to be considered, to reduce
the risk of overheating in summer, leading to the need for energy-intensive
space cooling[89].
— In considering the relative environmental
impacts of demolishing and rebuilding, versus refurbishment, a
consistent approach is necessary to quantify the carbon emissions
associated with each. The wide range of current approaches yields
varying conclusions, depending on assumptions made[90].
A whole life cycle approach which takes into account embodied
energy, durability, whole building performance and operation is
needed, as well as consideration of the broader resource implications.
— It is necessary to think beyond the
scale of the individual dwelling, and to consider contextual and
spatial factors which influence the energy performance of a neighbourhood.
The spatial relationship between areas of new and existing housing
and other types of building needs to be considered to optimise
the potential to share energy infrastructure, and other types
of infrastructure and services[91].
— The thinking that informs any major
intervention to the built environment has to consider economic,
physical and social issues, as well as environmental factors,
at the regional, local authority and local neighbourhood level[92],[93].
Decisions about whether to demolish and rebuild, or refurbish
the existing stock need to be made in a broader context, and to
focus on neighbourhood quality rather than purely on housing stock
quality or the inadequacy of particular house types. It is important
to identify the links between improving the fabric of existing
homes and other agendas dealing with environmental quality and
quality of life. For example, impacts on the existing community
need to be considered, as well as the heritage or cultural value
of existing homes. We support the Sustainable Development Commission's
assertion that homes cannot be seen in isolation from their communities,
and that improvements to the energy efficiency of homes have to
be considered alongside modernisation of the wider neighbourhood[94].
— The physical nature of the neighbourhood,
including infrastructure and services, influences carbon emissions
from the transport, industry and service sectors, as well as residential
sectors. In this respect, it is helpful to consider how the design
quality of the built environment impacts on an individual's potential
to act sustainably[95].
Data published by the One Planet Living initiative[96]
suggest that the embodied energy and energy in use of the home
accounts for only 13% of an individual's carbon emissions, with
most emissions accounted for by food, shared infrastructure and
personal transport. How then do emissions across all sectors change
as a result of strategic decisions taken by local authorities
or housing market renewal pathfinders, say, in their attempts
to improve the overall fabric of neighbourhoods?
— Good urban design and management
at neighbourhood scale has a key role in influencing energy use,
but also use of water, recycling of waste and biodiversity. Using
design-led processes, existing buildings and spaces could be used
creatively to help deliver a high quality public and private realm
that provides greater potential for reducing carbon emissions,
as well as meeting wider environmental and other objectives. For
example, a safe and attractive public realm is needed to encourage
journeys on foot or by bicycle, rather than by car. As well as
reducing carbon emissions, there are health benefits that derive
from reduced air pollution and a more physically active community.
— A greater understanding of how to
implement carbon reduction measures at local and regional scales
is needed, taking into account the drivers of development and
the broad range of issues which should inform any interventions.
These are needed to feed back into the carbon emissions scenarios
which predict the scale of improvements to the fabric of the existing
stock required, and into government policies and funding programmes
targeted at improving the fabric of existing homes.
The respective roles of residents, homeowners,
landlords, local government, central government and the energy
industry in promoting and delivering greater energy efficiency
— We believe that central government
has a key role in leading a new initiative which sets out standards
and timescales for the refurbishment of existing homes, to guide
local authorities and other decision-makers and the construction
industry. This should be tied to a national policy framework for
reduction of carbon emissions. Recognising that there is no "one-size
fits all" solution, this could set out the sustainable refurbishment
principles needed to inform strategic decision-making. It could
tie into existing and future funding programmes, and provide guidance
on how best to direct resources, and how to implement various
energy efficiency measures. It could also provide guidance on
creating incentives to engage homeowners and landlords. It should
embrace energy-efficiency, as well as other resource areas such
as water, construction waste and household waste.
— Regional government and local authorities
have an important role to play. But regional planning bodies currently
have insufficient power and funding to make changes to the existing
stock, and most of their influence is over new development. We
believe that central government needs to introduce measures to
remedy this situation.
— There is a need to ensure that the
skills and labour required to implement change are available.
