SCHOOL OF THE BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

08010743 – MSc TIMBER ENGINEERING

BUILDING
SUSTAINABLE
DESIGN
MODULE LEADER: CÉLINE GARNIER

The analysis of the announcement in Gordon Brown’s

pre-budget that “within ten years every new home will
be zero carbon home”
Conclusions and personal comments about this new
regulation.

Coursework One. 28th November 2008

OUTLINE

1. Introduction
2. UK Carbon emissions
3. Zero Carbon Houses. Concept.
4. Benefits of Zero Carbon Houses
5. Steps to achieve ZCH
6. Analysis of a ZCH: Eco Lighthouse
7. Conclusions

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Appendix A: Stamp Duty Land Tax Exemption
Appendix B: Personal point of view about ZCH regulation
References

24
1. Introduction

In December 2006 Mr. Gordon Brown stated the target of zero carbon
houses for new dwellings by 2016. The government’s definition of a zero
carbon home taken from the Department of Communities and Local
Government launch of the zero carbon homes consultation on 13
December 2006, says: “A zero carbon home is one with ‘zero net
emissions of carbon dioxide from all energy use in the home’. The
definition encompasses all energy use in the home (cooking, TVs,
computer and other appliances) rather than just those energy uses that
are currently part of building regulations (space heating, hot water,
ventilation and some lighting). It means that over a year there are no
net carbon emissions resulting from the operation of the dwelling. This
could be achieved either through steps taken at the individual dwelling
level or through site wide strategies. So it will not be necessary for each
dwelling to have its own micro generation capacity where development
level solutions would be more appropriate” (DCLG, 2006). This definition
has been criticized by architects, developers, and researchers.

The final target is to reduce the CO2 emissions and design high energy
efficiency dwellings. To achieve zero carbon houses is necessary to set
up brand new technologies in a very beginning process of utilization
which do not ensure high output.

With this report the steps to achieve a zero carbon house will be
described and an example of a current zero carbon house will be
analyzed.

At the end it has been included two appendixes. The first one is about
the regulations to achieve a zero carbon house and consequently to
reach the problematic stamp duty land tax exemption. The second
appendix is a personal point of view of the impact of this new regulation
into the property market and into the affected sectors.

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2. UK Carbon Emissions

Carbon dioxide is the main man-made contributor to global warming. The UK

contributes with around 2 per cent to the global emissions. According to the
Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, it was estimated to be 38
billion tones carbon dioxide in 2004. A definition given for CO2-
equivalent emission is: ‘the amount of CO2 emission that would cause
the same time-integrated radioactive forcing, over a given time horizon,
as an emitted amount of a long-lived Green House Gases (GHCs) or a
mixture of GHGs. The equivalent CO2 emission is obtained by
multiplying the emission of a GHG by its Global Warming Potential
(GWP) for the given time horizon. The mix of GHGs it is obtained by
summing the equivalent CO2 emissions of each gas. Equivalent CO2
emission is a standard and useful metric for comparing emissions of
different GHGs but does not imply the same climate change responses’
(IPCC 2007 p36).

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 Figure 1: (above) Share of different anthropogenic GHGs in total global
emissions in 2004 in terms of CO2-eq. (below) Share of different sectors in
total anthropogenic GHG emissions in 2004 in terms of CO2-eq. (Forestry
includes deforestation.) (IPPC, 2007)

In 2006, in UK the 40 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions were from

the energy supply sector, 22 per cent from road transport, 17 per cent
from business and 15 per cent from housing fossil fuel use. Since 1990,
emissions from road transport have increased by 10 per cent, while
emissions from the energy supply industry have reduced by 9 per cent
and business emissions have reduced by 16 per cent (DEFRA, 2008).

Since 2005, emissions from the energy supply industry have risen by
1.5 per cent, whilst residential emissions have fallen by 4 percent.

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Changing from the actual Carbon emissions level to a lower or, even
zero, emissions level is a task that implies to all the sectors, it involves
also the domestic sector. But the most important of this target is to
make sure that achieving this goal, every person can afford the use of
electricity for heating, cooking, lighting or any appliance. As well,
competiveness in the UK industry has to be ensured. The number of
people who spent more than 10 per cent of their income on energy
(definition of energy poverty) has risen from 1.6 million in 2004 to 4.5
million in nowadays (E-On Manifesto, 2008).

