Housing Minister wants green rating for new homes overhauled

Housing and Planning Minister John Healey has proposed for a more consumer-friendly green rating for homes that will promote energy efficient properties and reduce future utility bills by up to £1,500 a year in the most energy efficient homes.

The Code for Sustainable Homes was ratified in April 2007 as a standard to measure improvement in the overall sustainability of new homes. The Code uses a rating system of one to six stars depending on how the property performs against categories such as energy use, waste, materials and water.

One star is the entry level, and six as highest, reflecting exemplar sustainable development. The amount you save in your water and energy bills depends on the rating of your home.

Currently, the average savings at Code level 3 for energy and water is up to £400. In 2010, taking into account feed in tariffs, households built to Code level 6 could save between £950 for a flat and up to £1450 for a detached house in energy and water bills.

Healey is proposing changes on the Code to make it easier for consumers, whether they are developers or individuals simply wanting to grade and track the sustainability of their properties.

John Healey, said, “Our homes account for a quarter of UK carbon emissions, so it’s clear they are a vital part of our efforts to tackle climate change. The talks in Copenhagen have underlined the need for us to act now, so we need to ensure that people who want to greenproof their homes get a helping hand, not red tape.

“The Code has proved its worth but now is the time to make it a more user-friendly standard for consumers. In the future, this will help drive uptake so people will save more money on bills and reduce the carbon footprint of new homes.”

The improved star rating system will also take into account the tougher new rules for energy efficiency in the building regulations, coming into force from 2010 and the longer term proposals for energy efficiency standards in zero carbon homes. The Code will reflect these mandatory requirements giving people the opportunity to build to future standards today and save more on bills.