The building blocks for zero-carbon homes

The zero carbon debate has been gathering momentum since the new definition of 'true' zero carbon was announced in the April 2011 budget statement.

For those involved in the industry, regardless of definitions and statements about what zero carbon means on paper, the biggest concern is how this translates into practice, from the designed 'predicted' performance, to the as-built 'actual' performance.

With the launch of the 2012 Part L Building Regulations consultation – essentially the regulations that will drive us forward to build zero-carbon homes in four years' time – it was a relief to see the 'design vs as built' performance issue addressed in some detail. This debate links back to JRF research published in November 2010 about the performance gap at Elm Tree Mews. It was refreshing to see the research referenced in the consultation document, acting as a catalyst for the debate.

Although steps have been taken to close the performance issue, the situation is that two years later the gap still exists. If we are ever to deliver zero-carbon homes that can perform as we expect them to, we need to address the building process – from the supply chain through the design stage right through to the commissioning stage – to be able to tackle the performance.

JRF wants to ensure that the performance gap issue is addressed, and we will soon be publishing new research that provides some practical solutions to the problem. The research shows that we can build on the experiences from Elm Tree Mews and can reduce this gap. The challenge for us, and for the industry, is find a solution to ensure that all developers, from self-build to volume house builders, are able to produce what they set out to achieve.

Only in this way will we truly be able to pat ourselves on the back in 2016 knowing that we’re building to zero-carbon standards.