The Kyoto protocol committed in 1997 assume that UK carbon emissions

during 2008-2012 period must be 12.5 per cent lower than 1990 level, it
means a Carbon emission of 538.35 million tones. If the trend in 2008 is
the same that in 2007, it means 2 per cent lower than last year, the CO2
emissions will be 532.83 mill of tones. The total reduction from 1990
would be around 11 per cent. UK will not reach the Kyoto target.

Kyoto = -12.5
Year Business Residential Transport Other* Total % of 1990
level

1990 226,8 155,5 140,8 69,2 592,4 -0,0%

1991 224,3 165,3 138,9 70,6 599,1 +1,1%

1992 210,8 159,1 140,7 71,4 582,0 -1,8%

1993 203,6 155,3 142,8 65,4 567,1 -4,3%

1994 200,5 150,0 143,1 65,7 559,3 -5,6%

1995 197,1 143,5 143,0 66,3 549,8 -7,2%

1996 198,4 155,5 148,3 68,8 571,0 -3,6%

1997 191,5 141,0 149,0 66,6 548,1 -7,5%

1998 191,4 146,7 147,6 64,1 549,9 -7,2%

1999 188,6 142,1 148,1 61,5 540,3 -8,8%

2000 196,0 146,7 147,0 58,9 548,6 -7,4%

2001 201,3 153,5 146,8 57,8 559,4 -5,6%

2002 188,3 148,1 150,5 55,8 542,7 -8,4%

2003 193,9 151,3 155,1 54,4 554,7 -6,4%

2004 191,6 152,6 155,0 55,9 555,1 -6,3%

2005 193,4 149,2 156,7 56,0 555,2 -6,3%

2006 196,1 148,6 157,2 52,7 554,5 -6,4%

2007* Estimated 543,7 -8,2%

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 Table 1. UK CO2 emissions by end user 1990 – 2007 (Source AEA, 2008).

Figure 2. UK emissions since 1990 and Kyoto target for period 2008 – 2012
(Source AEA, 2008).

3. Zero Carbon Houses. Concept.

This definition is far for being universally agreed. It comes three

different definitions from the government, a developer and an architect.

3.1 GOVERNMENT’S DEFINITION.

The current definition in the Code for Sustainable Homes of zero carbon
only permits energy generated on site. Dozens of criticism say this is no
efficient and it could not make feasible to deliver zero carbon non-
housing buildings because this kind of buildings require much higher
power than houses.

Government’s definition: the government’s definition of a zero carbon

home taken from the Department of Communities and Local
Government launch of the zero carbon homes consultation on 13
December 2006, says: “A zero carbon home is one with ‘zero net
emissions of carbon dioxide from all energy use in the home’. The
definition encompasses all energy use in the home (cooking, TVs,

24
computer and other appliances) rather than just those energy uses that
are currently part of building regulations (space heating, hot water,
ventilation and some lighting). It means that over a year there are no
net carbon emissions resulting from the operation of the dwelling. This
could be achieved either through steps taken at the individual dwelling
level or through site wide strategies. So it will not be necessary for each
dwelling to have its own micro generation capacity where development
level solutions would be more appropriate” (DCLG, 2006). Government
exposed that all new residential building must achieve zero carbon
emissions by 2016.

3.2 ALTERNATIVE DEFINITIONS.

Developer’s definition. The entrepreneurial charity design company

BioRegional defined zero carbon houses as a result of two actions
(Hewit, 2007):

1. Reduce the demand for energy through high levels of insulation

and the use of low energy appliances.

2. Supply the remaining energy required from renewable sources

which do not contribute to the devastating effects of climate
change.

Architect’s definition. According to the architectural practice, Zed

Factory, they say that a 100% carbon neutral home is one in which
(Hewit, 2007):

1. All heat and hot water is generated from renewable energy

sources within the site premises.
2. The building fabric achieves a step change reduction in the need
for heat and power, making it possible to harvest a high
percentage of passive energy.

3. Enough electricity is generated from renewable energies within

the site premises to match the annual electrical demand.

4. Overall annual co2 emissions to atmosphere are zero, considering

biomass as carbon neutral.

4. Benefits of zero carbon houses.

The achievement of zero carbon houses will benefit many aspects.

Undoubtedly it will have an important impact into the environment.
Fiscal and financial benefits are still about to agree. Other benefits imply
technology impact advances, energy independence from other

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countries, sensitiveness and stability to the energy price changes and
house environmental certification. According to a studio published by
the Department of Communities and Local Government, there are
defined several zero houses in different scenarios: Small Scale, City
Infill, Urban Regeneration and Market Town and taking into account
several kind of dwellings (DCLG, 2008).