For example, local authorities are currently under-resourced (both
building control and planning departments) and engineering consultants
are struggling to find appropriately skilled employees. The shortage
of suitable professionals has recently been identified in regard
to delivering sustainable communities[97].
— There is a pressing need for central
government to provide guidance for decision-makers engaged in
current government programmes, such as Housing Market Renewal
pathfinders. For example, guidance is needed on how to weigh environmental
factors against broader social and economic factors, and how to
achieve the optimum solution which takes advantage of the synergies
between environmental and other agendas, and which achieves improvements
to the required energy performance standards to meet carbon emissions
targets.
— We recommend that Regional Spatial
Strategies set out how the spatial distribution of the energy
characteristics of existing housing, combined with the location
of proposed new development and the heat demand and heat load
diversity of other types of existing development in order to identify
opportunities for implementing energy efficiency and local energy
generation measures. This should be linked to local development
frameworks to identify possible sites for new energy infrastructure,
and prioritise areas where interventions to the existing housing
stock are most required to ensure that energy reduction measures
meet local objectives, as well as contributing to global carbon
emissions targets.
— To permit the clarification of technical
detail and implementation, and improve knowledge and skills of
those involved in implementing improvements, we recommend that
Regional Development Agencies lead regional examples of good practice,
demonstrating energy efficiency improvements to single homes,
groups of homes and to neighbourhoods. There is also potential
to learn from similar projects abroad[98].
— There is a need to harness individual
residents' and landlords' interests in improving the energy performance
of their homes, both by providing information and financial support
for physical improvements, but also in improving awareness about
how individuals' behaviour influences energy use. Equally well,
there is a need for others involved in delivering improvements
to housing to have a greater understanding of how any improvements
work in practice, and are enhanced or compromised by residents'
behaviour. This could be achieved through longitudinal studies
and post-occupancy evaluation.
— Electricity suppliers and water companies
should be obliged to fit smart meters in a visible place in all
dwellings for free; this will help incentivise residents to save
energy and water.
Energy performance certificates
— Energy performance certificates cover
energy efficiency which is only one aspect of the environmental
sustainability of homes. CABE believes that information about
environmental performance could address sustainability holistically,
rather than focussing solely on energy efficiency. As discussed
earlier, the physical quality of the neighbourhood in which a
home is located has a key role in influencing behaviour. Therefore
we recommend that broader information about the sustainability
of the neighbourhood is included, such as how far a particular
home is from the nearest park; whether there is a management plan
or service charge for shared public spaces; whether there are
good schools nearby; or satisfactory public transport services,
planned or existing.
— Ideally the condition of the home
and its build quality should be included, which relate to broader
sustainability objectives of longevity, flexibility and whole
building performance. We regret the removal of the Home Condition
Report from Home Information Packs for this reason.
The provision of information for households and
prospective house buyers, including energy performance certificates
— Recent research[99]
has found that, while home owners were generally concerned about
their energy usage, and believed that environmentally friendly
homes would help combat climate change, 51% knew "not very
much" and 19% knew "nothing at all" about sustainable
homes in general. While households are likely to be aware of certain
energy-saving measures and behaviours, it is unlikely that many
households are fully informed about how the range of energy-performance-related
features, including the fabric of different elements of their
home, is influencing their energy usage.
— CABE welcomes the introduction of
energy performance certificates in Home Information Packs as a
means of providing information on a particular home's energy performance
at the point of sale. However, while combating lack of information
is key to removing one of the important barriers to action, in
the short term, it is unrealistic to expect that this will by
itself bring about a step-change in behaviour without other measures
to incentivise change. For example, desirable changes in behaviour
include encouraging prospective sellers to increase the energy
efficiency of their homes prior to putting them on the market,
influencing potential homebuyers to chose a more efficient home,
or encouraging homeowners to initiate improvements at other times.
Notwithstanding, it will help to pave the way towards longer-term
public acceptance of the need to retrofit existing homes, and
empower home buyers to judge whether a home is one they would
like to live in.
— For households, the main driver at
present is whether costs of investment in energy efficiency features
translate sufficiently into savings in fuel costs, which depends
on other factors such as how long residents expect to stay in
their home, and whether they have the capital to invest.
