As of April 2007 a Code for Sustainable Homes came into effect in England. The Code for Sustainable Homes has been designed to be a national standard for the design and construction of sustainable homes and will complement the Energy Performance Certificates which are part of the Home Information Packs required for some properties.
The Code for Sustainable Homes is not a compulsory scheme, although a minimum rating will be applied to social housing, but is designed to help the building industry become more sustainable and for more homes to be carbon zero. The code builds upon the EcoHomes assessment for environmentally friendly housing and covers a number of design categories. These include energy/CO2, water, materials, surface water run-off, waste, pollution, health and wellbeing, management and ecology.
The overall aims of the Code for Sustainable Homes include a reduction in carbon emissions, the better adaptation of homes to climate change and an overall reduced impact of building on the environment. In addition, there are benefits to the ‘consumer’ in terms of the cost of running a home and the ratings will undoubtedly become a selling point. There are some minimum standards to the code and thereafter a points system takes effect. A property is then given a star rating with one star at the entry and six stars denoting a zero carbon home.
For more information on the Code for Sustainable Homes visit the Planning Portal website.
For related information visit the UK Energy Saving links at - Energy Efficient Home Building Sustainable Building UK Green Building Council
