solar for new houses/buildings

Mr Holmes

Thank you for your email of 12 January which has been passed to me for reply.

The Government takes the issue of climate change very seriously and is committed to supporting the use of renewable energy generation through a variety of means, as well as to energy conservation. The Committee on Climate Change has pointed out that to meet our target of an 80% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, we will need to virtually eliminate emissions from the household sector, as well as the emissions caused by the heating and lighting of non-domestic buildings.

Your email refers to the fitting of solar panels to new homes and other buildings, but our existing housing stock is aging and using energy inefficiently, leaking heat and power at an alarming rate. (The Energy Saving Trust calculates that we waste £8.5billion worth of energy from our houses every year, around £140 annually for every man, woman and child in the country). You may also be interested, therefore, in the steps the Government is taking with regard to existing homes to which I will refer at the end of this email.

As far as new buildings are concerned, Part L of the Building Regulations deals with the conservation of fuel and power. The Regulations specify a limit for carbon dioxide emissions rather than the materials and technologies to be used. This performance based approach offers designers the flexibility to choose solutions that best meet their needs, which are cost-effective, practical and allow for innovation. It would not be appropriate in most instances to prescribe particular solutions as it would be impossible to cover all possible permutations of systems and materials. The primary aim of the energy efficiency requirements of the Regulations, therefore, is to ensure that the fabric of the building (the walls, roofs, windows etc) and the fixed building services (heating and lighting) are of a high standard. However, this does not mean that designers or builders should not consider using renewable technologies such as solar panels to demonstrate compliance.

Building Regulations Part L was last revised in April 2006 to significantly raise overall energy efficiency standards. Standards are to be raised again, by 25% in 2010 and by 44% in 2013, as steps on the way to all new homes becoming ‘zero carbon’ from 2016. We are currently consulting on the definition of 'zero carbon' for new homes and non-domestic buildings(please see http://www.communities.gov.uk/publicatio...). For new homes, by zero carbon we mean, in general terms, that a home will produce net zero carbon dioxide emissions over the course of a year, taking into account all the energy used in the house – for lighting, heating, cooling, cooking, running the TV etc – and any energy generated by renewable technologies). Designers and builders are likely to find that, as Part L energy efficiency standards are raised further, they will need to make increasing use of renewable technologies to meet the more stringent carbon dioxide targets.

In addition to raising standards in the Building Regulations, we have launched the Code for Sustainable Homes which became operational in 2007. The Code sets standards above the regulatory minimum for the sustainability of a house, covering not only energy efficiency but also aspects such as water consumption, use of recycled materials, waste and ecology. It is intended to be the single national standard guiding industry in the design and construction of sustainable homes. All new homes designed and built with Government funding have to meet standards in the Code. In order to promote on-site energy generation, new homes that use renewable technologies such as solar panels gain extra credits.

New planning rules published at the end of 2007 also give a boost to the generation of local renewable and low carbon energy. The Planning Policy Statement on Climate Change, expects local authorities to set a council-wide target for the energy to be used in new development to come from local renewable and low-carbon energy sources. It also allows councils to set tailored targets for sites where it can be shown that there is greater potential for using local energy to supply new development. We want these targets to be flexible enough to consider community schemes as well as building specific technologies (such as solar panels).

On existing buildings, there has already been significant progress in improving household energy efficiency under current and previous Government programmes. For example, the Government is committed to promoting the use of renewable technologies by providing financial assistance through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. This programme is making £86 million available in grants towards the installation of renewable energy sources in a range of buildings including private houses, social and local authority housing and schools. The aim is to help the renewables industry achieve economies of scale and demonstrate the benefits of renewable technologies (please see http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/home/). In addition, the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) will continue until April 2011 and will see millions of households benefit from insulation and other improvements.

But, as set out above, we are still facing an enormous challenge and success will require radical reforms in the way we use energy at home and at work as well as changes to the fabric of our buildings. To meet these ambitions, the Government will soon launch a Heat and Energy Saving consultation document, which outlines proposals for delivering some of the major changes needed.

The Government is also soon to release consultation on the proposed Community Energy Savings Programme, which will see whole-house energy efficiency and heating work carried out in about 100 low-income communities; and the CERT 20 Plus plan, which will increase our current supplier-led energy efficiency package by 20% up to 2011.

These documents will be available on-line at www.decc.gov.uk if you would like to comment.

I hope this is helpful.

Regards
Mary Edmead
Climate Change & Sustainable Development Team
Department for Communities & Local Government

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