— Lack of knowledge represents a barrier
to prospective house buyers being able to make informed choices
about their purchase. However, improving information may not have
a significant effect on choice of home in the short term, since
other basic concerns such as location, affordability and size
of home place considerable constraints on choice, particularly
in the current housing market.
— Energy performance certificates provide
information at the point of sale of a home. We recommend that
information is made available to all residents to allow them to
make improvements to the energy efficiency of their home while
carrying out other improvements during the course of occupying
the home—for example, when they are planning an extension,
improvements to the fabric of buildings or the replacement of
windows or heating systems.
— Where possible, improvements to the
energy performance over the lifetime of a home should be supported
by regulation, for example through consequential improvements
specified in Part L of the Building Regulations.
— We welcome the additional information
provided in CLG's sample energy performance certificate[100],
which includes both current and potential energy performance,
and will help to raise awareness about how the various elements
of a home's fabric, space and water heating, and hot water systems,
contribute to both energy performance and fuel costs, and how
the most cost-effective improvements could be instigated. While
the procedural guidance for home information packs does not specify
the level of detail to which this additional information is provided[101],
we recommend that accredited certification schemes ensure that
good standards of information are provided in these areas.
— Homeowners' views on the trustworthiness
of information provided by estate agents and by the housebuilding
industry are fairly negative. For example, a CABE survey of 900
homebuyers carried out in 2004 showed that, in the case of new
homes, only 3% of residents surveyed considered housebuilders
as very trustworthy sources of information when choosing a new
home[102].
It is important that the way in which energy performance and other
aspects of the home which relate to its performance are appropriately
presented in marketing information.
Government efforts to reduce carbon emissions
from existing housing stock whether in private or public ownership
and other related programme including Decent Homes
— While current programmes have gone
some way in improving the energy performance of the existing housing
stock[103],
we believe that the scale of improvements required in the future
will need to be considerably greater, and be based on revised
energy standards which are developed to allow the required carbon
emission targets to be met.
— Decent Homes helped to improve the
energy efficiency of the most poorly performing stock, as well
as meeting other objectives around health and safety, thermal
comfort and state of repair; however, the criteria for achieving
the Decent Homes standard were made within a different context,
before climate change became such a pressing concern and carbon
reduction targets had been set.
The technologies available to reduce emissions
and the Government's role in facilitating relevant further technological
development
— Many of the technologies needed to
improve the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock are
currently available, for example, cavity wall insulation and energy-efficient
space heating systems. However, in order to target parts of the
housing stock for which technical feasibility of retrofitting
measures is less straightforward[104],
and to ensure that improvements to the fabric are carried out
alongside other energy efficiency and technological measures,
we believe that the government has to intervene in supporting
research and development, and deployment of a range of technological
measures. Until carbon pricing is introduced, the private sector
will continue to make investment decisions which do not take into
account environmental externalities, to fulfil short-term profit
aims rather than achieve longer-term environmental improvements.
This will tend to slow innovation and cause under-provision in
the necessary technologies[105].
— Incentives for deployment could include
fiscal incentives, capital grants for demonstrator projects, subsidies
and procurement policies of local authorities and other agencies
involved in delivering and maintaining housing. Measures which
support specific technologies for the provision of immediate solutions,
are required, given the urgency of the problem.
— In order to identify the direction
for innovations that will have the greatest impact, particularly
for those homes which are currently more difficult to retrofit,
the direction for further technological development needs to be
based on the experience gained from existing retrofitting programmes
and other studies, which provide evidence about the potential
scale of use of various technologies, and the resulting impact
on the performance of the dwelling as a whole (going beyond individual
component performance). Demonstration projects can also be used
to highlight where uncertainties exist about measures currently
in use, and where further development is required. Some technologies
will be specific to the task of retrofitting the existing housing
stock, but others could be relevant to both new build and existing
homes, and to other types of building. There is also a need to
ensure that the capacity to install the various technologies is
present, through training to create the necessary skills.
— Clear indications of policy directions
are also required to give confidence to the private sector that
investment in innovation is worthwhile. For example, a government
paper which sets out a path towards policies which require a step-change
in improvements to existing homes, could help to influence private-sector
investment towards the necessary technologies.