4.1 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT BENEFITS

In any future policy scenario, the quantity of CO2 saved per annum by
2020 is planned to be between 2.62 Mt to 3.16 Mt . Looking forward by
2050, the housings built up to 2025 will save an estimated 6.2 Mt per
year. If construction rates continued at 2025 levels through to 2050
then the carbon saving achieved in comparison to current practice could
be 21.5 Mt per annum in 2050 or 392 Mt in total. From the modeling, it
is estimated that, by 2020 the total of electrical energy being generated
by renewable sources as a direct consequence of the policy could total
5.2 TWh; equivalent to approximately 1.4% of the total UK electrical
energy projection. Embodied carbon should not act as a barrier to
encouraging zero carbon housing developments under the policy, with
carbon payback on technology options being achieved within a small
fraction of their overall lifespan (DCLG, 2008).

4.2 ECONOMICAL BENEFITS

The construction costs of achieving zero carbon in year 2016 are

estimated to be between 17% and 24% higher than the costs for
dwellings built to the standards of Building Regulations dwellings, but
this should fall in future years, as learning and technology development
reduce the cost of low carbon technologies. By 2025 the increase in
compliance costs is assumed to be between 14% and 18%. Translating
these costs into a total net present cost associated with the application
of a full on-site policy to all dwellings projected to be constructed to
2025, gives an estimated range of £10,250m to £14,452m.

4.2.1. Savings due to energy efficiency improvement.

The estimated benefit due to the energy efficiency together with the
reliance in the grid supplied electricity means that annual bill saving
could be up to £900 per house (Kingspan, 2008). It must be taken into
account that most of this saving has to be assigned to the maintenance
and the management of the technologies involved.

4.2.2. The Stamp Duty Land Tax.

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On 7th December last year tax regulations came into force giving an
exemption of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for 'Zero-Carbon Homes'.
The exemption is backdated to 1st October 2007 and, accordingly, if any
Zero-Carbon Homes have been sold since then and duty paid, a reclaim
of SDLT may be possible. If the dwelling satisfies the definition of Zero
Carbon Home, an accredited assessor can issue a Zero-Carbon Home
certificate, the detail of the relief is:

1. SDLT relief is available on the first acquisition of a new Zero-Carbon

Home where the chargeable consideration does not include rent and is
no more than £500,000.
2. Where the chargeable consideration includes both rent and other
consideration and the consideration other than rent is no than
£500,000, no stamp duty land tax is chargeable in respect of the
consideration other than the rent.
3. Where the chargeable consideration other than rent is more than
£500,000, the stamp duty land tax shall be reduced by £15,000.

HM Revenue and Customs may refuse relief where they have

reasonable grounds for thinking that the dwelling is not a Zero- Carbon
Home. The regulations only have effect until 30th September 2012
(Tollers, 2008). (See appendix A for further information).

As the relief is related to the value of the home, builders may try and
achieve the zero- carbon standard on large and expensive properties,
where the SDLT will be reduce by £15,000.

4.3. SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY BENEFITS

The incentive to take action on climate change nowadays is weakened

by the way costs and benefits are evaluated over time. Standard
economic theory places great store in short term gain, with future costs
generally considered more affordable than costs today. This arises from
a combination of factors.

Due to the inflationary nature of most economies, money becomes

worth less and less as time goes on. Secondly, money invested today
can multiply into the future. In the case of climate change, this model is
inverted. While money may become worth less in the future, climate
change costs will grow. Any delay in tackling climate change results in
progressively increasing the costs of:

• mitigating further climate change,

• damage limitation,

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 • repair,

• adaptation.

‘These costs rise with time, so that continued delay progressively

approaches an infinite cost. Future costs are greater than the costs of
action today. It is today’s costs that are discounted and it is today that
society should invest everything it can in solving climate change’ (Zero
Carbon Britain 2007 p42).

These CO2 emission reductions due to zero carbon houses will have a
positive impact within community quality of life. The Climate Change
effect has a double effect into the householder’s economy. In one hand
events like heat wave during summer 2006 increased to the grid’s peak
the electricity demand. In the other hand, raw resources supplies take
this event into their own benefit to arise the price of the goods.

Achieving zero carbon houses, the price of the electricity will be steadier
and will help to reduce the number of energy poverty householders.

