What is a Zero Carbon Home?
Zero Carbon
We all have an idea, but the rules surrounding zero-carbon are vague, so there is a huge amount of room for error, or at least, misunderstanding. By definition, a zero-carbon home should be a house that doesn’t add to the carbon dioxide already in the environment, or at least, if it does, it balances it out by ‘off-setting’. That sounds fair, but there appears no stringent enforcement of the rules and extreme uncertainty of how carbon neutrality can be obtained throughout the build process as well as the completed property.
In 2007 the government introduced ‘The Code for Sustainable Homes’, placing the UK as leaders in the field. They proposed a national standard for use in the design and construction of new homes. All new homes were required to meet a strict set of rules in terms of sustainability and were measured on a scale of one to six, with a level six home being classed as carbon neutral. It was stated that all energy used within a level six home had to come from renewables and that included the powering of smaller appliances such as washing machines and ovens.
Carbon Emissions From Our Homes
With data emerging in 2004 which read that a quarter of all the UK’s carbon emissions were coming from how we were heating and lighting our homes it came as no surprise that, as a nation, something needed to be done. However, by 2009 changes were already being made to downgrade the code. Small housing developments became exempt and the energy that powered smaller appliances, even in so called ‘carbon neutral’ homes, was no longer monitored. The code was then scrapped altogether in 2015 and plans to make all new homes in the UK carbon neutral were put on hold.
Despite the code being abolished, the UK still worked hard to lead the way in the fight for a sustainable planet and helped spearhead the negotiations for the Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were implemented by the United Nations in the same year as the code for sustainable homes was dropped and were agreed globally, with all signatories being expected to deliver. With sustainable measures across all sectors including ending poverty, hunger and improving equality the goals form the ‘2030 agenda’ – ‘a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and planet.’
The UK followed these goals by becoming the first nation to pass a net zero emissions law (2019) which sets the target for the UK to bring all greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.* This sounds daunting but the government plans to hit this target by offsetting the carbon, meaning that any carbon emissions released into the atmosphere are balanced by ensuring we remove the same amount. With the construction industry accountable for 40% of the world’s global greenhouse gas emissions* it is little wonder that net zero homes are at the forefront of many people’s mind. With factors such as heating and lighting as well as construction and infrastructure to contend with, those in the construction industry are faced with no small feat.
Carbon Neutrality Rules
With the rules behind carbon neutrality altering so much over the years it is now generally agreed that to describe a house as carbon neutral it needs to adhere to all the rules of a level six home in the original code for sustainable homes from 2007. These rules cover water and energy usage, building fabrics and their environmental impact, heat loss parameters, management of waste on site and once the property is completed, surface water run off and flood risks to name just a few. Accurate measurement of all these factors is still proving difficult, with many in the industry arguing that some of the most famous ‘eco-friendly’ homes are not as eco-friendly as we are led to believe. However, progress is constantly being made and the fact that we are now so switched on to the necessity of change enables us to delivery better, more sustainable results.
As we begin our ‘1% Better Every Day’ mission we endeavour to explore the sustainable options on offer. Whist all new builds are not expected to be carbon neutral, as yet, they do need to use 30% less energy and we can help achieve this. Starting, quite literally, from the ground up. This month we will be exploring the impacts of drainage, flood risk management, sustainable drainage solutions and how to restore our natural wetlands.
*https://www.nationalgrideso.com/future-energy/net-zero-explained/net-zero-zero-carbon