Huhne says all new homes should meet Passivhaus standard

Chris Huhne, the secretary of state for energy and climate change, has indicated that he would like to see all new homes in the UK meet the German low energy Passivhaus standard.

Speaking at the the inaugural UK Passivhaus Conference held in London, Huhne described the energy and comfort standard as “a watershed moment in our relationship with the built environment” and said he “would like to see every new home in the UK reach the standard.”

He also added that: “We need a new paradigm in housing. Where value is measured in the running costs to 2050 and beyond”.

Huhne is not the only one proposing wider uptake of the standard. Jonathon Porritt, the founding director of Forum for the Future, has called on the UK construction industry to urgently embrace the Passivhaus standard to meet the government’s 2016 zero-carbon target.

Speaking in the foreword to Green Building Store’s new technical film ’Passivhaus low energy building in the UK’ Porritt stressed the urgency with which the construction industry needs to adopt low energy construction.

“I think people in the UK are just waking up to how far behind we are on really energy efficient housing, in comparison with other European countries,” said Porritt.

The coalition government has confirmed the zero carbon housing target for 2016. “We’re going to have to be doing a huge amount to catch up. We’re going to have to see an unprecedented wave of innovation around construction techniques and design. For me it’s really important that what’s been going on elsewhere particularly in Germany with Passivhaus is now brought in as part of that innovation cycle in the UK,” says Porritt.

Building followed the progress of the Green Building Store’s first Passivhaus dwelling in a fortnightly diary. The film is freely available to view at Green Building Store’s website www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk.