Leaders Call For Rethink On Future Homes Standard -

OVER 250 industry leaders have joined to call for a rethink on the Future Homes Standard.

A joint letter expressing disappointment over the proposed Future Homes and Buildings Standard has been sent to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities (DLUHC).

The letter calls for higher standards to build sustainable, healthy, energy efficient homes with low bills.

They want the Future Homes Standard to prioritise energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and resilience for new build housing.

Future Homes Standard Rethink

Calling for the DLUHC to talk to industry stakeholders, the group is calling for the solar photovoltaics (PV) to be mandated on new homes and for there to be a fabric first approach to energy efficiency measures.

It also objects to calculating energy consumption using primary energy methods. These are confusing and inaccurate, the group says. Instead it wants ‘delivered energy’ to be used as a measurement for energy consumption in new homes.

The letter also calls for built performance measurement, improved thermal standards and ventilation systems. These measures will reduce the electricity demand of new homes.

Sue Riddlestone OBE, Co-Founder and CEO of Bioregional said, “The industry, including mainstream housebuilders, was expecting something more coherent from the government than the two options in the FHS consultation. DLUHC’s reasoning behind the proposals is that firstly, higher standards will impact housing supply. They won’t! They can be factored into training and land values.

“Secondly, the consultation states that it will be cheaper to decarbonise the grid, but provides no evidence, at a time when grid electricity needs to grow fourfold by 2050. There is a huge amount of goodwill and experience in the sector, we stand ready to support policymakers to create a fit for purpose FHS.”

Lynne Sullivan OBE, Chair of Good Home Alliance said, “In recent months new reports have again evidenced the poor quality of UK’s new homes but the FHS proposals fall far short of our expectations for better fabric and post construction testing, to deliver consumer confidence in solving issues of mould growth and condensation and certainty of low running costs. Aside from the switch to low carbon heating, by failing to deliver on these – and their promises to tackle embodied carbon of materials – DLUHC’s proposals for a standard fit for our 2050 goals are inadequate.”

The letter was written by the Good Homes Alliance and Bioregional, in partnership with the Low Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) and the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) and other organisations. Signatories, include developers, local authorities, consultants and architects.

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