Figure 3. UK electricity and gas price comparisons over a 3-year period

(Hewit, 2007). Based on an average annual gas consumption of 20,500 kWh
and electricity average consumption of 3,300 kWh.

5. Steps to achieve zero carbon houses.

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The main elements in any sustainable building are: the use of low
impact materials in construction, passive solar design for space heating,
energy efficiency and renewable energy sources for a day to day
electrical and hot water demand, and the water conservation. Building
Regulations are absolutely necessary to achieve the ZCH target because
it acts as starter for builders, developers and final users.

5.1. BUILDING REGULATIONS

The Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) was introduced in April 2007
with the target of to raise the sustainability of dwellings above the
minimum standards set out in the Building Regulations for energy and
water use. This code has six levels, ranging from just above the
minimum standards set out in the regulations to a zero carbon home
that generates all its own power and consumes minimal water (Building,
2008).

Code Improvem Mandator Cost2

Level ent1 y

 10%

 18%

 25% 2010 +3%

 44% 2013 +5%

 100%

 Zero- 2016

 carbon

Table 2: Code levels for sustainable homes. 1percentage better than

Part L, 2006 building regulations. 2 extra costs in relation to 2006
building regulations (DCLG 2007).

The current version of the Part L of the Building Regulations (BR),

conservation of fuel and power in dwellings, defines energy standards
for all types of building and it will revise in 2010 to be in line with the
Code for Sustainable Homes. It will require 25% less emissions from
housing than the current version. The Department of Communities and
local Government said it will be issue a consultation paper on 2010 part
L at early 2009. The plan is to revise the regulations every two cycles,
so most regulations would only be updated every six years.

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There will be a change also in part G of the BR, hygiene, to cover water
efficiency and safety. It will include the levels of water efficiency. A
whole building performance standard is being considered for homes.
The final level is likely to be just below level one of the CSH, which is set
at 120 liters of water per person per day. The consultation also includes
proposals to make thermostatic valves and mixer taps compulsory for
baths to reduce the risk of being scalded by hot water (Building 2008).

5.2 PLANNING SYSTEM

The idea that a building cannot only function adequately by solely using
the resources that are available to it onsite is a challenging for
architects and developers. Planning is not ultimately the best tool for
ensure energy efficiency, and there are important environmental and
cultural reasons to be in alert. For example, there are around 66,000
listed buildings in Britain which their insulation measures are impractical
(Zero Carbon Britain, 2007).

The planning system must control what can be built and where. The
Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) sets national
planning policy. The goal is to ensure that people have decent
affordable homes in well-designed accessible environments while
protecting the countryside.

The DCLG is currently working to make more efficient the system

making it simpler, faster and more accessible. DCLG is also getting
communities more involved and encouraging more public participation.

Most new buildings, changes to existing buildings or the local

environment need planning permission. Planning applications are
usually dealt with by the local authority. Local councils also prepare
draft plans for their area.

Appeals against refusal of planning permission and inquiries are dealt

with by the Planning Inspectorate. Many types of building work will
require separate permission under building regulations.

The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP)

SAP is the auditing method to calculate and to regulate the Energy

Performance Certificate of any building. It has a special focus on the
building materials and on the heating system. The energy consumed on
lights and appliances are not considered, so more energy-efficient
equipment do not contribute to improve the rating. The SAP method

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provides a theoretical level of consumption depending on things as the
standard levels of heating. This tool is been used but same changes are
been studied.

5.3. LOW ZERO CARBON TECHNOLOGIES.

There are a significant number of technologies than can be consider for

achieving zero carbon houses. As following, it will be explained the most
common LZCT and their economical and social implication.

Solar thermal systems.

Energy from the sun can be used in three main ways:

1 • Passive solar design, which needs heat from the sun and that
less additional heating is required therefore it reduces the overall
load;
2 • Solar thermal, utilizing the sun's heat to provide domestic hot
water for homes or swimming pools and occasionally for space
heating using heated air;
3 • Solar electric or photovoltaic (PV), which use energy from the
sun to create electricity.

A solar thermal system supplying domestic hot water can save over
50% of fossil fuel energy needed to supply hot water demand in a
dwelling.

Photovoltaic (PV)
Photovoltaic (PV) systems utilize cells to convert solar radiation into
electricity. The PV cell is made of one or two layers of a semi-conducting
material, usually silicon. When sun rays strike on the cell it creates an
electric field across the layers, generating electricity to flow. The greater
the intensity of the light, the greater the flow of electricity. The
effectiveness of this system is currently very poor (Smith, 2007).

