Fri 29 Aug 2008
Rip it up and start again
Could the credit crunch rewrite the unsustainable Code for Sustainable Homes, asks Natalia Gameson?Housebuilding is (just about) alive with the muted sound of rumblings that the green agenda is losing momentum throughout our credit-crunch enforced winter of discontent.
Here’s Velux’s Kevin Brennan on the issue: “The more forward thinking developers are fast realising that consumers are prepared to pay a premium for homes incorporating eco features. But many housebuilders are now cutting costs for ‘added extras’ with eco technology, which is one of the first things to go. This is hindering the further advancement of potential price reductions, which would come if this technology became an intergral part of the house design and build process.”
The widely held view is that builders and buyers alike just need to take the plunge and invest speedily – during, incidentally, the worst building crisis the industry has seen for decades – into what is now a very expensive building process. Sinking swathes of cash into the vortex that is this chicken-and-egg scenario, until builders and buyers start paying premiums for greener materials, there’s no way they’ll become affordable anytime soon for mainstream use, or so the story goes.
It’s been undoubtedly something of a feat to work towards an unknown target, a ridiculous situation which the industry has borne bravely, humouring the government’s inability to come up with a workable definition of zero-carbon in gamely role playing its way through Levels Four, Five and Six of the Code. (Said definition is due to hit monitors and blackberries nationwide by October at the latest – possibly even by September, the CLG has confirmed.) It’s hardly news to point out that the on-site renewables debacle has been the major sticking point – it’s likely that this is the issue holding up the definition even now.
The good news is that pushing green homes to buyers isn’t yet akin to plugging green/blue feathers to peacocks. Buyer awareness of energy efficiency is on the rise, courtesy of rising fuel costs; fortunately for the target-riddled housebuilder, the issue has gained, not lost, momentum.
Research out from the Energy Saving Trust on Tuesday found that 50% of homeowners believed eco-homes would be easier to sell in a difficult market, while 53% would pay £3,350 more for a green home. What is letting the industry down is the lack of information it provides – 49% felt that estate agents don’t put enough value on a home’s green features during the sales process.
The same can be said of most housebuilders, given the dearth of information on the matter to hit my own desk – with a few notable exceptions. If the industry doesn’t understand what it’s selling, it’s unlikely its understanding of what it’s building is all that good. Too great a focus on energy generation, particularly on-site, than energy reduction, the one factor that could have a big impact on reducing fuel bills for buyers of the future, has substantially forced up building costs at a time when the industry needs to slash them the most.
This is where the downturn could start to work its magic, predicts Neil May of the Good Homes Alliance (GHA). “Government legislation has been rushed through – a target that hasn’t even be decided on yet is being worked towards. The legislation hasn’t been well thought out; ‘sustainable’ buildings aren’t performing as well as they could do.”
May’s a firm believer that the credit crunch has bought the industry precious time with which to rethink the green agenda – the GHA is set to lobby the government for a better Code if one isn’t forthcoming – which should successfully cut costs for an industry desperately in need of reductions. “There’s no clear understanding of building sustainably, even in the industry. Some technologies have jumped on the sustainable bandwagon that clearly aren’t suitable for mass building projects, on-site renewables being the most famous example. Off-site or community-scaled generation would be far more effective – builders and planning officers look at the way one house will become more efficient in a scheme – with solar panels on roofs, for example - but there’s often not enough space in one home to micro-generate energy on a big enough scale.”
Only one thing is now certain for the industry. The road to energy efficiency is far from straight and narrow – so it’s best to ensure now that the good intentions it’s paved with think outside the box(es) of the recent past.
Posted by Natalia Gameson
in Features, Good Homes Alliance (GHA), Keith Brennan, Neil May, Velux on Fri 29 Aug 2008
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