READER SURVEY: DELIVERINGTHE FUTURE HOMES STANDARD 43 What do you think are the biggest barriers to the adoption of the Future Homes Standard?
with 61% reporting that “making a major contribution to the UK’s journey to net zero emissions” was one of the biggest benefits of the introduction of the standard. Without a level playing field in terms of a standard, however, it has been difficult for builders to find a broad target market for more energy-efficient friendly buildings, with such builds coming with a premium, and not all buyers willing to pay the difference. It is hoped that the FHS itself will improve this across the board – creating a baseline for housebuilders and developers that will reduce worries of being undercut by lower-spec builds. It is also hoped to boost the wider reputation of UK housebuilders enough to support the upfront cost increases, as well as lowering such costs as they become more widespread. When it came to the biggest benefits of the FHS, 31%
believed that it would satisfy consumer demand for more ecologically-friendly buildings, and 23% believed it was a major benefit that elements such as thermal breaks would be made standard as opposed to optional. One respondent noted that it will remedy the fact that, currently, “consumers just have no idea” what such terms mean.
HEATING ALTERNATIVES
One of the most significant changes in the FHS – and the change that currently less aware consumers will not be able to avoid – is the move away from fossil fuel-based heating. For those that have not followed the progress of electric heating alternatives, both buyer and builder, this change may be a daunting prospect. More efficient electric heating has progressed leaps and bounds in recent years, and technologies are continually being made more efficient and effective.
HEAT PUMPS In its recent FHS consultation, the Government noted that it anticipates that heat pumps “will become the primary heating technology for new homes.” Air source heat pumps (ASHPs), for example, are an especially energy-efficient method, requiring only electricity to work. Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) use pipes that are buried in the garden to extract heat from the ground at low temperatures into a fluid running inside a ‘ground loop’ of pipework buried underground. The Government’s enthusiasm for heat pumps is clear, and 67% of our survey respondents expected to install ASHPs as the heating solution to meet the new standard, whereas 17% picked GSHPs.
SOLAR PV Heat pumps are not often specified alone; the FHS consultation recommended solar PV panels too, to reduce unnecessary strain on the grid. Solar PVs can function on a cloudy day, and the electricity generated can then be used in conjunction with heat pumps and other electric heating products. With the right weather conditions and products, a home can be heated entirely with sunlight. This established method was almost as popular as heat
pumps with our survey respondents; 51% reported that they plan to use solar PV panels to help meet the FHS regulations.
ELECTRIC AND INFRA-RED RADIATORS There are many other different heating options available to housebuilders, such as electric radiator technology and infra-red heating, which have seen increasing popularity in recent years. Arguably having an efficiency stigma attached to them in the past – due to outdated technologies – electric radiators have since improved substantially. As a result, bulky appliances are no more, and modern heaters now come
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