Adrian Wild, MD of construction software developers HBXL, provides a simple view of building sustainably and the reaction to the governments potential plans to scrap the Code for Sustainable Homes.
“I spent many years building new homes in the 80s and 90s before setting up
HBXL and introducing
EstimatorXpress to the market.
What I found when building new houses was that ‘quality sells’. If you build good quality, well insulated homes and market them properly to the customer then they will always sell, at a slightly higher price – quickly!
Customers may not have been so interested in energy performance back when I was building… but with rocketing bills, they surely are now… I know I am!
I have read reports predicting that monthly energy bills in the coming years could begin to cost more than monthly mortgage statements, so energy performance is going to be a key player in future years as the cost of gas and electricity rises.
You don’t have to be an eco-warrior to understand that it makes sense to build homes that save energy… lets face it we don’t want to rely on other countries for our gas for ever! Neither do we really want Fracking in our back yard if we can avoid it; and even if we do, surely it makes sense to make the resource last centuries, rather than a few decades?!
In the same way it surely also makes sense to manage our water resources properly and harvest renewable energy…. It will save money in the long run and generate more jobs.
The Code for Sustainable Homes is a bit of a beast but it does give a framework around which we can work to and ensure that we build sustainable homes, in a quality way and as energy prises rise, the demand for these types of houses will be more prevelant….so adapt and simplify by all means if it is seen as “Red Tape”… but don’t bin it as the principle behind the code is a good one!
