Energy efficiency 'requires better regulation'

27 September 2007

Britain's new homes are far more energy efficient than 20 years ago, but building regulations must be more strictly enforced if further progress is to be made, according to an environmental expert.

Nicholas Schoon, the editor of environmental policy and business journal the ENDS Report, said there has been a substantial advance in energy efficient housing in recent years.

This has been brought about by regulations that mean new homes must be built with double-glazing and cavity and wall insulation, he continued.

However, Mr Schoon is concerned that despite the government's commitment to reducing carbon emissions from domestic properties, official bodies are not ensuring that all builders stick to the regulations.

"The way the builders build [houses], they build them fairly shoddily and so their performance is not very effective," claimed Mr Schoon.

He added: "There is meant to be [regulation] but it clearly isn't working."

A report published by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology in 2005 claimed a third of new homes did not meet the required energy efficiency standard and that the UK's housing stock is some of the least efficient in Europe.