The use of PV displaces some electricity that otherwise will need to be

generated by conventional fuels but it is unlikely to supply all the
electricity demand of a building. In terms of carbon dioxide, 1 kWp of
solar cells displaces about 1000 kg of CO2

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

CHP refers to the simultaneous generation of electricity and heat in the

form of hot water or steam. CHP is also referred to as 'cogeneration' or

24
'total energy'. Electricity is generated using an engine or a turbine, with
heat being recovered from the exhaust gases and cooling systems

CHP operates in parallel with the incoming mains, so that if electricity

demand is greater than the output of the plant, then the difference can
be made up using traditional supplies. CHP is normally sized a little
above summer base load, and so conventional boilers will be required to
meet the peak demand for heat. Excess heat can be dumped, or more
efficiently used to serve the needs of other local users via a district
heating network.

Each kW of electrical capacity provided by CHP plant using fossil fuels

has the potential to reduce annual carbon emissions by more than one
tone. For plant which is fuelled by waste or biomass the potential is
much greater (Smith, 2007).

Ground source heat pumps (GSHP)

Ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) are used to increase the

temperature of a circulating fluid from that of the ground-source
(around 10 to 20°C) to a more useful output temperature of around 30
to 50°C. These output temperatures are ideal for low temperature
systems, e.g. under floor heating coils and radiant panels.

The source of heat remains at a relatively constant temperature all year

and can be taken from the ground or from water within the ground
(groundwater). With the correct design of the “collector”, a loop to
gather the available heat by using a refrigerant fluid (or water) in a pipe
which is in contact with the ground, the depletion of the heat source is
not noticeable and can be considered a truly renewable source of
energy (Smith, 2007).

Wind Power

Wind power is used to generate electricity, either in parallel with mains

supplies, connected to the grid via inverters and synchronizing gear or
for DC applications with battery back-up. In order to generate
worthwhile quantities of electricity, average wind speeds of more than
5 m/s are typically required. In building integrated applications, simple
payback periods of approximately 15-20 years can be achieved easily.

Biomass

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Energy from biomass is produced by burning organic matter. Biomass
products such as trees, crops or animal dung are harvested and
processed to create bio-energy in the form of electricity, heat, steam
and solid fuels. Biomass is also referred to as ‘bioenergy’ or ‘biofuel’.

Biomass is carbon-based so when used as fuel it also generates carbon

emissions. However, the carbon that is released during combustion is
equivalent to the amount that was absorbed during growth and so the
technology is largely carbon-neutral.

The following table, gives an indication of the potential benefits of the

technologies (Shearer, Anderson 2005). The cost-effectiveness
assessment is based on applications for buildings with access to
conventional energy supplies from the utilities companies. This will be
the case for the vast majority of buildings.

Local impact relates to the implications of the technology other than on

carbon emissions, as is discussed in the following sections of the report
for each technology. Offset costs relate to the potential to make
savings.

Cost-
Carbon
effectivenes Local impact Offset cost
savings
s

Solar termal Low-medium Medium Low medium Low

PV Low Low Low Low-medium

CHP High Medium-high Low-medium Low-medium

GSHP Medium Medium Low Low-medium

Wind Power Low-medium Medium High Low

Biomass High Medium-high Medium Low-medium

Table 3: Important of LZC technologies (Shearer, Anderson 2005).

Table 4 shows an overview of capital costs, running costs, payback time

and CO2 saving potential (Shearer, Aderson 2005):

Capital cost Running Payback Lifetime

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 CO2
per kW cost time reduction
per £

Solar termal Low-medium Low Low-medium High

PV High Low High Medium
CHP Medium Low-medium Medium High
GSHP Medium Low Low-medium High
Wind Power Medium-high Low Low-medium High
Biomass Medium Low-medium Medium Medium high

Table 4: Cost and CO2 reductions (Shearer, Anderson 2005).

Availability of LZC Technologies.

Although there are a large variety of LZC technologies, the achievement

of LZC house are also influenced by other factors. These factors can not
nowadays reach this zero target. Research in these technologies is a
key factor due to the overall low efficiency and long payback of the
renewable technologies. Some requirements have to be considered in
the design phase: building orientation, location, roof angle, store areas,
windows, thermal insulation and environmental friendly materials. With
a good design, the proper materials and insulation and a right use of
LZC technologies this target is reachable. Some examples in UK are
Sigma house, Eco House, BowZed or Light House.

