Northern Ireland housebuilder calls for increased energy efficiency regulations for new homes
A trailblazing housebuilder has urged the Northern Ireland Assembly to adopt increased energy efficiency regulations for new homes. Family owned Fraser Millar is one of NI's most progressive housebuilders, developing new homes to Passive House standards.
Now they are urging politicians to champion these standards in all new builds to help the region reach cut household emissions and reach net zero.
Passive House homes are designed to need less heat, but remain at a consistent 20 degrees throughout the day leading to reductions in energy costs.
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The firm's request followed a visit to their 219-unit Lancaster Park development in the Four Winds from the All-Party Group on Climate Action, which was organised by Sustainable NI.
Fraser Millar director, John Carrigan, said: "We [were] delighted to... host local MLAs and councillors and increase their awareness of the economic and environmental benefits of this innovative alternative to conventional housebuilding. Passivhaus principles are setting a new benchmark for energy efficiency in the housing market, which supports homeowners and far exceeds Northern Ireland’s current building regulations.
"[They] use 70 to 90% less energy than conventional homes with more than 90% of the heat generated within the home, staying in the home, potentially saving residents hundreds of pounds on heating bills every year.
"Not only that, but they are designed to promote higher air quality due to continuous ventilation and a heat recovery system that reduces pollutants and dust which can be beneficial to those with allergies. None of these principles are difficult to implement or construct, it is just about the attention to detail and doing it right."
Fraser Millar says it is currently the only company in NI gathering data allowing it to monitor the performance of its Passivhaus homes and says the statistics show better results than they expected. Recent studies report that typical standard new build homes are performing between 52% and 98% worse than predicted at design stage.
Meanwhile their data from Lancaster Park shows their Passivehaus homes to be performing better than predicted at design stage with a four bed, four person home, spending an average of £75 a month for the heating, hot water and electric used.
Mr Carrigan added: "We like to think of ourselves as trailblazers, constantly challenging construction standards in Northern Ireland, particularly in relation to low energy homes. With the adoption of Passivhaus principles we believe we can help to revolutionise the housing sector in the future, delivering better for the environment through lower carbon emissions and significantly reduced energy bills for customers.
"A typical new build house emits 6,000 tonnes of carbon per year, whereas our houses emit less than 0.5 tonnes. The figures we have produced to date speak for themselves and when extrapolated across Northern Ireland, can only mean positive and impactful results for government and homeowners alike."
Sustainable NI director, Nicola Hughes, added: "Given the targets set for Net Zero in 2050, it is vital our political representatives are fully briefed on all possible solutions to help deliver a zero-carbon future for Northern Ireland. Passivhaus technology is an innovation that offers a positive impact on the environment in terms of construction but also economically for householders at a time when costs are increasing across the board.
"We are delighted to collaborate with Fraser Millar on this occasion and look forward to some affirmative action from the members of the All-Party Group following such an informative visit to Lancaster Park."
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