1. Project part-financed by the European Union
Sustainability Standards for New
Homes in the UK: the Code for
Sustainable Homes
Kate Aspinall

2. Project part-financed by the European Union
Quick, non-technical tour of the Code
• Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in the UK
• Brief description of how sustainability standards for housebuilding
have evolved in the UK
• The Code for Sustainable Homes
o Structure and key aspects
o How it applies to RSLs and to other constructors
o Examples

3. Project part-financed by the European Union
The Role of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs)
• Main providers of publicly funded homes in the UK.
• Development part-funded by government grants - £8.4 billion in
2008 -11 programme - 155,000 homes per year. Funding goes to
RSLs, local authorities and approved private developers.
• Must meet conditions for receiving public subsidy (Social Housing
Grant) including financial probity and standards of management as
well as quality of design and sustainability.
• Progressive increase in standards expected, always in excess of
Building Regulations and the private sector.

4. Project part-financed by the European Union
Evolution of Sustainability Standards
• Building Regulations - set basic standards for all aspects of
construction includind energy efficiency - mandatory for all
construction. Baseline on which other standards are built.
• EcoHomes certification scheme - newbuild
– Part of BREEAM certification programme
– Voluntary for private housebuilders
– Became mandatory for RSLs, progressively higher ratings required
– Applied to the whole development, not individual homes
• EcoHomes XB for refurbishment projects
– Voluntary
• CSH - national standard for the sustainable design and construction
of new homes from April 2007.

5. Project part-financed by the European Union
Code for Sustainable Homes – Scope
• Introduced April 2007
• From May 2008, mandatory for all new homes to have a CSH rating.
• Ratings included in the Home Information Pack on sale of property.
• Private developers can opt for a “nil-rating” – don’t even have to
achieve the lowest level of the Code.
• Introduces minimum levels of performance in nine key areas
• Mandatory and optional elements make it flexible
• Scoring system at six levels
• Assessed at design stage and post-construction

6. Project part-financed by the European Union
Key Performance Issues
Each homes is awarded credits in respect of:
• Energy and CO2 Emissions
• Water
• Materials used
• Surface water management
• Waste management
• Pollution
• Health and Wellbeing
• Management
• Ecology

7. Project part-financed by the European Union
Scoring System
• Six levels, each achieved by meeting:
o the mandatory standard appropriate for that level, AND
o a proportion of the “flexible” standards
• Each level represents a progressive improvement on the baseline of
Building Regulations – including Level 1.
• Level 3 – currently required for RSL projects.
• Level 4 – current “exemplary performance”.
• Level 5 – represents 100% reduction in CO2 emissions
• Level 6 is the “Zero Carbon” home
• The home is scored against each category to arrive at a % score to
establish overall rating.

8. Project part-financed by the European Union
Mandatory elements
• In order to attain every level a minimum performance MUST be achieved in:
• CO2 emission rates
• Indoor water use
• Materials
• Waste
• Surface water run-off
• To attain Level 2 – 6, progressively higher minimum standards in:
• CO2 emission rates
• Indoor water use.
• To attain Level 6, the home must also meet Lifetime Homes standards.

9. Project part-financed by the European Union

10. Project part-financed by the European Union
Mandatory elements – CO2 emissions

11. Project part-financed by the European Union
Mandatory elements – water use

12. Project part-financed by the European Union
“Flexible” elements
• Beyond the mandatory elements, developers can gain credits from
the other elements to achieve the overall score.
• Choice in how to achieve the Level rating they are seeking.
• Not all elements are equal – environmental weighting factor is
applied to each category to emphasise those elements that are
seen as more environmentally significant.

13. Project part-financed by the European Union
The
• Main

14. Project part-financed by the European Union
Scoring
• Have the four mandatory categories been achieved?
If they have not all been met then the home is zero rated, regardless
of scores achieved for other elements.
• Have the minimum scores been achieved to gain the mandatory
credits for CO2 and water use for the Level sought?
Rating determined by the lowest score, so both are needed to meet
the requirements for a higher Level.
• Have the credits from mandatory and flexible elements achieved the
totals necessary to achieve the Level sought?