Utilization of proper materials and waste reduction.

Waste reduction and environmental friendly materials can be use in the

construction of zero carbon houses:

- Timber is a renewable material and carbon neutral. Offer good

mechanical properties.

- Tires can be use for support walls. A very good example is the
building Earthship in Brighton (Hewit 2007) .

- Glazing and use of recycled bottles for walls.

- Use of local stones, granite, masonry,…

- Perfect insulation will help to reduce heat waste.

- Use of rainwater for toilet, gardening, etc.

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6. Analysis of a Zero Carbon House: Eco - Lighthouse

The first house zero carbon built in UK was called Lighthouse. It was
unveiled in Watford in 2007. It has been the first home qualified as Level
6 in the Code for Sustainable Homes. It means this two bedroom house
is the first considered carbon neutral. Analyzing this project the
feasibility, the total cost and the carbon reduction will be analyzed.

6.1 ENERGY PERFORMANCE AND ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF

ENERGY.

This building was insolated to lose 60% less of heat energy than a
common house. To achieve this high insulation level the parts
configuration was:

- Walls, roof and floor made by TEK© Building system. This is an

special configuration of urethane and OSB with a thickness of 284
mm that gives a U-value of 0.11 W/m2K.

- The windows include a special timber frame and a triple glazed

filled with gas that gives a U-value of 0.7 W/m2K.

- Air permeability, which helps to reduce the external air exchange

of 1 m3/h/m2 at 50 Pa. It reduced the lost in almost 30%.

- Mechanical ventilation thanks to the system KAR MVHR® which

can recover up to 88% of the heat.

- The specific fan power or the energy efficiency is 0.92 W/l/s.

- All the white goods are rated as A++ energy level.

- About the lighting, the internal lights are 100 % compact

fluorescents and the external has PIR sensors.

About the energy sources to make it a zero carbon house, it was

necessary to set up:
- 46 m2 of PV panels with a capacity of 4.7 kW

- A 10 kW wood pellets boiler, although the house was design for a

need of 2kW.

- 4 m2 of solar hot water system to reduce pellets consume during

summer.

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 - Cycle storage and wood pellets storage.

In table 5 is shown how this building to carry out with the common
needs for a 90 m2, with two bedroom and a small conservatory.

Lightho
use
Energy use Comment
kWh/ye
ar
ELECTRICITY
UK average for a typical house of 90 m2 is
750 kWh. The Lighthouse looks high as it
Lighting 500
only has common energy efficient bulbs. 300
might be a better estimation.
Ventilation and
heat recovery 200 Not use in conventional houses.
equipment
Other fans and All houses need hot water pumps.
heat distribution 400 Lighthouse is a bit higher than the typical
system house
The house has no gas, so all the cooking is
Catering 900 via electricity. This number in Lighthouse is
low for a family that cooks often at home.
Appliances 2100 Looks high for a house of this size.
Lighthouse around 10% higher than a typical
Total Electricity 4100
house.
GAS

Domestic hot The solar thermal panels reduce this from

3000
water about 4000 in the typical UK home

Typical conventional dwelling of this size in

Space heating 1700
UK has a demand of 14000 kWh.

Total Gas 4700 Typical UK house around 19000 kWh

ELECTRICITY+GA
8800 Nearer to 24000 kWh
S
Table 5: energy demand expectation for Lighthouse (Goodall 2008).

As might be expected, the Lighthouse shows huge reductions in gas

demand. The high-quality insulation reduces total heating need from
19,000 kWh to 1,700 kWh – a cut of 90%. This heating demand, and the
hot water need of 3,000 kWh, is met by a boiler burning pellet wood. In
the summer, the hot water use is covered by a solar hot water system.

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Total heating demand will be met by not much more than half a tone of
dry wood a year – equivalent to about a full load of logs in a farmers’
pick-up van.

Because heating demand is provided by wood, there is no carbon

consequence. The developer, the company Potton, estimate that the
cost of this wood is about £30 a year (according to the actual pellet
market in UK a half tone of wood pellets is around £75). This is the
complete fuel bill for the house. At current prices, an average house of
this size might have gas and electricity costs of about £1,000 a year
(Goodall 2008).

