2010 crucial year for sustainable housing agenda, says VELUX

29 October 2009

'With important decisions lying ahead, 2010 will be a critical year for the sustainable housing agenda', was the message to MPs and industry stakeholders at a Parliamentary Reception, hosted by VELUX, in the House of Commons this week.

The Rt Honourable Nick Raynsford MP also spoke at the event, emphasising the importance of advising and educating consumers at a grass-roots level, to ensure energy efficient homes perform at their best.

As we strive to create a low carbon economy, which will rely greatly upon improving the energy efficiency of our homes and buildings, it is essential that the Government continues to consult the house building industry and takes decisive action to set the correct targets, says VELUX. It must also move forward with providing guidance to the industry and engaging with consumers.

However, while the success of low energy homes will require a step-change in homeowner behaviour, VELUX believes that people should not have to significantly alter their lifestyles in order to adapt to sustainable housing design. Buildings should be designed with their inhabitants in mind and should take modern lifestyles, health and wellbeing into consideration – not just the need to reduce carbon emissions.

Kevin Brennan, Head of Sustainability at VELUX, comments: "The house building industry has already made commendable progress towards delivering low carbon, sustainable homes. This said, with further to go to clearly define the targets we are aiming for, 2010 will be an extremely busy year for the Government and the industry. It is also time to turn our attention to educating the public on the behavioural changes low energy homes will require and the benefits they will receive.

"However, we need to be careful that sustainable homes do not become synonymous with compact, dingy boxes that offer no natural sunlight or ventilation, cutting carbon emissions at the expense of comfortable and healthy lifestyles. In order to succeed and provide a lasting legacy for future generations, they need to be places that people want to live in.

"At VELUX, we believe that one experiment is more powerful than one thousand expert views and for this reason we are building two low carbon homes in Kettering in order to prove that it is possible to build energy efficient housing that is both appealing to the consumer and is affordable and easy to be replicated by the volume house builder. The findings of the post-occupancy monitoring will be published to help inform the sustainable housing agenda going forward."

The Parliamentary Reception concluded VELUX's Sustainable Living Campaign for the current year. Previous events that saw the company engaging with MPs and industry stakeholders included parliamentary panels and round tables on sustainable housing issues, a Daylight Symposium to discuss the role of sunlight in building design and Fringe Events at the three Party Conferences.

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