Compliance Services : Code For Sustainable Homes

Home Survey Reports are now the prefered supplier to an increasing number of regional and national developers and their architects who are dealing with cutting edge design of code level homes. 

Contact us now to establish how we can add value to your projects

If you are a house builder or developer the CSH assessment may be required at the design stage of your project. The benefits of applying the CSH on your build could include:

• Helps to meet the specific planning or client requirements for the sustainability of a development
• Increased saleability (most Housing Associations require a CSH level 3 assessment)
• Good PR for your build project (environmentally friendly, seen as 'going green')
• Closer auditing of the build process (high levels of documentation and audit trails for inspection purposes)

Planning Authorities are increasingly applying conditions for new dwellings to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes standards - the standards work on a level basis and range from 1 - 6:

Level 1 - 10% improvements against a standard dwelling
Level 2 - 18% improvements against a standard dwelling
Level 3 - 25% improvements against a standard dwelling
Level 4 - 44% improvements against a standard dwelling
Level 5 - 100% improvement against a standard dwelling
Level 6 - True zero carbon homes, including cooking and electrical appliances.

Most Planning Authorities and Housing Associations require a minimum standard of CSHs level 3 - but our team is highly efficient in providing assessments to any level of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

The Government has launched the Code for Sustainable Homes to integrate higher sustainability performance into the design of houses.

The Code will reduce the overall environmental impact of the construction sector and will form the basis for future Building Regulations in relation to CO2 emissions from, and energy use in homes.

The Code for Sustainable Homes has been introduced to drive a step-change in sustainable home building practice. It is a standard for key elements of design and construction which affect the sustainability of a new home.

It is the single national standard for sustainable homes, used by home designers and builders as a guide to development, and by home buyers to assist in their choice of home.

It will form the basis for future developments of the Building Regulations in relation to carbon emissions from and energy use in homes, therefore offering greater regulatory certainty to developers. In this era of environmental awareness among consumers and increasing demand for a more sustainable product, it will offer a tool for developers to differentiate themselves.

Guidance moving towards legislation

The Code for Sustainable Homes is intended as a single national standard to guide industry in the design and construction of sustainable homes. It is a means of driving continuous improvement, greater innovation and exemplary achievement in sustainable home building.

The Code comprises an assessment and rating system aimed at improving the environmental impact of new homes by introducing minimum standards in nine key areas including energy/CO2 and water. It sets different levels of energy efficiency for buildings so that when people buy a home they know how energy efficient it is and they will have some idea how much it will cost to run. In the short term compliance with the Code for Sustainable Homes is voluntary, but in view of the stringent standards required to achieve carbon neutrality for new built homes, it is expected that the Code will become mandatory in the near future.

Measuring sustainability

The Code for Sustainable Homes goes beyond the current Building Regulations in taking a “whole house” approach to house construction and its impact on the environment.

The key design categories incorporated within the code are:
 
Energy/CO2 – Operational Energy and the resulting emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere

Water – The consumption of potable water from the public supply systems or other ground water resources

Materials – The embodied environmental impacts of construction materials for key construction elements

Surface Water Runoff – The change in surface water runoff patterns as a result of the development

Waste – Waste generated as a result of the construction process and facilities encouraging recycling of domestic waste in the home

Pollution – Pollution resulting from the operation of the dwelling

Health and Wellbeing – The effect that the dwellings design and indoor environment has on its occupants

Management – Steps that have been taken to allow good management of environmental impacts in the construction and operation of the home

Ecology – The impact of the dwelling on local eco-system, biodiversity and land use To achieve any of the Code’s ratings it will be necessary to meet the requirements covering a number of theses parameters.

Achieving a Sustainability Rating

The sustainability rating which a home achieves represents its overall performance across the nine Code design categories. Minimum standards exist for a number of categories – these must be achieved to gain a one star sustainability rating.

Energy efficiency and Water efficiency categories also have minimum standards that must be achieved at every level of the Code, recognising their importance to the sustainability of any home.

Apart from these minimum requirements the Code For Sustainable Homes is completely flexible; developers can choose which and how many standards they implement to obtain ‘points’ under the Code in order to achieve a higher sustainability rating.