The chronic shortage of housing, currently estimated at 1.2 million homes, is one of the biggest challenges facing the UK. Add rising inflation, record energy prices and the single biggest interest rate hike in 27 years, the demand for affordable and sustainable new homes has never been greater.
To address the housing crisis, the government initially outlined ambitious plans for 300,000[1] new homes to be built every year until the mid-2020s. This quickly proved to be an unrealistic target with the completion of new homes falling well short for the last three years running and 2022 looks no different.
In 2019 a total of 160,319 homes were completed, 123,151 in 2020, 175,390 in 2021, and 205,000 are expected to be added by the end of this year.
While much of this slow growth can be attributed to a lack of skilled labour and the shortage of building materials caused by BREXIT and the COVID 19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine has only exacerbated the problem.
Add into the mix that all new homes and buildings in England will have to produce significantly less CO2 to help the country move towards net zero, the construction industry is now facing the biggest transition in its history.
Net Zero Building Regulations
The changes to the government’s Building Regulations, which set the standards for the design, construction, and alteration of buildings, followed a public consultation that came into effect from June.
Seen as an important step towards a cleaner greener built environment, the revisions pave the way for the Future Homes and Buildings Standard in 2025, which will mean all future homes are net zero ready and will not need retrofitting.
This will see emission reductions in new builds through the use of different fabrics and construction materials and low carbon technology such as solar panels and heat pumps.
Heating Strategy
As heating and powering buildings currently makes up 40% of the UK’s total energy use, the government is pressing for heat pumps to become the primary heating technology for new homes. While doubling down efforts to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels is to be applauded, the transition away from gas boilers presents a much larger problem. The cost and practicality of upgrading to cleaner domestic heating systems for owners of older properties has its limitations.
In April, the government began offering grants of £5,000 for the installation of heat pumps as part of the £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme, under the Heat and Buildings Strategy[3]. If funding remains capped, it will only support 90,000 households in total. According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK had 27.8 million households in 2020 (an increase of 5.9% from 2010), this figure is expected to be closer to 28.3 million in 2022. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme would need to be increased to £141 billion for all households to be compliant.
Putting government funding to one side, great strides are being made in the development and deployment of sustainable fuelling solutions. Visit any construction site and you will hear the steady hum of generators. I anticipate a big shift towards the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a type of biofuel that is significantly better for the environment compared to mineral diesel that will help construction companies meet their net zero goals.
As more industries look to cleaner alternatives to reduce their carbon footprint, Data Centres have been quick to adopt renewable HVO to replace diesel for their backup generators.
Building Better
Reducing the amount of concrete used in construction by 30% could lower global CO2 emissions by 2-3%. While traditionally the building blocks of any new home, bricks have a devastating impact on the environment with kilns releasing over 1,072 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere every year which is 2.7% of total emissions[4]. Globally brick kilns burn 375,000,000 tonnes of coal per year.
Is there a better alternative for the construction industry? There certainly is and it comes in the form of Insulated Concrete Form (ICF), a modern method of construction that provides improved energy efficiency and superior insulation, as well as greater resistance to fire, hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding. The modular panels also allow for a quicker build time.
In the US, 18% of all detached homes are made using the ICF method, which can be produced in situ, pre-cut or prefabricated. The strongest ICF on the market can withstand a lateral pressure of 1,600 lbs. per square foot during pouring and the cement-bonded fibre now uses up to 90% of recycled materials.
Graphene, the strongest material ever discovered, is now being used to reinforce floors and buildings. When the microscopic flakes of carbon atoms are arranged in a hexagonal lattice, it allows concrete to set faster and stronger.
Besides improving the mechanical properties of certain materials, by adding as little as 0.1% of graphene to cement and aggregate, builders can potentially use less material to achieve the same performance thus making it a more environmentally friendly process.
So, the options are out there, and as more green funding goes towards climate technologies and the development of sustainable building materials, those construction companies that transition the fastest will emerge taller, stronger, and greener than their competitors.
[1] Ministry of Housing | Planning Reform | 1st October 2018
[2] Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities |Building Regulations | 15th December 2021
[3] Department for Energy, Business & Industrial Strategy | Heat & Buildings Strategy | 18th March 2022
[4] Habla Zig-Zag Kilns | Environmental Impact of Brick Kilns