Code for Sustainable Homes Energy and CO2 Emissions

Discusses the targets related to CO2 emissions and how close we are to actually meeting said targets in the UK.

The Code for Sustainable Homes sets standards for the environmental performance of dwellings, and comprises nine categories. The first category, 'Energy and CO2 Emissions', seeks to minimise the operational energy used within the home, and the resulting emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Under the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, the core of the commitment required was for developed countries to reduce their emissions by 5%, based on 1990 levels of emissions. The three principal means of implementing Kyoto are emissions trading, clean development mechanisms and joint implementation. In particular, the emissions trading scheme means putting a cap on carbon and giving everyone an allowance. People who don't need the full allowance can then sell it on to those who need more, so a market is created, leading to more innovation and efficiency.

The 'Energy and CO2 Emissions' category in the Code for Sustainable Homes aims to push people to build low carbon homes, so that they're more likely to use fuels which emit less carbon, and insulate their properties so that less carbon is emitted.

The 'Energy and CO2 Emissions' category is probably the most complicated or extensive of all the categories in the Code. The Code levels are rated at level 1 to 6, sometimes referred to as level 1* to 6* rating. Where level 1 is a poorly performing house in terms of its emissions, level 3 equates to the old, phased-out BRE EcoHomes 'very good' rating, and level 6 is effectively a zero carbon property. The objective of the Code therefore is to reduce carbon emissions and increase the Code level rating. In order to do this there are several aspects of the carbon-producing and energy-consuming functions of the building to consider; these are the Dwelling Emission Rate (DER), the building fabric, internal lighting, drying spaces, energy labelled white goods, external lighting, low or zero carbon (LZC) technologies, cycle storage and the home office.