self-build- Viable solution to energy efficient homes!

[Ted Nicholls]

Hi All,

 

University of Westminster student trying to promote self-build as a feasible way of delivering energy efficient homes and becoming less reliant upon the big five housebuilders!

 

Please could you take the time to fill out my dissertation research questionnaire.

 

It would be very much appreciated!

 

https://goo.gl/forms/A9S0suFzzneP5QNx1

 

 

[Bitpipe]

Ted, your questionnaire is geared towards construction industry. The majority on this site are self builders so your response rate will be low.

 

Why not create something more relevant to our community and I'm sure you'll get a lot more feedback. 

[Ted Nicholls]

Yes I agree two questions are geared towards larger developers but self-builders can definitely consider fabric energy efficiency standards within their own builds. The rest are all opinions surrounding self-build.

[Guest Alphonsox]

9 minutes ago, Ted Nicholls said:

Yes I agree two questions are geared towards larger developers but self-builders can definitely consider fabric energy efficiency standards within their own builds. The rest are all opinions surrounding self-build.

 

Disagree - Most of the questions seems to refer to nZEB as a EU target. This is almost unheard of in the self-build community, which i assume explains the lack of response when you posted a similar survey a few weeks ago. (There is a quote by Einstein regarding doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result - worth looking up.)

There are a lot of people around here who would be happy to provide input on selfbuild and low energy construction methods. If you are looking for input on EU political initiatives please try elsewhere.

[Jeremy Harris]

I agree - and our new home is better than zero energy, BTW, but wasn't designed to meet a load of Eurobollocks.  It's just a well-insulated and airtight box, with effective heat recovery ventilation and a bit of zero carbon energy generation.

 

I will happily bet that few self-builders are interested in spending loads of money to get some sort of additional certification, or comply with a particular, non-mandatory standard, but far more will want to build energy efficient homes for the least cost.  Sadly, every single "standard" that's better than Part L1A costs money to prove compliance, money that I'd rather spend on making a more energy efficient home.

[Mr Punter]

I am a small (<14 units) developer and the survey does not work for me so could not complete it.  Our current project has triple glazing, terraced housing, good thermal and sound insulation and EV charge points, but this does not hit any of the buttons.

[Ferdinand]

2 hours ago, Ted Nicholls said:

Hi All,

 

University of Westminster student trying to promote self-build as a feasible way of delivering energy efficient homes and becoming less reliant upon the big five housebuilders!

 

Please could you take the time to fill out my dissertation research questionnaire.

 

It would be very much appreciated!

 

https://goo.gl/forms/A9S0suFzzneP5QNx1

 

 

 

Hi Ted.

 

Welcome to the site. I wish you luck and a future MRiCS, but to be honest this won't go anywhere.

 

Quote

My name is Ted Nicholls, I'm a third year undergraduate studying Building Surveying BSc at the University of Westminster. This survey will be used solely for research purposes and forms part of my research for my dissertation which focuses on an assessment of self-build homes in the UK in the context of the EU’s directive for nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB) plan for 2020.

 

My attitude to the 2020 EU nearly Zero Energy Buildings Directive as a context for UK self-build homes, is that it is not a context for UK self-build homes because we are leaving the EU in 2019.

 

No one - whether self-builders or construction companies - will spend any time on it.

 

And having gone through the last Zero Energy Buildings Initiative as wished on us by Mr Blair and Mr Brown, which imo was a bit of a dogs' breakfast requiring a scattergun of ideas wished on us by an out of touch Government relying far too heavily on technical gimmicks rather than quality building, I am glad that it is not coming here.

 

The only possible bit of context I can see left is for people importing their kit homes from the EU. 

 

Is it possible for you to refocus your project on something that is actually going to happen? For your interest in energy saving there is potential in:

 

1 - comparing self-build standrds with corporate build. What difference and why?

2 - perhaps perceptions of why individuals feel a need to import "low energy" kit homes rather than build them here.

3 - related to 2, my suspicion is that far too much money is being spent on expensive solutions that happen to have particular country labels on them ,which is a success for Brands over knowledge. There may also be something about a related lack of clear information concerning the UK industry and what is available.

4 - Jeremy's point above about the proliferation of planning and compliance costs is an area that needs work. Could you reframe your project around barriers to achieving high energy efficiency for self-builders and corporates? One angle would be the massive increase in people and bodies who have a right to be consulted in a Planning Application over the last 2-3 decades (this is one of my hobbyhorses). 

5 - Exploring the enforcement of building regs standards and declared designs in what is actually built. This is a Jeremy area of interest, but your target audience would probably need to be Building Standards Officers in Planning Authorities as the enforcer, and corporate builders, and self-builders.

 

I think you need a rather sharper focus, and perhaps a project redefinition if it was set up before June 23rd 2016.

 

I am sure that people here would be willing to spend a little time on advising you publicly or privately. There are also people here who could introduce you to the right industry people to interview.

 

Hope that helps a little.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited March 24, 2017 by Ferdinand

[MikeSharp01]

Hi Ted.

 

Having supervised enough dissertations in my time I appreciate that the comments from my colleagues on here won't at first site look helpful. I guess you don't have time to do a major refocus, as @Ferdinand describes but you could speak to your supervisor and see if you could add a section which looks at your dissertation's specification reflected in the self build community, which this site is a very good example. If you can see your way to looking at it like this you can drill a rich seam here with a simple targetted questionnaire for the members. HMG wants to / is promoting self build as a means to close the housing gap but the nZEB is, as my colleagues have said above, probably not for us and perhaps not the wider UK building fraternity and there is some rumblings that it may not even get a head of steam in the EU itself. As @JSHarris says his, and probably most of the self builders on here are stretching every physical, financial and intellectual muscle to build energy efficient homes in their own way.

 

In the age of free speech you could also, again subject to a discussion with your tutor - who I hope is not the one expounding the virtues of nZEB Code, set about concluding that the code is not going to hit the self builders, most of whom here are well ahead of the main building industry curve so it is even more unlikely there. You will be aware that the present government dropped the higher specification requirements out of building control legislation following pressure from the building industry around the cost of achieving it and in order to speed up the flow of houses. All of these aspects of the soft system that controls how we set about stepping more lightly on the planets resources create a quite a heady mix you can write about in your dissertation.

 

 

[Ferdinand]

Let me add a little more.

 

I think that you may gain significant value from a small number of face to face interviews. Given your position in London it may be a good plan to aim to speak to BSOs (or perhaps Planners except that fabric efficiency is a BSO responsibility) at a few Boroughs. I am thinking of at least 4 and less than 10. I have worked in commercial construction research, and we regularly did surveys *and* interviews as complementary exercises to provide context and specific insights.

 

You could include one or two questions about nZEB to expose whether it is known, and how BREXIT has affected it. And then include questions about your other related area of focus. It ought to be possible to get 45-60 minutes of time with the occasional BSO.

 

I would suggest starting with a clear hypothesis or two about the status of nZEB in BREXIT context.

 

Ferdinand

 

 

 

[Ted Nicholls]

1) What is your job role within your company?

2) How long have you been involved in the Construction Industry including any time spent studying?

3)What sector of the construction industry are you most involved in?

4)In your own words, define what you believe constitutes a self-build home 

5)What do you consider to be the main benefits of self-build homes?

6)Do you believe that self-build homes are more likely to be effective at delivering nearly zero-energy homes than traditional procurement methods?

7)Please justify your above answer.

8)Have you considered 2020 nZEB proposals for any self-build projects?

9)Have you included any renewable energies within your projects?

 

All of these are subjective answers capable of being answered by any self-builder!

 

-Have you incorporated Fabric Energy Efficiency Standards(FEES) into any of your projects ?

-What percentage of your projects are influenced by EU targets (nZEB)?

 

These questions, although the answers may be No would highlight that self-builders do not concern themselves with nZEB or any EU Directives therefore illustrating a point, therefore creating research and a subject area to discuss! Why aren't self-builder considering these directives/ proposals?

 

Some of these answers would have given a great talking point for my research but have instead been written as comments. i would appreciate it if you would take the time and voice your opinion within the questionnaire.

 

Many thanks,

[Stones]

@Ted Nicholls

 

I think other members have already made perfectly reasonable observations in respect of what you're asking. To be blunt, your last post isn't phrased in a way that will encourage many, if any to participate. Take on board the comments that have already been made if you want us to help.

[PeterW]

13 minutes ago, Ted Nicholls said:

Why aren't self-builder considering these directives/ proposals?

 

Mainly because a lot of us haven't got the faintest clue what they are about ..!!

 

Self build and small builders account for a small percentage of overall house builds in the U.K. each year, but will account for a disproportionate number of high performing properties. 