The costs associated with reducing carbon emissions
from existing housing, who should meet these costs and particularly,
in respect of low-income households, interaction between carbon
emission reductions and the Government's ambitions to reduce poverty
— CABE believes that the built environment
must be able to help deliver welfare to disadvantaged groups,
and that any intervention in the built environment should combine
environmental aims with wider social and economic aims. Opportunities
to retrofit energy efficiency measures into existing homes should
not be considered in isolation from environmental and other improvements
to neighbourhoods, and from achieving broader social, economic,
and cultural objectives. There is a need to avoid a scenario in
which the rich live in energy efficient homes, with the poor marginalised
in the least energy-efficient stock, with expensive-to-run electric
heating and no capital to invest in improvements.
— We recommend that government should
consider setting up a public interest venture which allows businesses
to offset their carbon emissions against improvements to the energy
performance of the existing public housing stock, including registered
social landlord and MoD housing. This would allow organisations
to use a genuine carbon-reducing and nationally-based offsetting
scheme. The resulting fund could also be used to finance improvements
to the public realm and green space, both to help mitigate against
and adapt to climate change. The venture could operate at a municipal
or national level.
— For some smaller new developments,
carbon reductions could be more cost-effectively achieved by achieving
less ambitious levels of the Code for Sustainable Homes and using
the cost savings to improve the energy performance of existing
homes within a given locality, rather than attempting to achieve
carbon neutrality in the new build. For example, where opportunities
to introduce site-wide infrastructure or large-scale renewable
energy do not exist, the highest levels in the Code for Sustainable
Homes may be relatively expensive to achieve and subject to diminishing
marginal return on investment. Depending on the techniques used
to implement these levels, the cost per home of achieving Level
5 compared to Level 4 could be up to five times greater for a
low rise apartment, equivalent to an additional cost of about
£20,000. Costs for a detached home could be up to three and
a half times greater, equivalent to an additional cost of about
£15,000[106].
The cost of achieving carbon neutrality (Level 6) may be proportionally
even greater. Although energy efficiency measures vary widely
in cost (from £10 to £5,000[107])
they are considerably less expensive in comparison. If the cost
savings from reaching a lower level of the code are used locally
to retrofit existing homes, for the same cost, a greater carbon
reduction will be achieved.
— CABE also considers that there is
a need for government to urgently review the current VAT regime
which currently disadvantages improvements to the existing housing
stock, and works in favour of new build and is apparently out
of alignment with the VAT policies of many of our EU partners.
A more sophisticated approach whereby the VAT rules could be introduced
so that the benefits are only realised if enhanced energy performance
is actually achieved.
— In any funding programme, a whole
life cycle approach, which fully accounts for the costs of carbon
and other externalities, needs to be taken into account when making
key decisions about refurbishment measures or indeed when making
decisions about whether to retain, or rebuild stock in the first
place.
— Whole life analysis of the costs
and benefits of the future substitution of fuels through the provision
of new public infrastructure needs to be considered.
The specific challenges which may arise in relation
to housing of special architectural or historical interest
— To date, the greatest concern has
been with the oldest housing stock, which tends to have the lowest
energy SAP rating and the lowest prevalence of cavity walls. The
English House Condition Survey[108]
identifies homes constructed prior to 1919 as the lowest performing,
with performance increasing with decreasing age of house. This
makes the task of retrofitting the oldest homes to adequate energy
performance standards, in a visually unobtrusive way, particularly
demanding. For example, in the absence of cavity walls, solid
insulation applied either internally or externally may be required,
which is both more costly and technically more difficult. Furthermore,
there are often restrictions in local planning guidance on retrofitting
traditional single-glazed windows with double-glazing. However,
examples of good practice refurbishment do exist[109],
as well as guidance on how to enhance the energy efficiency of
dwellings without compromising their architectural and historic
value[110].
— Assessment methods which allow the
competing requirements of energy efficiency, overall building
performance, durability and maintainability, with wider social
and economic factors which take into account the heritage and/or
architectural value of homes, are required.
— Furthermore, there is a need for
government to support the development of energy efficiency technologies
and products which allow measures to be implemented that are sensitive
to culturally significant and historic buildings, and for local
authorities to rethink planning requirements for listed homes,
and those in conservation areas, to take into account the emerging
energy efficiency techniques.
