Safety and energy worries can drive low carbon future

The war in Ukraine, and the surging cost of living crisis, have turned the UK’s focus onto cutting energy bills and building running costs. The government’s British energy security strategy set a series of long-term goals for increasing renewable and nuclear energy, but in the shorter term we must focus on cutting demand. To be fair, the government had already set about addressing this through its Heat and Buildings Strategy, The Future Buildings Standard, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. These all recognise the importance of energy efficiency to reduce current running costs, while also preparing for a future that will rely far more on low temperature, low carbon heating from heat pumps, in particular.

 The British energy security strategy also looked at how it could improve the ventilation in buildings and address overheating, while still staying true to its climate change promises by linking changes to Parts L and F of the Building Regulations – the guiding principle being that you must improve energy savings, but not at the expense of good indoor air quality (IAQ)

New targets came into effect in June 2022, with the new regulations regarded as a stepping stone towards The Future Homes Standard and The Future Buildings Standard, which aim to make all buildings ‘Net Zero ready’ from 2025. For now, homes will have to cut their carbon emissions by 30%, and nondomestic buildings by 27%, to meet the requirements of the revised Part L.