Homebuilders Taking Sustainable Steps Towards Net Zero Targets
Businesses and people have never thought or talked more about sustainability.
This globe-wide emphasis on our carbon footprint causes more problems for homebuilders than for other industries. As the construction industry is said to be responsible for approximately 40% of carbon emissions in the UK, the spotlight is on the industry to implement changes and strive for Net Zero targets.
This is a problem, however, that developers are working on and taking steps to make the industry greener. Whether through concept homes or by updating traditional systems to be more energy-efficient, many developers are making significant progress in these areas.
Bellway Future Home
In early 2022, Bellway Homes began construction on The Future Home, a dedicated testing facility based within the Energy House 2.0 research facility at The University of Salford.
The Future Home launched at the beginning of this year and in Spring testing will begin. The University of Salford and Bellway Homes are responsible for the tests being carried out and the analysis of data collected.
The design and construction of The Future Home uses a variety of building and green materials in order to discover the best practices for storing solar energy at home, recovering heat from wastewater and where to place air source heat pumps for maximum efficiency. The Future Home also aims to test other carbon-reducing technologies and heating systems that do not rely on fossil fuels.
As well as the systems contained within the home, the home itself (or the four homes contained within the facility, to be exact) will be tested for their ability to cope with climate change. With temperatures dropping to -20℃ and rising to 40℃ the building will be put to its limit, including wind, snow, solar radiation and other forms of extreme weather.
The homes will also be retrofitted halfway through testing to understand the difference in the benefits of double glazing versus triple glazing.
The data collected and analysed by Bellway Homes and The University of Salford will be used in order to release the tested technologies by 2026.
The aim of The Future House is to ensure the homes we are making provide the best living environment that can sustain our coming climate changes, while using as little energy as possible to be efficient.
Once the findings have been applied to the homes we are building, we can be confident our newbuilds can survive the future and give us the best chance for thriving in a more difficult climate.
Heating Systems
This at least two developers have so far marked their commitment to achieving their Net Zero target by 2050 with the introduction of more environmentally friendly and energy efficient heating systems.
First was Classic Folios client of ten years, Redrow, to announce that they will now be installing air source heat pumps and underfloor heating as standard in their homes, in a move to provide gas free homes by 2025.
Redrow say that they have ‘seen increased demand for energy-efficient features from homebuyers in recent years’ and that their larger than average square footage per plot, allows for air source heat pumps to be at their working best, while underfloor heating works well in their open plan layouts.
Redrow monitored the usage of a Mitsubishi Electric heat pump in a trial that lasted a year, against the consumption of a traditional gas boiler and found that heat pumps use significantly less energy than gas boilers and operate at the efficiency of around two to three times that of an A-rated boiler.
Spitfire Homes has also recently announced that they will be installing air source heat pumps as standard in their homes, citing their energy-efficiency and sustainable benefits as the reasons for this decision. Their promotional video released in February 2023, provides an interesting insight into these benefits and how to use the heat pump in the home. The air source heat pumps discussed in this video are said to be four times as energy efficient as a gas boiler.
It is important that developers educate their customers on how to efficiently use the systems in their home. After all, the efficiency of the system is only effective when being used to its full potential. At Classic Folios, we have spent over 25 years helping developers accomplish this through our bespoke Completion Manuals, Sustainability Guides and award-winning online portal, Spaciable. For more information, please fill out our contact form.
