Picture: Building homes in England may be different in future - the Government proposes that all new properties in England will have to be zero-carbon homes. This includes energy consumed by appliances such as TVs and cookers.
ALL new homes in England will have to be carbon neutral by 2016, under government proposals announced recently.
A zero-carbon home is defined as a property with “zero net emissions of carbon dioxide from all energy use in the home”. This includes energy consumed by appliances such as TVs and cookers, not just other uses that are currently part of building regulations, including heating, hot water and ventilation.
The scheme outlined by Government minister Ruth Kelly, the Communities Secretary of State, includes tightening building and planning rules, and a star rating system that reveals a property’s energy efficiency to potential home buyers.
The United Kingdom’s 21 million homes are responsible for 27 per cent of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The Government hopes that the proposed measures will help it meet the target of cutting CO2 emissions by at least 60 per cent by 2050.
“Climate change is a real and imminent threat,” said Mrs Kelly in a speech in which she outlined the plans. “With a rising population and more people living in smaller households, the demands on housing are only set to increase. So it is vital that homes and other buildings are as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible.”
The measures outlined in the consultation document - called Building A Greener Future: Towards Zero Carbon Development - include:
:: tightening building regulation over the next decade to improve the energy efficiency of new homes;
:: publication of a Code for Sustainable Homes that includes a green star rating for properties;
:: a draft planning policy statement on climate change that will take carbon emissions
into account.
Mrs Kelly said that the decision to exempt carbon-zero homes from stamp duty (sales tax) would act as a financial incentive to developers. The measures have been welcomed by conservation group WWF (World Wildlife Fund) that played host to the event where Mrs Kelly made the announcement.
Paul King, WWF’s director of campaigns, said: “The code sends the right signal, loud and clear, for house builders to put zero-carbon development at the top of their agenda. Zero-carbon new homes are critical in achieving the Government’s target to cut CO2 by at least 60 per cent by 2050 because homes built from today onwards will represent one third of the total housing stock by that date.”
Recently, the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) published a report warning that key environmental targets were “undeliverable” unless households cut the amount of resources they consumed.
The Government’s environmental regulator warned that existing properties also needed to be made more energy efficient. At least 75 per cent of properties are still expected to be in use in 2050, the year by which the government hopes to have cut carbon emissions by 60 per cent from 1990 levels.
The SDC concluded that retrofitting current technologies, such as better insulation and more efficient heating systems, to the existing housing stock was the most cost-effective way to reduce households’ environmental impact.
Mrs Kelly acknowledged that more effort was needed to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes and hoped the rating scheme, called Energy Performance Certificates, would encourage householders to cut consumption.
The National House-Building Council (NHBC), the leading standard-setting body and home warranty provider for new home construction in the UK has said industry must engage in the consultation phase on the Department for Communities & Local Government zero-carbon development document.
NHBC chief executive Imtiaz Farookhi said: “The plan for the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) is one which has been long awaited by the industry and we will need to engage in the consultation phase, alongside other industry stakeholders, to ensure the reality meets the aims of the policies for the benefit of consumers. While we work towards these objectives, we must ensure consumer protection and quality are maintained.
“It is right that the Government should marry the aims of sustainability to the planning agenda in the Planning Policy Statement but we must be careful to ensure that the system meets the needs of both delivery and sustainability.
“The newly launched National Centre for Excellence in Housing - a joint venture between NHBC and the Building Research Establishment - presents an ideal platform to bring together government and industry. The centre will facilitate the formulation of practical and workable solutions to the issue of carbon-neutral homes and planning while ensuring the interests of consumers remain paramount,” she added.
英国政府计划到2016年建成碳中性住宅
图片：英国未来的住宅建筑将发生变化——英国政府计划，英国所有的新型住宅将都成为碳中性住 宅。这包括像电视、炊具等家用电器的能源消耗也要实现零碳排放。
英国政府最近宣布了一项计划，到2016年为止，英国所有的新型住宅都将成为碳中性住宅。
碳中性住宅顾名思义就是“所有的家用能源设施都实现二氧化碳的零排放”。这不仅包括像电视、炊具等家用电器，也包括其他一些极为普遍的家用设施如采暖系统、热水供应系统以及通风系统的能源消耗均达到零碳排放的指标。
这一方案是由英国部长Ruth Kelly提出来的 。同时，他还提出要对住宅建设的碳排放实 行和制定严格的管制与计划，根据其能源使用效率评定星级，以吸引潜在的客户。
大气中27％的温室气体来源于英国2，100万户的居民住宅。英国政府希望这项举措的推行，有助于完成英国到2050年为止，使排放到大气中的二氧化碳的含量减少60％的目标。
Kelly女士在一次关于这项议案的讲话中表示：“气候变化的威胁刻不容缓。随着全球人口的不断膨胀，我们的居住环境越来越有限，人们对住房的需求有增无减，因此，实现住房和其他建筑物的可持续发展及环保就显得尤为重要。”
这项议案被写入咨询文件——“缔造绿色未来：关于无碳发展计划”一书。内容如下：
•在未来十年内加强房屋监管机制，以提高新住宅区的能源利用率；
•发表《永续住宅守则》（Code for Sustainable Homes），规范住宅区的环保星级；
•制定关于气候变化的政府草案，将节能减排提上议事日程。
Kelly指出，免除碳中性住宅的印花税，是对开发商施行的一项财政激励机制。此举受到了世界野生动物基金会（Kelly女士报告会的赞助方）的认可。
世界野生动物基金会的项目总监Paul King说：“守则明晰而准确地为房地产开发商透露 了这样一个信息：将零碳发展计划列入议程的核心。碳中性新住宅对于英国政府实现在2050年将二氧化碳的排放量降低到60％的目标非常重要。因为我们从今往后的所有新建住宅总数将占到2050年住宅总数的三分之一。”
近来，可持续发展委员会发表警示报告：只有居民协力实施节能降耗的行动，我们才能实现远大的环境目标。
政府环保部门发出警告，现有的建筑同样也需要提高能源利用率。据估计，现有的建筑到2050年将会占到75％。政府希望，到了那时，大气中温室气体的含量将在1990年的基础上降低60％。
可持续发展委员会最后表示，当代技术的不断更新，如更具绝缘和节能特性的供热系统的推出，使得现有的住宅建筑效率利用率更高，极大地降低了对环境造成的影响。
Kelly女士认为，我们还需要做出更大的努力来提高现有住宅的能源利用率，同时还希望，新推出的“能源效率评判证明”方案，能鼓励住户节约能源，降低能源消耗。
英国国家房屋建筑委员会（NHBC）（英国新房屋建筑的主要房屋规格制定机构和房屋授权中心）表示，业界有必要加入到社区和地方政府部门就零碳发展计划的讨论与磋商中来。
NHBC的负责人Imtiaz Farookhi说：“《永续住宅守则》计划的出炉，是业界众望所归的 结果。我们应该与业界相关人士共同加入到这一议案的磋商中来，以保证我们的政策目标得以实现，使广大消费者受益。在我们实现目标的过程中，我们必须在保障消费者利益的同时，保证产品的质量。英国政府将可持续发展目标并入到计划编制政策声明的做法很明智。但是，我们须谨慎，以保证整个体系既具有可行性 ，又符合可持续发展目标。”
她还说：“新近成立的‘国家优质住房中心’（National Centre for Excellence in Housing）是由NHBC和英国建筑研究所共同出资成立的，是连接政府和企业的理想平台。该中心在充分保证消费者利益的基础上，为建立碳中性住宅提供切实可行的解决方案，以推动该方案的早日实现。”
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