The government’s new Future Homes Standard (FHS), in recognition of an enhanced building fabric standard for changes to Part L and F of the Building Regulations 2025*, will most likely need updating in the near future. The FHS has been introduced to ensure all new homes built from 2025 will produce 75-80% less carbon emissions to tackle the climate emergency, yet this new standard is already far behind the benchmarks set by social housing providers.
Many local authorities and housing associations in the UK are already building affordable homes which exceed the FHS with the adoption of the Passivhaus methodology or equivalent standards. The Passivhaus Trust, who have signed a letter along with others leading energy efficient construction, believe the proposed FHS does not go far enough, urging the government to recognise an even higher standard.
Homes built to the Passivhaus standard should automatically satisfy Approved Documents Part L 1A, because Passivhaus dwellings already achieve better energy efficiency, reduced CO2 emissions, lower running costs, and improved occupant comfort, than those built to this new FHS. Some local councils have been setting standards above the Building Regulations for a number of years and are now even writing these standards into Local Plans. UK building regulations remain significantly below many European standards.
The Building Regulations were updated in 2021 in anticipation of the uplift required to meet energy efficiency targets, however there is concern the improvements proposed by the FHS are not ambitious enough and have already fallen short of meeting the necessary reductions in UK emission objectives. A few decades ago, Building Control assessment was moved away from government control with privatisation, allowing developers to appoint their own inspectors and an interpretation in compliance leading to the achievement of minimum standards. Alongside the FHS the Government will introduced the Home Energy Model (HEM), intending to replace the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) in calculating a dwellings energy efficiency and carbon emissions. SAP has resulted in a well evidenced ‘performance gap’ between predicted thermal standards and actual values achieved. The HEM hopes to reduce this gap. These assessments lead to the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) required for all new dwellings under the building regulations Part L1A. In comparison Passivhaus certification demonstrates the standard will be achieved through a rigorous independent test process for compliance, proved by post-occupancy evaluation. Passivhaus still remains a better option than the government improved standard.
The new FHS will simply not deliver the UK government’s ambitious targets and require comprehensive change. In improving our built environment, a number of European standards are already becoming widely adopted in the UK despite the Building Regulations, namely the German Passivhaus, which have been identified by the UKGBC as key to delivering our sustainable and low-carbon future. A change in our understanding of how we build is fundamental in developing a sustainable and healthy built environment fit for the future.
We concur with the statements of both the Passivhaus Trust, who view the FHS as “a missed opportunity to address fuel poverty and the climate crisis” and the UK Green Building Council, who noted the standard would “deliver ‘future’ homes (from 2025) at a lower standard than many homes already built today”.
*Approved Document (Part) L: Conservation of fuel and power, Approved Document (Part) F: Ventilation.
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