24 COMMENT


ELECTRIC SOLUTIONS ARE PAVING THE WAY


Callum Whittall


Callum Whittall, technical and compliance lead at Green Lighting discusses how new regulations are changing the face of the housebuilding industry, and some of the electrical solutions developers should be considering.


T


he recent implementation of Part L and the forthcoming Future Homes Standard (FHS) has led the housebuilding industry to face some of its biggest challenges in decades; in adapting to these regulations, it has been proven that there really is no one size fi ts all solution With Part L aiming to improve the energy performance of new and existing buildings, it’s unsurprising that the extent of the changes were vast nd, when it cae into force, it still felt like the industry as a whole was behind, no atter how reared we tried to be Theoretically housebuilders and developers should now be fully compliant, with Part L being released two years ago, but there are still some who are yet to make the necessary udates


The one thing we can be certain of is that the future for new homes is one that’s carbon


ero eve seen the radual reduction of 2 emissions by 31% in 2022 and 75% in 2025 – uite a substantial u in ust three years Understandably then, in becoming compliant


IN ADAPTING TO THESE REGULATIONS IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THERE REALLY IS NO ONE-SIZE FITS- ALL SOLUTION


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with Part L, many are also thinking ahead to the FHS, which will make things much more restrictive, with the reoval of as ccordin to housin eerts, delays to the Government’s planned consultation on net zero regulations for housebuilding will result in heftier enery bills for ore households The FHS stipulates that all new build properties are to be constructed to be low carbon This was due to be oened for consultation in March, but was instead pushed back to a publication in the summer – however, during the recent Tory party conference, artin allanan, the inister for nery ffi ciency and reen inance, said this was delayed to the end of the year Yet despite these delays and setbacks, we are seeing more and more solutions being adopted by housebuilders and homeowners in order to lower their carbon footrint and save oney Today, a total of 95% of UK homes are centrally heated, with the vast majority relying


on as or oilfi red boilers oe heatin currently accounts for 14% of the UK’s carbon eissions The overnent wants to see 600,000 heat pumps installed each year to hel eet its taret of net ero by  s the  looks to reduce its carbon footprint, heat pumps are becoming a popular option for housebuilders and homeowners lookin for alternative enery solutions Heat pumps use electricity, which often comes from renewable sources to heat buildings; they’re known to be incredibly effi cient, chea to run, are uiet and reuire relatively low aintenance


bout  illion hoes are estiated to have been built without low-carbon fi ttins since , when the onservative government scrapped the zero carbon homes standard The cost of retrofi ttin these hoes is likely to reach £30bn to £45bn – a cost which will now fall on homeowners or taayers But what about heat pumps – are they worth the hype? Earlier this year, a major survey of heat pump users by the innovation charity Nesta, found that more than 80% of households which have replaced their gas boilers with an electric heat u are satisfi ed with the new heatin syste et, while the fi ures sound iressive, it’s important to note that the survey was commissioned because many people are actually still unfamiliar with heat pumps, and less than 1% of people in the UK actually use one to heat their hoe


Despite their pros, they are expensive, still relatively unknown, and there are other, ossibly ore accessible otions available The one major issue with heat pumps is that they reuire ualifi ed installers  deand for which will rocket, especially in line with the  oes the  have enouh of these ualifi ed installers urrently, no t the oent, the  is facin a aor skills shortae in this area There arent enouh ualifi ed installers to eet the deand


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