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SPECIAL REPORT
Stuart Nicholson, Roof Systems Director at Marley, examines how to create a sustainable supply chain on the road to net zero and highlights the role of solar PV roof systems.
Solar system A
s the UK works towards its 2050 net zero target, the decarbonisation of housebuilding is gathering momentum. Starting with the changes to Part L in June 2022, which include an interim 31% carbon reduction target, followed by the 2025 Future Homes Standard, which will require new builds to be zero carbon ready and sustainable. The Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy also states that the ultimate target is for all fossil fuel heating appliances in new build homes to be replaced by clean heat technologies, powered by net zero energy sources. The COP 26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow also galvanised action in 2021 and several large housebuilders have already published their own net zero commitments and strategies. But achieving such a huge cut in carbon emissions certainly won’t be easy, particularly for smaller housebuilders and developers. There are so many different areas for housebuilders to consider when it comes to a net zero strategy. Starting with the direct greenhouse gas emissions from their own operations, then the indirect emissions (for example, the electricity used to power their operations) and finally, other emissions from the embedded carbon from building materials and those that are produced once the house is in use. It is this third level of emissions that is hardest to tackle, partly because housebuilders don’t have as much control in this area. To some extent, they are
16 January/February Professional Housebuilder & Property Developer
relying on their supply chains, as well as the behaviour of the occupants of the home.
Cutting in-use emissions When it comes to emissions generated in use, both the new Part L in 2022 and Future Homes Standard in 2025 go a long way towards tackling this. High standards of fabric efficiency, combined with renewable technology, such as heat pumps or solar PV, will significantly cut carbon from heating the home, which is one of the largest contributors of emissions. However, considering which type of renewable technology housebuilders use, will have an impact on both emissions and energy bills. Under the initial Part L changes, housebuilders could install a heat pump, or an efficient gas boiler with solar PV, and the latter is expected to be the favoured specification in the short term, largely because the short timescales need a simple and cost-effective solution. While heat pumps are anticipated to be widely used from 2025 onwards, they will need to go hand in hand with solar PV to reduce energy bills and protect people from fuel poverty. By just installing a heat pump, the cost to run the heating and hot water could be higher than for gas heating, and with the increasing requirement to charge electric vehicles as well, on-site electricity generation is the way to keep running costs and carbon emissions under control for buyers of new homes and will become an important selling point for housebuilders. A recent report by Solar
