Reducing energy use in new buildings

Innovative building design can ensure that energy efficiency measures can be maximised at the same time as delivering a high-quality urban environment.

St Francis of Assisi Academy was developed as an exemplar of sustainability.

Government policies require significant energy reductions from buildings. Building a greener future sets a planned trajectory (delivered via Part L of the building regulations) that all new homes should be zero carbon emitting from 2016, and is supported by an aspiration for all non-domestic new buildings to be zero carbon by 2020. Government operations are required to be ahead of this target. That means buildings on government-owned land or buildings receiving government funding such as social housing will have to achieve a more stretching code for sustainable homes or BREEAM rating ahead of the timetable set by the building regulations.

The proposed redefinition of zero carbon involves a hierarchy whereby the first step is to require very high levels of energy efficiency, followed by ‘carbon compliance’ measures (the energy to be considered under the building regulations) and finally ‘allowable solutions’ to provide electricity to a definition of zero carbon. These have yet to be agreed. This revised approach, which will underpin the code for sustainable homes once adopted, reasserts the emphasis on significantly reducing energy use in buildings.

At the neighbourhood scale and below, it is crucial that the code for sustainable homes timetable is considered in the phasing of any new build development.

As this timetable will control the building regulations, any development phased for construction must be designed to meet the energy performance level required at the point it will be completed. The government’s timetable as set out in Building a greener future means for most developments significant energy saving requirements will need to be incorporated in the design now in order to be acceptable once constructed.

Some cities are using new development to create eco-quarters or eco-neighbourhoods which will act as exemplars in sustainability, with high standards for energy efficiency and environmental performance. Examples include the Hanham Hall development in Bristol, which is the first project in the government’s carbon challenge initiative and is scheduled to become one of the first zero carbon communities in England.

At a larger scale the Hammarby Sjöstad urban extension of Stockholm provides a good example of how major new building projects offer unprecedented opportunities for minimising energy demands.

At the building scale, passive design measures can reduce energy demand. Passive design features such as natural lighting, insulation, airtightness or passive or natural ventilation, and high quality materials can help make substantial savings on the energy required to heat, cool, light and run buildings.

The urban heat island effect means that considering overheating and futureproofing new development will be important. Best practice guidance tailored for new buildings can be downloaded from the Energy Saving Trust and the RIBA climate change toolkit.

Where local planning requirements exceed the mandatory aspects of the code it is useful, where possible, if information is available on the potential costs of implementing these requirements. This will ensure that implementation costs are properly taken into account in the land value. The cost of these measures will inevitably reduce land values and therefore will need strong leadership and development appraisals based on whole life costs to bring developments to fruition.

It is also essential that local authorities consider how local planning requirements fit with the code for sustainable homes –will renewable requirements be additional to or contributory to code requirements? What is today considered exemplary will in a few years be merely compliance. In order to make a city or town stand out as an exemplar, leaders will need to seize the energy opportunity to ensure inward investment and job creation.

Photo by Dave Morris

Academy of St Francis of Assisi

The Academy of St Francis of Assisi  is a new secondary school in one of the most deprived wards in Liverpool.

The school’s design, which achieved a BREEAM excellent rating, was developed as an exemplar of sustainability. Sustainable design solutions include high thermal mass, sedum roofs, photovoltaic panels, and maximising of natural daylight and ventilation through orientation and manually controlled louvre windows.

The school building is used as a resource to learn from, as well as a space to learn in. Issues surrounding environmental management and sustainability have been integrated into the schools curriculum. Pupils participate in the monitoring of recycling and in planting, watering and weeding vegetables, fruits and flowering plants within their gardens.

Priority: reduce energy demand
Tags: energy, neighbourhoods, buildings and spaces