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 EcoHomes 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 CO2 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 EcoHomes 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

Code Categories Energy/CO2 Pollution Water Health and Well-being Materials Surface Water Run-off Management Ecology Waste

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 No minimum standards Health and Well-Being Management Ecology

Minimum performance standards for Energy/CO2 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. PassivHaus / EST exemplary Level 5 100% improvement Level 6 Full Zero Carbon

Scoring Code Levels Total Points Score out of 100 Equivalent EcoHomes 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 36.4 Potable Water 9 Surface Water Runoff 2.2 Materials 7.2 Waste 6.4 Pollution 2.8 Health and Well-being 14 Management 10 Site Ecology 12

What the ‘Code for Sustainable Homes’ means to you ‘Goes Live’ from 10th 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

D F Mitchell Technical Director Thank you D F Mitchell Technical Director