Reducing the carbon footprint of homes
Did you know that the majority of the carbon footprint of your home is decided before you even start living in it? You can be as careful as you want with gas and electricity to keep your daily emissions low. However, it'll always be a huge challenge to offset the embodied carbon. The most effective solution is to change how we build, including the materials and design. We want to have a closer look at the topic here. Then, if you want an input from a top architect in London, you can come to us.
Figures
The Future Homes Hub has just released the New Homes Sector Net Zero Carbon Transition Plan. The aim is to support housebuilders so they can reduce emissions and make positive steps towards achieving net zero targets. Crucially, it offers some guidance on addressing the environmental challenges in the construction industry.
One of the most interesting parts of the plan is it has figures for the whole-life carbon footprint of an average home. Their finding, using emissions data from 2022, is a typical property generates 235 tonnes of carbon. A massive 61% of this is from building the property. Of that, 50% is coming from the materials and 6% is from energy consumption during construction.
According to the figures, the remaining 39% of the lifetime carbon footprint of a typical home is from people living in the home. The majority of this is the energy it takes for heating, lighting, and to power various appliances.
What to do?
As a top architect in London, we support various clients to create beautiful homes. One thing that is increasingly important is designing sustainable properties with a small carbon footprint. It is the new sign of wealth, being able to say you have a green, energy efficient, net zero home that is gentle on the environment.
The Future Homes Hub's figures show the best way to make a real difference to improve the carbon footprint of homes is to look at how we build them. Small changes can make a massive difference here, including choosing low carbon materials where possible. Even if you need to use resources with a large amount of embodied carbon, such as concrete and steel, you can design to use as little as possible to minimise this.
Some design changes can go a long way too. For example, reducing the amount of hard surfacing can have a massive impact. This includes everything from walls to driveways. In fact, going back to building terrace housing rather than detached and semi detached could be a big help for larger developments.
A big thing to think about is how to make the frame of homes more efficient. If you can save material, you'll dramatically reduce the carbon footprint and the cost too. Putting the time in to addressing inefficiencies can have a really positive impact.
Talk to a passionate architect in London
Coffey Architects can provide fantastic support if you are looking to create a green, sustainable, high end home. We have a real passion for residential architecture, designing homes that people are excited to live in. Most importantly, we ensure the designs reflect their personality, values, and lifestyle.
So, speak to us if you want some help from a top architect in London. We can design to reduce the embodied and operational carbon footprint of properties by exploring different designs, materials, and more.