Future-proofed net zero homes

HERE'S a lot to consider when you're buying a new home and it’s not just about location and affordability.

- By Deborah Stone

For increasing numbers the developers’ environmental record is also important and the Government's Future Homes Standard, gradually being introduced this year, is beginning to take effect.

Although recommendations for the Future Homes Standard were thrashed out during both the previous and current governments, details have only been released over the past few months and include rules such as installing solar panels on all new homes as standard. Changes to building regulations will make it easier to install electric vehicle charging points and both heat pumps and solar panels to new and existing homes.

More contentious is the removal of a rule that air source heat pumps must be at least one metre from property boundaries and that heat pumps for housing will be bigger than previously allowed.