Investment or environment?

Two issues dominating global news reports over the past twelve months are the struggling worldwide economy and climate change. Unfortunately saving the planet does come at a cost and during such arduous times this means numerous eco-friendly schemes are being delayed. Leon Butler reports

This delay is leading to long-term energy cost savings not being realised due to the amount of additional capital required for setting up the energy conservation initiatives.

Recent government legislation (see website on Code for Sustainable Homes. The house building industry is up in arms over this as it is already feeling the full effect of a crippling recession) means that eco homes in the UK are here to stay but with the Labour Party desperately trying to balance the books, while pulling us out of a recession and winning the next election, will it be at the forefront of the three leading parties manifestos in May?

UK eco town sites

As a house builder in a former life, I was often asked by clients during the design and tender process to make allowance for greener considerations such as peat burning boilers, solar panels, loft insulation, recycled timber and rainwater storage devices.

However, when it came to reducing costs these were the specification requirements that were often omitted even though long-term savings can be easily justified. It was also evident that power showers and huge baths were a must!

George Bowman, an eco homes architect is particularly concerned about the current situation and told me: “The whole Eco Home thing is slightly up in the air at the moment. In regulatory terms there is a supposed requirement for new homes to be zero carbon by 2016. Even by government calculations the additional cost of building a zero carbon home is £20 – 40k and this on top of an average UK build cost of around £60k.”

Before the recession

He explained that much of the legislation was put together before the recession on the unrealistic notion that land value would keep on rising at the rates seen a few years ago. At present there is no way the industry simply can afford this, especially as land values have plummeted during the recession and obviously the customer cannot afford it, even assuming they wanted it which most research suggests they do BUT are not prepared to pay for it.

So aside from purchasing a new Eco Home in the future what can homeowners do to minimise the cost but maximise energy savings?

An eco town plan

The government’s website: actonco2.direct.gov.uk/actonco2/home.html lists ways in which we can reduce emissions by installing loft and cavity wall insulation, installing draught excluders and double-glazed windows.

It also lists changes homeowners can make that won’t cost any money such as: switching off appliances and taking quicker showers. In addition it recommends some minor short-term costs such as: energy saving light bulbs, an insulation jacket to the hot water tank and purchasing energy-saving appliances.

For now the current government remains determined to create eco-towns and in July 2009 St Austell in Cornwall was rewarded by sharing in a £60 million pot between three other parts of the country which include Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire, Rackheath in Norfolk and North West Bicester in Oxfordshire.

Nearly a third of the homes will be affordable and by 2016 10,000 eco-homes will be built in the four named towns. It’s to be hoped that this will kick-start a wave of world-leading eco-towns that will set the global standard for green living while helping tackle climate change and the shortage of affordable homes. This is the start of the country’s biggest ever eco-home building programme.

Upon launching the initiative, Housing Minister John Healey claimed: “People will be able to experience green living for themselves and see how it can change their lives and save money. Green living isn’t just about homes. That’s why this cash will also help transform local schools and create new transport links and energy sources.”

He added: “Local workers, including apprentices, will help build these pioneering homes and other projects. This will arm them with the new skills in green construction, giving them a head start on their career paths.”

Standard building practice

In the UK the old bricks and mortar cliché remains the preference for builders and buyers alike, but according to the UK Timber Frame Association, the percentage of timber-framed new homes is on the increase, 22.2% of the market share in 2007 to 24.9% in 2009.

In many parts of the world, timber frame is considered standard building practice – an engineered and proven system. Over 70% of people in the developed world live in timber frame housing. In the USA and Canada it accounts for 90% of low-rise buildings.

Yet during my various travels, particularly in the United States and Dubai, conserving energy seems to be the last item on the agenda and thus a complete contradiction. Until the world’s leaders can agree on an energy-saving treaty with all countries fully committed it seems the UK may be leading the way in eco homes – but at what cost to an already failing economy?