With energy costs likely to be a running issue throughout 2022, the question of how we can most effectively heat our buildings is entering mainstream public debate. To meet our national legal commitments on net zero carbon emissions, we must stop using gas to provide space and water heating in our homes.
Different approaches to achieve this have their champions. Heat-pump engineers will tell you that any home can use this highly efficient technology to keep warm no matter how leaky the building; whereas energy-efficiency experts will point out that a well-insulated home requires virtually no heating at all. Who is correct? Well in some ways they all are. Achieving a net zero home is fairly easy; we have the technology to do it. The problem is how to do it cost effectively.
For the tougher challenge of existing homes, the retrofit solution will depend on the house type, location and what has been done already. For new homes, there is a surprising answer: it may be cheaper to build to net zero than not. This is the conclusion from work completed by the Active Building Centre (ABC) as part of a planned social housing development in North Wales by Flintshire County Council. The ABC worked with the developer to redesign the plot, maximising solar through orientation, improving insulation and fitting an optimised combination of renewables and electric heating.
These houses will now achieve a 97% improvement on Part L regulations with predicted energy costs of £84 per year, compared with the original estimate of £1,440. However, when the avoided costs of connection to the gas grid and upgrade of electricity networks are accounted for, these offset the extra capital costs of the net zero technologies. These homes can be completed for the same or potentially less than the original design.
The ABC was funded as part of the Transforming Construction challenge, managed by Innovate UK. This government-funded programme sought to change the way new buildings were delivered, and this example shows what can be achieved when experts are brought together to innovate an optimised solution. This transformation is moving fast, and the cost of such solutions is higher today than the cost will be tomorrow.
Mike Pitts is deputy challenge director – Transforming Construction at Innovate UK
No comments yet