The Committee on Climate Change says government must act to improve homes to safeguard comfort, health and well-being in future and ensure the UK meets its environmental targets.
The UK will not meet its legally binding climate change targets unless emissions of greenhouse gases from UK buildings are almost completely eliminated, and in its report “UK housing: fit for the future?” the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) warns that emission reduction from the UK’s 29 million homes has stalled, while energy use – which accounts for 14% of total emissions – increased between 2016 and 2017. The report sets out five priority areas where the committee believes that government action may help.
While technology exists to create high-quality, low-carbon and resilient homes, the report states, current policies and standards are not driving the scale and pace of change needed to ensure that homes are effective refugees from the damaging effects that climate change is predicted to cause, such as extreme temperatures, unpredictable weather and increased risk of flooding.
The CCC is an independent, statutory body established under the 2008 Climate Change Act. Comprised of experts in climate science, economics, behavioural science and business, it is chaired by former environment secretary Lord Deben and is sponsored by the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Northern Ireland executive, Scottish Government and Welsh Government. Its remit includes advice both on reducing emissions and thus transitioning to a low-carbon future, and on improving resilience to climate change, where it also advises other countries.
The report identifies several issues that have led to the slackening of pace in improving the climate change performance of housing stock. Home insulation installations have stalled, it says; policies such as the “zero carbon homes” scheme have been weakened or withdrawn; policies to encourage flood protection and improve water efficiency are too weak; building standards are inadequate; and local authorities are not addressing the issue.
The five areas where government could help include inspection and enforcement of building standards to ensure that new homes and retrofitting of environmental improvements to existing homes meet design standards; a national training programme to close the skills gap in housing design, construction and installation of new technologies; Treasury support for retrofitting to existing homes measures and equipment such as heat pumps and heat networks, insulation, improved shading and ventilation, indoor moisture reduction, improved air quality and water efficiency and where necessary, flood protection; enforcement of environmental specifications and new homes, including low-carbon heating, increased use of timber frames and no connection to the gas grid for new homes from 2025 at the latest; addressing of funding gaps for low carbon heating sources beyond 2021 and better resources for building control departments in local authorities. Measures such as preferential mortgage rates for owners of energy efficient and low-carbon homes and “Green loans” to cover the cost of sustainability improvements should be considered, it adds.
“This report confirms what we have long-suspected: UK homes are largely unprepared for climate change,” said Baroness Brown, who chairs the CCC’s Adaptation Committee and was previously a senior engineer at Rolls-Royce, principal of the engineering faculty at Imperial College London and Vice-Chancellor of Aston University. “The Government now has an opportunity to act. There must be compliance with stated building designs and standards. We need housing with low-carbon sources of heating. And we must finally grasp the challenge of improving our poor levels of home energy efficiency. As the climate continues to change, our homes are becoming increasingly uncomfortable and unsafe.” Work has scarcely begun on improving homes, she added, and issues of finance, funding and training are particularly key to making UK homes climate-ready.
Lord Deben, a former environment secretary, added: “Simply put, there is no way in which the UK can meet the legally-binding climate change targets that Parliament has determined unless we take the measures outlined in this report.”
Sorry, old chap, you will now have to live outside, cold, and in the dark, so we Americans can save the snail darter (some sort of fish that lives in Death Valley, as I recall). It all seems an oxymoron to me, but it also appears someone is pulling the wool over someone else’s eyes here.
The headline isn’t quite right though is it.
UK homes are unprepared for ‘targets’. Which actually means the legislation, building regs and industry need updating and support / grants for existing houses needs increasing / putting in place. Plus most of the world seems to have got used to living in houses at 23C.
My house is about 200 years old. We’re not on gas, so have a (new, efficient, but not carbon neutral) oil boiler which warms half of the house in the morning, we have an ASHP randomly in one room (not carbon neutral) that is run occasionally. Running the stove in the living room and dining room costs about 60p in chainsaw fuel every three weeks (nearly carbon neutral!), I have enough wood for a few years yet.
I’ve worked hard at draft reduction and some insulation. I would love it to be better insulated, with TESLA roof tiles, ground source heating, and no electricity bills. But will I spend money on further savings? A little, but not significantly, it isn’t financially viable, like the majority of the country I earn enough to not qualify for any aid, but don’t have enough disposable income to pay for major improvements.