6.2. ASSESSMENT OF FEASIBILITY AND COST

It is controversial the Government’s policy about the on-site power

generation. To generate these 4100 kWh for electricity appliances,
lighting and cooking is necessary 46 m2 of PV panels, but the cost of
these panels is very high. Referring the cost of the panels to the CO2
saved, if the panels last 25 years it is may be as much as £600 per tone
of carbon dioxide. When CO2 is trading on the exchanges at about £17
per tone, it is really unclear why the government is arguing that home
generation is the best solution to climate change. Roof-mounted solar
PV is, in effect, a requirement that add around 15% to the cost of a
house. If, instead, the government allowed house builders to invest in
local commercial-scale wind farms instead, carbon neutrality might cost
as little as a few hundred pounds (Goodall, 2008).

Through a good material, insulation, and a proper passive solar system,

the help of renewable technologies, waste management and, looking at
several zero carbon houses built so far, feasibility of zero carbon houses
can be asserted.

The estimated cost of the 90 m2 Lighthouse building, according to the

developer the firm Potton, is around £160,000 without take into account
the price of the site. In table 6 is described the extra cost of building
Lighthouse as an example of zero carbon house:

Requirement % relative to
Technology for Cost in £ the total
Lighthouse house value

PV panels 4.7 kWh 25,000 15.65 %

Solar hot water 4 m2 3,000 1.87 %

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 Wood pellet
10 kW 5,000 3.12%
boiler

COST OF RENEWABLES 33,000 20.65%

Cost of fan,
17,000 10.65 %
ventilator
system,
TOTAL INCREMENT 50,000 31.30%

TOTAL VALUE OF THE

160,000
LIGHTHOUSE
Table 6: Estimated cost for Lighthouse (Goodall 2008).

7. Conclusions.

Clearly the stamp duty exemption does not cover the investment of
making a home zero carbon. A simple amortization of the investment
taking into account the profit in gas and electricity bills would be in 37
years. This is not feasible because the useful life of the renewable
devices is 25 years. But if PV are not taking into account because is not
CO2 profitable, the new amortization would be in 11 years. These
approximations do not include likely variations into the electricity and
gas prices. If the lifespan of the building is consider 50 years, the actual
net profit at year 25 due only to the bill savings would be £13000.

After the Gordon Brown’s speech in December 2006, the building sector
is been involved under a change system pressure. The horizon is 2016
and the not well defined zero carbon houses target is becoming more
and more popular within the architecture and developer sectors.

Achieving ZCH is it possible, as we can see in some project all around

UK. The price and the investment amount to reach this target are
enormous.

In the other hand, UK was committed to reduce CO2 emissions by 2012

in 12.5 % the level of 1990. UK will not achieve this target. Obviously
the Government framework in Zero Carbon was adopted to reduce the
CO2 emissions and to achieve the Kyoto Protocol.

CO2 emission represents almost the 25% of the total emissions. It

means that if all UK dwellings were Zero Carbon by 2016, the total CO2
emissions (if the rest of the CO2 emission sources were not changes)
would be reduced by almost 25%.

24
The actual house stock and the forecast for the next fifteen years are:

2008- 2012- 2016- 2020-

Action 2007
2011 2015 2019 2023
Build new 300,000 550,000 550,000 550,000
Demolish
300,000 500,000 500,000 500,000
and
replace
Refurbish 1,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000
Stock
25,000,000 25,300,000 25,850,000 26,400,000 26,950,000
number
Table 7: Domestic Sector – number of dwellings- (Zero Carbon Britain
2007).

According to this report, in the best of the cases, assuming all new
houses built will be zero carbon houses, the number of new zero carbon
houses will be:

 1,950,000 by 2016
 300,000 by 2012
It means that the CO2 emission reduction due to the Zero Carbon
Houses regulation will be: ZERO! If the existing dwelling are not
insulated or reformatted to have higher energy efficiency, the CO2
emissions will be the same than in 2007. In the case that these new
houses substitute old and low efficiency ones, the reduction in CO2
emissions would be:

 1.3 % by 2012
 2 % by 2016

In my opinion, an alternative to this zero carbon regulation could be to

grant works in old and low efficiency dwellings in order to achieve a
better insulation. The effects in the reduction of CO2 emissions would be
much higher with the same quantity of government investment.

