Road to Net Zero Carbon
The government has set a legally binding target to reduce the UK’s net emissions by 100% by 2050 compared with 1990 levels. This is known as the ‘net zero target’. In 2022, emissions from residential buildings accounted for a fifth (20%) of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. The Climate Change Committee, the government’s advisory body, said the UK will not meet its emissions targets “without near complete decarbonisation of the housing stock”.
For a building to achieve Net zero carbon, energy efficiency is considered a first priority. Heating for homes and workspaces makes up almost a third of all UK carbon emissions. Meaning we will have to improve the energy efficiency of housing and nondomestic properties across the UK. In order to improve our energy efficiency we must reduce our energy demand so that homes and workplaces require less energy to heat, making them cheaper to run and more comfortable to live in.
But How do we do this?
The “Passivhaus” concept is seen as the most effective way of improving energy efficiency of a building by following a ‘fabric first’ approach. This approach focuses on the envelope as a first priority. The concept of Passivhaus standard is to achieve thermal comfort by having a high performance building fabric which can minimise heat loss. It is designed to deliver a super insulated and airtight building envelope that reduces space heating demands resulting in a more energy efficient building.
In order to achieve Passivhaus certification, buildings must meet certain performance targets. Achieving all of the performance targets, can result in a 75% reduction in heating and cooling energy requirements compared to standard building practices. The heat loss of the building is reduced so much that it hardly needs any heating at all. Instead passive heat sources like the sun, human occupants, household appliances and the heat from the extract air cover most of the heating demand. The remaining heating demand can be supplied through the installation of a Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery system (MVHR).
Dragon I Panel
Dragon I Panel is a Modern Method of Construction (MMC) which adopts a ‘Fabric First’ approach to building with the goal of creating a thermally efficient envelope to maximise energy efficiency.
In 2016, Dragon I Panel was used to form the building envelope of a 100% electrically powered home in Heswall, Wirral (UK). The aim was to create a family home that would meet Net Zero Carbon (NZC) standards at a lower cost than a traditional build.
This house was later monitored after its compilation to assess the real world performance of the DIP home. One of the key points highlighted in the study is that by adding on site renewables, this property has the potential to achieve Net Zero Carbon.