Press Release

Existing stock holds the key to a green future

30 April 2009

Kevin Brennan, Head of Sustainability, VELUX Company Ltd, discusses the issues surrounding adopting a sustainable housing policy and argues that the largest opportunity to reduce carbon emissions actually lies with the existing housing stock.

With climate change a common topic of news and debate, it is now a relatively well known fact that approximately 40% of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions are attributable to our buildings. And with such a statistic it is unsurprising that both the Government and industry experts have deliberated long and hard as to the best way to deliver sustainable and energy efficient homes, which can also provide a healthy indoor environment and cope with changes in the lifestyles of the people who live in them.

Even now, with policies already in place, we cannot entirely agree upon whether the best solution has been reached and the debates continue. Of course, the homes we build today are to be our legacy not just to the next generation but to several more that follow and consequently, one thing that no-one would dispute is the importance of getting it right.

Sustainable living has become an important part of the VELUX philosophy and we believe that people should be placed at the heart of property design and delivery, with careful attention paid to maximum energy efficiency, minimum carbon emissions and the appropriate use of renewable energy sources.

Keen to canvas different opinions on the matter and further develop our own thinking, VELUX recently hosted a parliamentary round table on sustainable housing.

The different viewpoints expressed at the event were fascinating and inspirational and I took away several key principles that I believe should definitely play a part in the UK's sustainable housing initiatives going forward. However, one issue in particular which united MPs and industry experts emerged: the belief that the retrofitting of eco technologies across the UK's existing housing stock could hold the key to significantly reducing the UK's carbon emissions.

The panel of 14 representatives, including Lib Dem environment spokesperson Martin Horwood, Labour MP and chair of the All Party Warm Homes Group Alan Simpson and I, were in agreement that the UK's ageing housing stock needs urgent attention if we are to meet climate change obligations, with Alan Simpson stressing that "the challenge the UK has to face in terms of climate change is not going to be determined by the new houses that we build but by what we do about the 25 million existing houses that people live in today".

However, as the panel concluded, it is clear that, to make retrofitting a reality, more work needs to be done to raise consumer awareness and to bring in meaningful financial incentives and a Government accreditation scheme to assist homeowners when installing measures such as solar thermal into their homes.

I wholeheartedly agree with this conclusion. Not until the Government puts in place a policy to address these financial barriers will we be able to make progress in what is undoubtedly our biggest challenge in the quest for sustainability within the built environment.

Of course, retrofitting will also require a culture change in the way the industry operates if the resources are to be made available to action this effectively and it is not necessarily realistic to expect Britain's house builders, architects, homeowners and legislators to agree to such a policy straight away – but I believe it is worth fighting for.

VELUX is already campaigning for greater awareness and greater integration of key eco technologies across the UK's existing housing stock as well as for new homes. Solar thermal, for example, is a simple, easy to install eco technology, which has an important role to play in significantly reducing the burden our homes put on the environment. However, we are not taking full advantage of the available products, with many unaware of the full range of products available to them.

Over 75% of the UK housing stock is suitable for solar thermal technology, yet only 100,000 homes, less than 1%, currently have this technology installed, resulting in an additional 3.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions being released into the UK's atmosphere every year.

Installing something as simple as a solar hot water system into every compatible home in the UK would equate to significant energy savings. However, if we are to see the widespread understanding and appetite for such technologies become commonplace then we need to focus on educating the nation's homeowners and offering them real, tangible incentives to ensure the future uptake of such essential technologies.

Our existing stock has to adapt to survive. Once we have made substantial progress in the retrofitting arena, we will be well on the way winning the fight against the climate change. Our new build properties are already being built to high standards of energy efficiency and the potential benefits will hopefully be complemented by a new culture of energy aware consumers who not only have the desire, but also the knowledge, to keep their carbon footprint to the minimum.