Climate change is driving significant changes to how we are going to build houses now and in the future. The Committee on Climate Change and the government have set a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and to achieve this all buildings will need to decarbonise before that time.
Future Homes Standard and Future Buildings Standard are the action plans for these targets to make all buildings and homes more energy efficient.
According to Future Homes Standard, “From 2025, new homes built to the Future Homes Standard will have carbon dioxide emissions at least 75% lower than those built to current Building Regulations standards.”
What Is the Future Homes Standard?
Future Homes Standard is a two-stage consultation by the government with an aim to increase the energy efficiency of new homes by implementing standards in new buildings residential and non-domestic.
The standards are being implemented through amendments to Building Regulation Approved Documents Part F, Part O and Part L which cover conservation of fuel, ventilation and overheating.
The aim is to achieve net zero carbon energy efficient houses to reduce emissions from fossil fuels used to heat and cool homes.
The intention is to reach these goals through high fabric standards and low carbon heating systems. New homes will need to have heat pumps and better insulated walls, floors and roofs.
The standard for the fabric of the building will be increased through:
- Triple glazing
- Standards for walls, floors and roofs that significantly limit any heat loss
- Low carbon heating system
As 25% of heat is lost through windows, it's expected that triple glazed windows will become the standard requirement for all new build houses for increased thermal efficiency.
“From 2025, the Future Homes Standard will deliver homes that are zero-carbon ready:
- We intend to set the performance standard of the Future Homes Standard at a level which means that new homes will not be built with fossil fuel heating, such as a natural gas boiler.
- These homes will be future-proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency.
- No further energy efficiency retrofit work will be necessary to enable them to become zero-carbon as the electricity grid continues to decarbonise.”
Note: at this stage, none of the introduced changes will apply to existing houses unless they build an extension, or make some home upgrades.
The First-Stage Consultation: Future Homes Standard
The first stage of the consultation was between October 2019 and February 2020.
“The Future Homes Standard will require new build homes to be future-proofed with low carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency; it will be introduced by 2025.”
“Consultation on the uplift to standards of Part L of the Building Regulations and changes to Part F. This uplift is the first step in achieving the Future Homes Standards.”
The Second-Stage Consultation: Future Buildings Standard
The second stage of the consultation was between January 2021 and April 2021.
“It built on the Future Homes Standard consultation by setting out energy and ventilation standards for non-domestic buildings, existing homes and includes proposals to mitigate against overheating in residential buildings. It set out proposals for a Future Buildings Standard, which provides a pathway to highly efficient non-domestic buildings which are zero carbon ready, better for the environment and fit for the future.”
The new standards are set to be implemented in 2025 with more consultation in 2023 and legislation introduced in 2024.