 

Key reason ..?? We are not driven by shareholder profit ..!! If I take my 15-20% profit margin from a £300k new build then it's a lot of detail work that can make an ordinary building much better just by attention to detail and improving basic materials. 

 

 

[MikeSharp01]

Ok Ted I will give it a go, I did try when you first posted but felt I was not able to answer many of the questions in such a way for it to be of value to you. To help you I have some comments on the questions set out below: (Your list does not include all your questions.)

 

1) What is your job role within your company? (Most of us are not in companies with any direct building involvement - I am a director of two companies and proprietor of another one - none of which are related to building although one of them will do the control systems. This question offers no way out for people who are not in the building industry - so you missed an opportunity to widen your respondents pool at the get go although they can put self builder in the 'other' category! Also because many here are both building professionals and self builders the nuances of this cannot be encoded in your question other than in the free text 'other' answer.)

2) How long have you been involved in the Construction Industry including any time spent studying? (This is a poorly defined question if we are not directly above and it depends what you mean. EG I was one of the 'Sons' in the family firm who built my parents home - I was 5 years old, does that mean I have been involved for 50+ years? Alternatively if I was in the business for 2 years in 1980s and have been self building now for two does that make 4? Those of the in the professional aspects of construction can answer for their professional time, the rest of us will perhaps only include time from the minute they decided to think about self building.)

3)What sector of the construction industry are you most involved in? (For many here this answer will be self build, but for some it will be both professional and self build. This will duplicate data in question 1 above. -Great for triangulation but frustrating for your respondents.)

4)In your own words, define what you believe constitutes a self-build home. (Interesting question and free text so you will get some interesting answers.)

5)What do you consider to be the main benefits of self-build homes? (Good selection of options so you should get some good answers.)

6)Do you believe that self-build homes are more likely to be effective at delivering nearly zero-energy homes than traditional procurement methods? (Most, if not all, here will strongly agree.)

7)Please justify your above answer. (Justify in what sense? Most will say that it's because they can address the details and control quality much better as they have a direct investment in making the home in line with their intentions.)

8)Have you considered 2020 nZEB proposals for any self-build projects? (Most will say no, it is not even high profile in the mainstream house builders minds so why would the self build community be interested.)

9)Have you included any renewable energies within your projects? (Most will say yes, it is quite hard these days to get a decent SAP rating without at least some PV so there will be at least that I suspect and many will have ASHP as well.)

 

You also have a number of other questions, many of which assume the respondent has built many homes, I have tried to answer as best I can. I have to make two final points:

1. nZEB won't happen in the UK unless young people like yourself can sustain the passion for it, or something like it in the BREXIT context, and win the hearts and minds of the big housebuilders. Although many here think of passive house standard as a guide others don't - self builders are a broad church!
2. Given this I am sure that all of us here would want to support your emergence into the profession as a champion of low energy and sustainable homes. I am sure we all wish you all the best for the future.

I have completed your questionnaire.

 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

@MikeSharp01, I agree with all your points, but would add that we really have no need to keep re-inventing new low, or zero, energy housing standards.  The Passivhaus Institut have a well-proven model and performance standard that has been widely used around the world for well over 30 years now.  I'd never heard of nZEB at all until this thread, yet I subscribe to Passive House magazine and tend to read (and occasionally contribute to) web sites that focus on low energy design.  To me this indicates that it's yet another standard dreamt up by someone who's out of touch with reality.  All we need to do is follow the example of countries like Ireland, who have tightened their building regs to reduce energy use and, more recently, started to introduce the PassivHaus standard for all new houses built in Dublin. 

 

It isn't rocket science, but there does need to be a great deal of work done to get house building firms to accept modern methods of construction, with intrinsically good thermal and airtightness properties, rather than persist in trying to bodge older build methods to "just" scrape through Part L1, or very often fail to comply with it, as we all know is the case.

[MikeSharp01]

9 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

  The Passivhaus Institut have a well-proven model and performance standard that has been widely used around the world for well over 30 years now. 

Absolutely agree @JSHarris. The only draw back of the Passivhaus institute is the tragedy of the commons problem were we all use the standard but don't support the evolution of the scheme strongly because the cost of certification is high and the value it adds is uncertain in the market, where the market matters to owners. In the end it will probably need government to enforce adherence to the standard which is supported by a levy on builders. Although it will increase up front costs but dramatically reduce energy bills and hence our footprint on this planet. It is heartening to see planners in the UK going down the PH route. If I get a moment I will look to compare nZEB with PH. I know that PH did influence nZEB but not sure to what extent.

