Housing: Carbon Emissions
(asked on 2nd November 2021) - View Source
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many carbon neutral homes have been built in (a) Weaver Vale, (b) the North West and (c) the UK since 2017.
The requested information is not centrally collected and EPCs are a delegated matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, the EPC Open Data dataset, in respect of England and Wales, does include an Environmental Impact Rating (EIR) which is a measure of the net level of carbon emissions arising from the building’s heating, hot water and lighting systems offset against any on-site renewable energy sources such as solar panels. Thus, an analysis of this freely available data for the relevant locations would provide an indication of the number of carbon neutral homes. It should be noted that the EIR does not take into account emissions associated with unregulated energy use – i.e. appliances and plug loads.
The Government remains committed to meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2050 and recognises the important contribution that the energy efficiency of buildings has to make in meeting it.
From 2025, the Future Homes Standard will ensure that new homes produce at least 75% fewer CO2 emissions than those built to current standards. This represents a considerable improvement in energy efficiency standards for new homes. Homes built to the Future Homes Standard will be zero carbon ready, with the ability to decarbonise over time alongside the national grid without any further energy efficiency retrofit work.
Later this year we will introduce an interim uplift in building standards that delivers a meaningful reduction in carbon emissions and provides a stepping stone to the Future Homes Standard in 2025. Once the uplift comes into force, new homes will be expected to produce 31% less CO2 emissions compared to current standards. This will deliver high-quality homes that are in line with our broader housing commitments and encourage homes that are future-proofed for the longer-term.