Many housebuilders claim that newly built, well-insulated homes are between four and eight times more energy-efficient than older properties - but new research to be published tomorrow reveals that the construction of new homes emits nearly three times more carbon dioxide than previously estimated.
The government's Code for Sustainable Homes demands that all new homes in Britain will have to be zero-carbon in emissions terms by 2016, but the new study, carried out by the Empty Homes Agency charity, suggests that developers have overestimated the amount of overall CO2 saved by building energy-efficient homes. Its report, titled 'New Tricks With Old Bricks', says reusing and refurbishing existing and empty properties could actually save more carbon dioxide than constructing new ones.
'The government advocates the building of new homes as a means of creating properties which cut carbon emissions, but the initial construction process alone accounts for a very large proportion of carbon emitted over a building's lifetime,' says Henry Oliver, policy adviser at the Empty Homes Agency. 'We're not suggesting that developers shouldn't build new houses. But we're saying that the refurbishment of existing properties could be a better way of reducing long-term CO2 emissions.' |