[Ferdinand]

53 minutes ago, MikeSharp01 said:

The only draw back of the Passivhaus institute is the tragedy of the commons problem were we all use the standard but don't support the evolution of the scheme strongly because the cost of certification is high and the value it adds is uncertain in the market,

 

Is it not also the "rentseeker" problem ... where the standard setter is such a monkey upon the backs of the regulated that the cost features more largely in the minds of the regulated than the benefit.

 

When the extra cost of PassiveHaus certification is equivalent to e.g. the cost of multiple visits plus paperwork by Building Control, then PH certification is too expensive.

 

We clearly need a market in regulators.

 

Ferdinand

[Jeremy Harris]

The move to privatise building control was designed to produce a competitive market for regulators.  Sadly, the building industry being what it is, it's turned into a "buy your own compliance chit" market, not one where regulation is enforced.

 

This is a bit odd, as there are other regulatory areas where free market regulation works.  A friend is a retired pressure vessel inspector, who worked for a private company inspecting and certifying a wide range of pressure vessels, from power station boilers to industrial gas and compressed air installations.  From talking to him I learned that all the companies in that regulatory market take their duty to inspect for compliance above their obligation to give the customer value for money.

 

As another example, from 1997 to 2000 I was a "Notified Body" in EU-speak, as head of Type Approval of all UK maritime radar, radio and navigation aids.  I had responsibility for ensuring that any product that entered the UK market was properly tested and approved against both a raft of operational specifications and requirements, plus the EU Low Voltage and Electro Magnetic Compatibility Directives.  I worked within a semi-privatised bit of what had once been government, in that before EU regulation this work had been the responsibility of the old Board of Trade.  We charged manufacturers to independently test and certify their equipment, and were in open competition with other EU facilities, like TUV.  The fact that manufacturers were paying us didn't stop us failing their kit if it was non-compliant.  I can well remember the conversations with the larger radar manufacturers when they tried damned hard to buy an approval.  We had to charge competitive rates to stay in business, but our USP was that UK approval was seen as having far more weight in the market than approval granted by some of the smaller EU states.  In particular, ship owners in the US were very keen to fit UK approved kit, as it made life easier within their own national regulatory regime.

 

So, why is it that the open market for building control has produced such a high rate of non-compliance, amounting in many cases to an apparent total lack of proper inspection?  We've seen a large number of well-publicised examples of these failings in new homes, yet no action seems to be taken against building control bodies, why is that? 

 

I know that in the maritime environment the regulators are deemed to carry a great deal of responsibility.  When giving evidence at a Scottish Fatal Accident Enquiry I well recall the lawyer acting for the families of the victims trying his damnedest to pin some blame on me, for having signed the Type Approval certificate for an EPIRB (Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon) that had not sent a signal (via satellite) to the MRCC at Kinloss until several hours after the ship sank.  It turned out that the device had become trapped in the nets, and only surfaced sometime afterwards, so it wasn't a certification issue.  Shouldn't building control bodies be held to account in a similar way, when they sign off houses that a blind man could see were non-compliant with the regs?

 

BTW, to the OP, I've tried to complete the questionnaire for you, but like Mike, have found it barely applicable to self-builders.  I have used the free text boxes to try and make things clearer, but there were several categories where I couldn't give any answer, because of the way the question was phrased, and because there was no "doesn't apply" option.

[Markblox]

Reviving this old thread,  we backed out of a plot in Somerset as Covid arrived and have been sheltering in Portugal throughout.  We have decided to claim residency here and found a great place where we both would be happy to live.  Ironic as we are both Brexit voters!  

 

Anyway,  we have decided to buy a place here in two or three years and was looking at the building regs here.  Prior to 1951 regs didn't exist and the building stock is full of old inefficient building with damp as a major problem.  I first read the term nZEB only a couple of days ago and discovered that throughout the EU, any domestic building which  attain permission to build from 1/1/21 has to comply with this standard.  What is the standard?  Depends on the country apparently, if you have more renewables you can have less insulation is how I see it.  On balance though, it must be a good thing though, just a pity the UK Gov done a massive U turn under Cameron. We should be leaders, not following the pack.