15. Project part-financed by the European Union
Scoring

16. Project part-financed by the European Union
Assessment
• Carried out by approved CSH Assessor
• Programme of assessor training licenced by the BRE
• Assessment must be by use of the approved calculation tool
• Submitted to the BRE
• Approval/certificate issued

17. Project part-financed by the European Union
Carbon Emissions
• By far the most important element – 15 credits available
• Heaviest weighting
• Building Regulations establish a Target Emissions Rate (TER)*
• Home is assessed for its Dwelling Emissions Rate (DER)*
• Percentage improvement of DER compared with TER establishes
the credit achieved.
* kg of CO2 per m2
per annum arising from energy use for heating, hot water and lighting

18. Project part-financed by the European Union
Carbon Emissions Reduction

19. Project part-financed by the European Union
How the Code applies to RSLs
• Publicly subsidised, so always expected to lead the private sector
on standards.
• All schemes funded after April 2007 to achieve Level 3 or higher.
• Additional grant for higher scoring schemes.
• From April 2010 need to achieve Level 4.

20. Project part-financed by the European Union
The Zero Carbon Home
CSH Definition:
Government intention is for all new homes built to be Zero Carbon by
2016
“Where net carbon dioxide emissions resulting from ALL
energy used in the dwelling are zero or better.
This includes the energy consumed in the operation of the
space heating/cooling and hot-water systems, ventilation,
all internal lighting cooking and all electrical appliances.”

21. Project part-financed by the European Union
Examples
• RSLs – Level 3 now being met for all schemes
• Both schemes we are visiting meet Level 3 in different ways, using
different construction methods.
• Later phases of the West of Waterlooville site will have to meet
Level 4 – how?
• Costs of meeting the higher standard varies according to RSL’s own
requirements and the demands of the location, planning
requirements and so on.

22. Project part-financed by the European Union
The
• The
Examples – Level 4
Vale Street, Lambeth, London – L&Q Housing
• First development in London to achieve Level 4
• Winner of the What House? Award for Sustainable Development
• Super insulated walls, wider
cavities.
• Use of lime mortar
• Triple glazing
• Communal biomass boiler
• Solar electricity
• Green roof
• Nesting boxes for birds

23. Project part-financed by the European Union
The
• The
Examples – Level 45
Mid Street, South Nutfield, Surrey – Raven Housing Trust
• First Level 5 RSL scheme
• SIPS construction
• Triple glazed windows
• PV roof panels
• Biomass boiler, underfloor heating.
• Heat recovery unit
• Rain water harvesting
• Digitally controlled showers with
monitoring system
• Environmental planting scheme
• Data system linked to
public transport information

24. Project part-financed by the European Union
Other Developers
• Reference to the Code also used to distribute other funding e.g. Low
Carbon Investment Programme
o Focus on renewable materials – timber, natural insulation &c
• Other bodies have built exemplar projects
o BRE Innovation Park
o The Lighthouse – Code 6
o The Renewable House

25. Project part-financed by the European Union
The
• The
The Kingspan
Lighthouse
http://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=959

26. Project part-financed by the European Union
The
• The
The Renewable House
http://www.renewable-house.co.uk/

27. Project part-financed by the European Union
Further information:
Code for Sustainable Homes
http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/buildingregulations/legislation/codesustainable/
Building Regulations: Energy efficiency requirements for new dwellings - a forward look
at what standards may be in 2010 and 2013
www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/energyefficiencynewdwellings
BREEAM Code for Sustainable Homes information
http://www.breeam.org/page.jsp?id=86
Building Regulations Part L
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/professionals/buildingregs/technicalguidance/bcconsfppartl/
bcconsfppartlappdoc/bcconsfppartl1aappdoc
DCLG Sustainable Development Action Plan
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/sustainabledevelopment2007-08