We used to have our water supplied from Ennerdale Lake,but to protect a mussel we are now supplied from a “borehole” (more likely,old mine workings)which has led to increased skin condition ailments/kettles “popping” & a raft of other problems. The areas utility supplier ran full page adverts last summer asking us to save water,yet our housing provider hasn’t replaced the gas boilers in any of the large social housing estates so we’re forced to run the hot water tap for upto 5 mins to get any hot water & “top up” the boilers water pressure almost daily to replace the water that has vanished(can’t find the leaks) Multiplied across the estates,thousands of litres of water wasted daily which if fixed would save enough water to allow the water supply to resume from Ennerdale AND still allow conservation of a mussel. We also endured retrofitting of external cladding/replacement radiators(supposedly more efficient)/replacement double glazing(I can still hear conversations of folk passing the front of the house)cavity wall insulation/replaced loft insulation(unrolled from the loft hatch so it looks like some kind of giant spiders web)& replaced roof tiles. All these measures to reduce energy usage,yet our utility bills haven’t reduced(not just due to the ever increasing costs of per unit) When Calder Hall was built(now being decommissioned)we were promised the possibility of free electricity,guess what…..we didn’t get free electricity,we just got to pay the same as anywhere else in the country. We were promised work to build Moorside(new nuclear power station)but this government refused to invest in it(Mrs May stated it was a “commercial issue”)& when the preferred bidder decided to cease their investment,the planned station isn’t going to happen thus no thousands of employment opportunities. The “Universal Credit” we’re being forced to live on leaves us approx £160 per month to live on,that’s for food/power/clothes & has resulted in my having to give up my car & walk everywhere(difficult due to my health,from injuries received from 12 crashes where others have crashed into me) yet I still have to attend the Job Centre as my ill-health isn’t quite bad enough to qualify for P.I.P (Personal Independence Payments)which also means I have to attend job interviews(if there were any jobs to apply for)but would you employ someone that looks more like they’re homeless than actual homeless folk?
Get an ‘on demand’ electric water heater to give instantaneously hot water for the five minute interim before your boiler hot water arrives. You’ll love it!
The Climate Change Act has rightly been described as the biggest act of self-harm to the UK ever. This new lunacy really needs to be understood as it will have catastrophic effects on all of us, for no benefit to the planet whatsoever. We are presently struggling to meet electrical demands with the lowest reliable margin ever, yet Gummer wants to add to the demand. The winter demand for heat is about 7 times the grid maximum output …. where is all of this green-electricity going to come from …… wishful thinking engineering methinks?
Nearly as mad as announcing an end to diesel cars before electrical cars are viable!
As above, our build regulations belong in the middle ages. Homes should be built in factories and assembled on site. Just another old boy network holding back progress!
I get the impression that the building industry in the UK is far far behind the times. Even if one can afford the new stuff there’s hardly anyone who knows how to put it in. It does strike me that there is a big need for training in NEW methods, materials etc and regular retraining.
Can anybody say if this is the Quango that is proposing no gas supply to new housing and the use of electric cookers instead?
Will that gas energy be used in power stations to supply electricity at an efficiency of ~50% at the cooker, compared to 100% for gas?
They recommend induction for direct-heat cooking. You’re right about the relative efficiencies, of course, but it’s easier to control emissions from large point sources than from small ones, ie power stations vs gas hobs. And of course, there is the option to generate electricity from non-combustion-based souces.
I find your logic interesting …. as you agree that twice the energy and emissions will be involved, i.e. twice the cost, which really socks it to the less well-off, hm? And BTW with natural gas the emissions consist of water and plant food.
Later, if hydrogen becomes available and reduces the emission to just water, how are you going to get the hydrogen to the gas hob, which you acknowledge is more efficient than electricity. Will we have to pay for twice as much hydrogen than we need, just to save steaming-up the kitchen?
BTW if anyone you know has a pacemaker, check out the warnings on induction hobs.
It’s plant food at low concentrations and ground (or treetop at most) levels. In the upper atmosphere its influence is rather different.
Stuart, but you agree that there will need to be twice the energy used in cooking. And that means twice the cost, and twice the CO2 emissions!
And off-topic but would you agree that the Mediaeval Warm Period was not actually a bad thing?
It is. This demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of energy efficiency by so-called experts. They can only aspire to mediocrity.
Regarding insulation of houses, many years ago I was involved in some building service projects for hotels. We provided zonal temperature controls and many energy saving devices that ought to have saved about 20% of energy usage. A year later, I visited one hotel and asked about the savings made. In fact there were only very small energy savings and the owner said that the staff and clients liked the warmer environment but wore less clothing than before the alterations. Nevertheless, he was pleased with the improved environment as he no longer got complaints about cold rooms.
I suspect that the same applies to improved insulation of homes, unless energy is priced so that it must be conserved: i.e . penalising the poorest. Reduced ventilation also increases moisture and smells: beware of cavity wall insulation!
Several engineers over the years have told me that ventilation is a much bigger challenge than insulation.
Where high ventilation rates are needed, yet comfort temperatures are also needed such as hospitals, schools, toilets etc, the most proven method is the air-air heat-exchanger. Unfortunately, one gets nowt-for-nowt and this type of system need to be designed in at the beginning. Many house-owners were advised to fit cavity wall insulation and have suffered from the lack of cavity ventilation produced by this.
We have seen all these proposals before. Last time the government trumpeted the new regulations but then it all went quiet. Will this happen again?