— The feasibility of implementing improvements
to this part of the existing housing stock needs to be taken account
in the strategy for achieving the required carbon reduction targets
across the existing stock as a whole. This includes consideration
of how the energy performance standards for homes might vary (if
they vary at all) according to their architectural and historical,
as well as technical, characteristics. Once again, economic models
that take into account the whole life cost and benefit of the
social value of culturally significant or heritage buildings may
indicate that the delivery of infrastructure that permits the
substitution of high with low carbon fuels is more efficient in
the long-run.
78 Palmer, J. et al. (2006) Reducing the environmental
impact of housing: Final report. Consultancy study in support
of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's 26th report
on the urban environment. Environmental Change Institute, University
of Oxford. Back
79
DTi (2004) Energy consumption tables. Back
80
CLG (2006) Code for sustainable homes: a step-change in sustainable
home building practice. Back
81
EST (2004) Assessment of energy efficiency impact of Building
Regulations compliance. Back
82
English House Condition Survey (2005) Annual report. Back
83
Energy efficiency innovation review (2005) Household sector-final
report. Back
84
Environmental Change Institute (2004) 40% house. Back
85
SAP ratings are based on SAP(2001) rather than the more recent
SAP(2005). SAP(2001) ratings range from 1 (lowest performance)
to 120 (highest performance), and are based on energy costs for
space and water heating, ventilation and lighting per square metre
of floor area. Back
86
CLG (2007) Housing green paper. Back
87
Greater London Authority (February 2007) Action today to protect
tomorrow: The mayor's climate change action plan (Figure v). Back
88
GLA (February 2007) (Figure 27). Back
89
M. Orme and J. Palmer (2003) Control of overheating in future
housing-design guidance for low energy strategies, Faber Maunsell. Back
90
CABE/Arup (2007) Carbon-footprinting housing regeneration-scoping
study (in draft). Back
91
UK Green Building Council are planning to investigate the potential
to share heat between dwellings and other buildings, making use
of their different heat load characteristics. Back
92
CABE (2005) Creating successful neighbourhoods: lessons and actions
for Housing Market Renewal. Back
93
CABE (2007) Actions for housing growth: creating a legacy of great
places. Back
94
Sustainable Development Commission (2004) "Stock take":
delivering improvements in existing housing. Back
95
Williams, K. and Dair, C. (2006) A Framework of sustainable behaviours
that can be enabled through the design of neighbourhood-scale
developments, Sustainable Development, 15 (1) published online
19 October. Back
96
P. Desai and P. King (2006) One planet living: a guide to enjoying
life on our planet. Food accounts for 24%, shared infrastructure
(energy for construction schools, hospitals, roads, airports,
etc) 20%, personal transport 18%, and shared services (energy
for running schools, hospitals, financial services, etc) 12%. Back
97
Academy for Sustainable Communities (2007) Mind the skills gap:
the skills we need for sustainable communities. Back
98
DTi/CIRIA Global watch mission (2006) Towards zero carbon housing-lessons
from northern Europe. Back
99
Ipsos MORI & Sponge Sustainability Network (2006) Eco chic
or eco geek?-the desirability of sustainable homes. Back
100
Sample energy performance certificate: http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/856/ExampleofEPC_id1504856.pdf Back
101
CLG (2006) The home information pack regulations 2006-procedural
guidance. Back
102
CABE (2005) What it's like to live there: the views of residents
on the design of new housing. Back
103
Energy efficiency innovation review (2005) Household sector-final
report. Back
104
For example, traditionally constructed dwellings which have solid
walls. Back
105
Stern Review (2006) The economics of climate change, ch. 16 Accelerating
technological innovation. Back
106
Cyril Sweett (2007) A cost review of the Code for Sustainable
Homes-Report for English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation.
Costs for houses were based on individual heating systems, rather
than larger scale infrastructure. The costs of achieving Level
6 were not investigated. Back
107
GLA (February 2007). Back
108
EHCS (2005) Annual report. Back
109
For example, BRE Trust (2006) "Sustainable refurbishment
of victorian houses" plus other case study publications referenced
within this report. Back
110
English Heritage guidance currently in preparation. Back
|
