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It doesn’t stop there. Mortgage lenders too are looking at how they can actively support buyers that make energy efficient and money-saving purchases by factoring energy bill savings into mortgage calculations.

In January 2022, the government announced all homes and businesses will have to meet rigorous new energy efficiency standards to lower energy consumption and bills. In its response to a consultation on the Future Homes Standard, the government set out plans to radically improve the energy performance of new homes. All homes will need to be highly energy efficient, with low carbon heating and be zero carbon ready by 2025. These homes are expected to produce 75-80% lower carbon emissions compared to current levels.

As recently as February 2023, The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced new rules to ensure that major new developments in the city help to clean up the Capital’s air. Large-scale developments and masterplans must now improve air quality, with developers being required to consider air quality at every stage of the design process. New guidance will reduce the use of wood and solid fuel burners in new developments and builds are underway with the guidance adopted in a TfL development in Wembley Park.

So why all the focus on energy efficiency in housing? In 2021, the National Housing Federation, voice of England’s housing associations, released a report that showed England’s homes produce more carbon emissions every year than is produced by all of the country’s cars. Their research calculated for the first time that England’s 25 million homes – which produce 58.5 million tonnes of CO2 every year. There are 27 million cars in use in England, emitting 56 million tonnes of CO2 annually. The primary culprits were the emissions from homes which are so high due to a combination of gas central heating and poor insulation, meaning heat easily leaks out of homes which then require even more gas to keep them warm enough.

Marc Faure runs KFH’s Land and New Homes division which provides expert knowledge and advice to landowners, property developers, investors and private individuals from the planning to the sale of a new development. He is clear about the case for greener new build.

“Sustainable new homes are an efficient way of guaranteeing some upgrades in terms of energy performance that older properties may struggle to deliver. Owning a new build home comes with other benefits too, from the freedom to design elements of your home (or select fittings for example) as you please, to the long-lasting durability of the building materials.

“These kind of properties are designed and constructed in a way that minimises their impact on the environment and maximises their efficiency and durability. They are built using environmentally-friendly materials, energy-efficient technologies, and sustainable design principles to reduce energy consumption, waste, and carbon emissions.”