Future Homes Standard – changes which will affect new dwellings

Following its 2019 consultation, the Ministry of Housing has set out new energy efficiency standards that all new-build houses will be expected to meet.

The Future Homes Standard: changes to Part L and Part F of the Building Regulations for new dwellings covers conservation of fuel and power (Part L) and ventilation (Part F). It follows the consultation carried out by the Government from 1 October 2019 to 7 February 2020 on proposed changes to the Building Regulations.

Key points from the report are:

• All new homes will have to have low carbon heating such as heat pumps and be ‘zero carbon ready’ by 2025
  • This means that no further retrofit work will be necessary to enable them to become zero carbon homes as the electricity grid continues to decarbonise
• New homes are expected to produce 75-80% lower carbon emissions compared to current levels by 2025
• Extensions or building improvement/renovation works will need to follow the energy requirements outlined in the standard. However, the report does not cover existing housing stock.

In 2019, the government introduced a legally binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Making houses less energy intensive is all part of this.

Guy Ransom, commercial director of Finn Geotherm, said:

“We are delighted to see the standard which will finally ensure that low carbon heating such as heat pumps are installed in new builds. During our many years in the heat pump industry, we’ve seen first hand the volume of properties, which are built without cost effective, efficient heating and often leave residents living in fuel poverty with energy-hungry systems. We are pleased to see this situation will finally change. There is still a vast job to be done on the retrofit market – which will still account for 85 – 90% of dwellings by the time we reach 2025 – but this is a big step in the right direction for new builds.”

The full report can be viewed online.

20th January 2021