What is the future of Net Zero in Housing?

What is the future of Net Zero in Housing (and all new buildings)?

The Labour government codified it in the ‘Code for Sustainable Homes’, the EU as ‘Nearly zero-emission building (NZEB’) and there are international standards such as ‘Passivhaus’ and ‘Minergie’. We even have embodied carbon calculations via the proposed ‘Part Z’

In truth, all these proposals had and have flaws. The Code for Sustainable Homes overreached in building and placemaking design, the EU standard varies across states, Passivhaus uses tapes with lifespans of sixty years which if they fail compromise the whole approach and Part Z ignores technological change and global challenges, such as reliance on concrete.

None of this means we shouldn’t adopt and adapt to deliver better designs and construction processes, but one thing is clear, a home’s energy use will remain a key component and form the basis of any strategy.