EcoHomes

EcoHomes was an environmental rating scheme for homes in the United Kingdom. It was the domestic version of the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method BREEAM, which could also be applied to a variety of non-residential buildings. It was replaced by the Code for Sustainable Homes in April 2008.^[1]

EcoHomes Assessments fall under one of four versions, Pre-2002, 2003, 2005 or the final 2006 version. It was not possible to compare homes built under one revision of the standard with homes built under another.

EcoHomes 2006

In particular, the 2006 version of EcoHomes increased the standards for energy efficiency, following the 2006 revisions energy efficiency requirements of the Building Regulations. It also incorporated a number of other changes.^{[citation needed]}

Under the scheme, credits were first given for standards reached in the following areas:

• Energy
  • Ene 1 - Dwelling Emission Rate
  • Ene 2 - Building fabric
  • Ene 3 - Drying space
  • Ene 4 - Ecolabelled goods
  • Ene 5 - Internal lighting
  • Ene 6 - External lighting
• Transport
  • Tra 1 - Public transport
  • Tra 2 - Cycle storage
  • Tra 3 - Local amenities
  • Tra 4 - Home office
• Pollution
  • Pol 1 - Insulant GWP
  • Pol 2 - NOx emissions
  • Pol 3 - Reduction of surface runoff
  • Pol 4 - Renewable and low emission energy source
  • Pol 5 - Flood risk
• Materials
  • Mat 1 - Environmental impact of materials
  • Mat 2 - Responsible sourcing of materials: basic building elements
  • Mat 3 - Responsible sourcing of materials: finishing elements
  • Mat 4 - Recycling facilities
• Water
  • Wat 1 - Internal potable water use
  • Wat 2 - External potable water use
• Land Use and Ecology
  • Eco 1 - Ecological value of site
  • Eco 2 - Ecological enhancement
  • Eco 3 - Protection of ecological features
  • Eco 4 - Change of ecological value of site
  • Eco 5 - Building Footprint
• Health and Wellbeing
  • Hea 1 - Daylighting
  • Hea 2 - Sound insulation
  • Hea 3 - Private space
• Management
  • Man 1 - Home user guide
  • Man 2 - Considerate constructors
  • Man 3 - Construction site impacts
  • Man 4 - Security

A weighting system is then used to designate the home as Pass, Good, Very Good, or Excellent.^{[citation needed]}

All homes funded by the Housing Corporation or by English Partnerships were required to meet the 2006 Very Good standard. Previously a Good designation sufficed. It was expected that this requirement would be replaced by compliance with the Government's Code for Sustainable Homes.^{[citation needed]}

Criticisms

EcoHomes was criticised by some for getting the balance wrong between the various elements, and for valuing low embodied energy over the whole life performance of the building.^{[citation needed]}

Early versions were criticised for allowing illogical trading-off between areas of the standards, so that, for example, homes with poor energy efficiency standards could still receive a high designation.^{[citation needed]}

EcoHomes for refurbishment

EcoHomes could also be used for major refurbishments such as conversion projects and change of use and was specified for these types of projects, in the interim, whilst the BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment scheme was being developed. Since the start of the Domestic Refurbishment scheme, EcoHomes for Refurbishment registrations ended on 1 July 2012 and for transitional purposes, officially expired on 1 July 2014. This applied to the whole of the UK, including Scotland.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Association for Environment Conscious Building
• Earthship Biotecture
• Energy efficiency in British housing
• Environmental design
• Geosolar
• Good Homes Alliance
• Green building
• Offgassing
• Sustainable development
• Sustainable design

Compare to-

• LEED in the United States and Canada

References

External links

• EcoHomes
• Low carbon in Highlands
• Solar and Wind Energy Resources
• Earthship Biotecture: Super EcoHomes, Completely Sustainable and Independent
• The Home User Guide
• Green Homes using Carbon Offsets
• Carbon Reductive Eco Homes
• Recent changes to BREEAM 2008 (video), A technical presentation on implications for the built environment
• Vietnam Eco Homes

News

• Spring 2006, Green Building Press, Discontent over the Code for Sustainable Development

• v
• t
• e

Construction industry of the United Kingdom

• Construction
• Economy of the United Kingdom

Companies

Consultancies and support services	Amey Arcadis Architecture firms Arup Atkins Faithful+Gould Bierrum Buro Happold Capita COWI Egis ERM GHD Jacobs Mace Mitie Mott MacDonald Ramboll Stantec Sweco Systra Tetra Tech Turner & Townsend Wood Group WSP
House builders	Current Barratt Bellway Berkeley Bloor Boot CALA Homes Charles Church Countryside Crest Nicholson Gleeson Keepmoat Lendlease McCarthy & Stone Miller Muir Persimmon Redrow Taylor Wimpey Telford Homes Tilia Homes United House Vistry Defunct Ashtons Beazer Broseley Bryant Homes Comben Homes George Wimpey Ideal Homes Ilke Homes McLean Homes Stewart Milne Group Taylor Woodrow Westbury William Leech Wilson Bowden
Integrated construction	Current Balfour Beatty BAM Construct BAM Nuttall Costain Galliford Try Interserve Keller Kier Laing O'Rourke Lendlease Mace McLaughlin & Harvey Morgan Sindall J. Murphy & Sons Sir Robert McAlpine Robertson Taylor Woodrow Construction Tilbury Douglas VolkerFitzpatrick Wates Willmott Dixon Defunct Alfred McAlpine Birse Buckingham Carillion Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Clugston Connaught plc Dawnus HBG (and Higgs and Hill) Holland, Hannen & Cubitts Leonard Fairclough & Son Linford Mowlem Rok Shand Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Company Sir William Arrol & Co. Trollope & Colls
Suppliers	Current Aggregate Industries Artex Ashtead Breedon Brogan Buildbase Cemex Forterra Heidelberg Materials UK Hope Cement HSS Hire Jewson Kingspan Kingspan Off-Site London Brick Mero-Schmidlin Pilkington RMD Kwikform Saint-Gobain Shepherd SIG Speedy Hire Tarmac Tarmac Building Products Tata Steel Europe Travis Perkins Wolseley Defunct Blue Circle Industries Redland RMC Tarmac

Government and
regulatory bodies

• Chief Construction Adviser to UK Government
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
• Department for Business and Trade
• Health & Safety Executive
• Infrastructure and Projects Authority
• Local planning authority
• National Infrastructure Commission
• Planning Inspectorate

Industry
bodies

• Actuate UK
• British Constructional Steelwork Association
• BSRIA
• Build UK
• Building Engineering Services Association
• Building Research Establishment
• Chartered Institute of Building
• Centre for Digital Built Britain
• Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
• Civil Engineering Contractors Association
• Construction Clients' Group
• Construction Industry Council
• CITB
• Construction Products Association
• Constructing Excellence
• Electrical Contractors' Association
• Electrical Contractors' Association of Scotland
• Electrical Safety Council
• Federation of Master Builders
• Home Builders Federation
• Institution of Civil Engineers
• Institution of Structural Engineers
• National Access and Scaffolding Confederation
• National Federation of Builders
• National Federation of Demolition Contractors
• National House Building Council
• Refined Bitumen Association
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
• Scottish Building Federation
• Society of Construction Arbitrators
• Strategic Forum for Construction

Sustainability

• Association for Environment Conscious Building
• BREEAM
• Code for Sustainable Homes
• EcoHomes
• Energy efficiency in British housing
• Good Homes Alliance
• UK Green Building Council

Other

• British Construction Industry Awards
• Building
• Building control
• Building regulations in the United Kingdom
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