UK green building regulations not under control, warns report

2009-03-04T00:00:00-00:00

Despite making moves in the right direction, the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has no direct control over green building regulations and their enforcement, warns a report from the Public Accounts Committee.

While the Government’s domestic energy efficiency programmes have resulted in a drop in energy use between 2004 and 2007, this trend is unlikely to continue, says the report.

The UK still lags well behind some of its European neighbours such as the Netherlands and Sweden in household energy consumption. And there are “two sobering facts” about domestic energy use, says committee chair Edward Leigh.

“One is that households in 2007 were still using 8% more energy than back in 1990. The second is that household energy use will continue to rise, a function of the need for extra housing, rising expectations about how warm dwellings should be and an ever rising use of electrical appliances.”

The Government has set a target of reducing household energy consumption by 36% by 2020 compared with 2001-2005 levels, but over 80% of these savings are expected to come from building regulations and obligations on suppliers, which are out of DECC’s control.

“I am concerned that not enough is known about whether the building regulations for new houses are actually being complied with and delivering the energy saving performance promised,” says Leigh.

The monitoring and enforcement of energy efficiency building regulations will have to be improved – but these are under the control of the Department for Communities and Local Government. The report also expressed concerns that building control professionals are not prioritising energy efficiency.

The committee also criticised the fact that consumers are presented with a “confusingly wide range of advice on energy efficiency” from the Government itself, energy suppliers and other organisations.

While the committee ultimately welcomes the Government’s latest proposals on household energy efficiency, it also advocates introducing home energy audits and a quality standard for installers of energy efficiency measures such as insulation.

The report also recommended formulating a comprehensive programme to support DECC’s desire for all households to have a smart meter by 2020, as well as instigating initiatives to encourage landlords to improve the performance of rental properties.

For further information:
www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/committee_of_public_accounts.cfm
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmpubacc/228/9780215526618.pdf
www.decc.gov.uk/
www.communities.gov.uk/

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UK green building regulations not under control, warns report