24
24
APPENDIX A. SDLT
Who is being affected? The relief will benefit most buyers of new zero carbon homes from 1 October 2007.
· As announced in the 2006 Pre-Budget Report, a regulation-making power will be introduced in Finance Bill
2007 to bring in a new time limited relief from SDLT for the vast majority of new zero carbon homes in the
General description of UK.
the measure · Qualifying criteria for the relief will require zero carbon emissions from all energy use in the home over a
year. To achieve this, the fabric of the home will be required to reach a very high energy efficiency standard
and to be able to provide onsite renewable heat and power.
· There will be a certification process for all new homes and qualification for the exemption which will be
dependant on homebuyers having a certificate. Detailed arrangements for the certification process will be
· The measure will have effect on and after 1 October 2007. The relief will be time limited for 5 years and
Operative data
will therefore expire on 30 September 2012.
Current law and · Legislation for SDLT is in Finance Act 2003. Finance Bill 2007 will contain a regulation-making power to
proposed revisions bring a new relief to provide for zero carbon homes.
· New homes which are liable to SDLT on the first sale will be eligible to qualify. The relief will provide
complete removal of SDLT liabilities for all homes up to a purchase price of £500,000. Where the purchase
Form of relief
price of the home is in excess of £500,000 then the SDLT liability will be reduced by £15,000. The balance
of the SDLT will be due in the normal way.
· The aim of the relief is to ensure that on average over the course of a year the homes are zero carbon. In
other words, they will not be required to be zero carbon the whole time, but the import of grid power and
Detail of qualifying
export of renewable power should at least balance over the course of a year.
criteria
· This standard will be measured by use of the Government’s Standard Assessment Procedure for the
energy rating of dwellings (SAP).
Fabric of the building · The requirement will be that the “Heat Loss Parameter” is no more than 0.8W/m²K. This standard will
standard mean that space heating requirements are no more than 15kWh/m² per annum.
· The SAP computation takes into account energy consumed through heating, lighting and hot water
provision. The homes will have to reach zero carbon for these factors using the SAP computation.
Heat, power generation
· Heat, power and appliance power for this element must be generated either in the home or on the
and appliances
development or through other local community arrangements (including district heat and power) and must
be renewable (i.e. non-fossil fuel) energy.
Gas main connection · Qualifying homes will not be permitted to be connected to the gas main.
· The relief will be available for most new homes when sold for the first time. These will be defined as
dwellings which are first occupied for residential purposes at the time of the transaction which leads to the
New homes
stamp duty land tax charge.
· Relief will not be available on second and subsequent sales nor on existing homes.
Source: Official data from HM Revenue and Customs

24
APPENDIX B: PERSONAL POINTS OF VIEW

1. Is this new directive a benefit for the environment?

YES. With this ZCH regulation the CO2 emissions due to domestic houses
will not be higher and the pressure due to the new construction of new
dwellings will be controlled.

2. Is it a reasonable cost measure?

NO. Investing the same funds in other ways, for example insulating low
efficiency dwellings, it would reduce much more the CO2 emissions.

3. Will the ZC houses push up property prices outweighing any

tax exemption?
YES. The actual cost of the new technologies is high. It could be lower if
instead of building isolated ZCH, a group of 150-200 dwellings were built
in the same area. Anyway, the price of a ZCH is around 30-40 % higher
than a regular house. This is much higher than any tax exemption.

4. Is the tax subvention pushing up the price of

LZCTechnologies?
YES. In the current situation, for example, PV panel’s price increased
around 30% due to the huge German feed in tariffs. Other example is
the price of wood pellets increased around 100% in last two years due
to the high demand in Central Europe.

5. Is affordable the quantity of accessible biomass in UK to

supply all ZCH in 2016?
YES. Nowadays is using around 0.50 % of all the biomass available in
UK. Assuming 2 million of ZCH in 2016 it will need around 25 % of UK
biomass.

6. Is the biomass a real neutral carbon energy source?

NO. Biomass is not carbon neutral. Big amount of energy is needed in
several industry processes: machinery on the forest consumes lot of
fossil fuel for logging, take out the bark, the branches. Sawmill
industries require huge energy for cutting and sawing. As well the
pelletization process also requires lots of energy to produce it. Finally
the pellet transport is very inefficiency because has low gravity weight.
Usually pellet factories are far from urban areas.

7. Is the government right imposing energy generated on site?

24
NO. It would be more profitable and affordable to get the electricity for
the grid if it comes from a zero carbon source as wind farms.

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Anon (2008, June). Beyond excellence. Supplement to the journal

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Anon (2008, April). The rules of engagement. The latest building codes
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Anon (2008) Carbon, cost and consequences. E-on Manifesto Retrieved

on November 5th 2008 from http://www.eon-
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