Code for Sustainable Homes

The Government's Code for Sustainable Homes was launched in 2006 is intended as an environmental national standard to provide industry guidance in the design and construction of sustainable homes. It will serve as guidance in the future direction of building regulations in relation to the implementation of renewables and sustainable energy products. Technologies such as solar thermal, solar PV (photovoltaic), heat pumps, domestic combined heat and power and rainwater harvesting will be use in order to achieve particular code levels and the associated sustainability rating. The sustainability rating range from one star to six stars, with one star being the entry level above the building regulations and six stars being the highest rating, a "zero" carbon home.

The Code will bring numerous benefits:

• Quality; the Code can be used by homebuilders to demonstrate the sustainability performance of their homes and to differentiate themselves from competitors.
• Flexibility; the achievement of the levels is not set out so homebuilders can innovate to find the most effective solutions.
• Lower Running Costs; social housing providers and consumers will find that homes built to this code would have lower running costs and this help fuel poverty.
• Environmental Impact; homes built with Code standard will reduce the carbon footprint and will ensure that future housing stock will have a lower negative impacts on the environment.

You can download relevant literature in our on line brochure section.

Further details are available on the website www.communities.gov.uk.