38 INDUSTRY VIEWFINDER: STRATEGIES FOR MEETING THE FUTURE HOMES STANDARD SOLUTIONS How challenging are the following areas for meeting Future Homes Standard in terms of fabric?


Despite the problems and challenges highlighted in our survey, there are also positive signs that housebuilders are beginning to take the necessary steps towards improving the effi ciency of their developments.


While the lack of clarity and information is clearly causing issues, many developers are aware of challenges that lie ahead, and understand the pressing need to make changes to their builds, particularly around renewables.


PRODUCTS: MATERIALS & RENEWABLES


Of our respondents, 87% said they aren’t struggling to source FHS-compliant materials which is hugely encouraging, and an improvement on last year’s study in which 79% said they were able to fi nd compliant building materials for arts ,  and O. Suitable products are essential in assisting housebuilders meet targets, particularly when so many are also reliant on the information they receive from manufacturers – a total of 78% are either ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ reliant on manufacturer information. Based on what they currently know about the standard, when asked what fabric measures or technologies our cohort are using, the most popular choice, as in the 2023 study, was insulation (70%). This indicates that despite the lack of clarity around the standard, and some of the problems with sourcing suitable insulation, a good number of respondents are already making an effort to improve building fabric.


The next most selected answer was triple glazing (61%). This demonstrates a willingness among housebuilders to invest in better windows, and indicates that perhaps target U-values could in fact be improved to 0.8 as many had hoped following the 2021 consultation.


Despite the heat pump preference presenting a challenge for


housebuilders, when we asked our cohort what ‘eco’ and/or renewables technologies they are already using, 56% selected heat pumps among other options; the second most popular choice. he only technology which ranked higher was underfl oor heating, with  saying they already specifi ed it. Although just under half of respondents say they are not currently taking a fabric fi rst approach, its clear a mi of both fabric and renewable technologies are already being implemented. As in any business, a huge part of what housebuilders do or don’t decide to deliver – aside from what is dictated by regulations and the FHS – will be driven by customers. It’s therefore reassuring to see the majority of our respondents say reducing the carbon footprint of homes is important to their customers; 40% said it’s ‘very important’ and 31% said it’s ‘quite important.’


Given that customer demand is already there, we asked respondents what they have done already to make properties more liveable for consumers. The overwhelming response was ‘increased insulation levels’, which 63% of respondents selected, followed by triple glazing which 48% selected.


TRAINING & GUIDANCE


Any major regulation change means a certain amount of investment will be required in the training of staff. We asked our cohort what areas of staff skills and training they’ve invested in to meet the FHS. Once again, including more insulation came out top, with 56% of respondents selecting this. Following on from this, we asked respondents what more they feel they need – from either the Government or industry bodies – selecting all options that apply. Unsurprisingly, the most selected choice was ‘grants and funding options’ (42%).


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