Third of new homes failing to meet energy standards, warns expert

Almost a third of new homes in some areas are failing to meet the required energy saving standards, an expert has warned.

By Jon Swaine Last Updated: 7:38PM GMT 30 Jan 2009

Philip Sellwood, the chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said the Government's sustainable buildings code - which sets gradually tightening limits on carbon dioxide emissions from new properties - was not being adequately enforced.
He described the situation as a cause for "real concern" and said extra investment and action was needed.
Gordon Brown has said that by 2016 every new home built in Britain will be carbon neutral, through improved energy efficiency and use of renewable power.
The Government estimates that more than 20 per cent of Britain's carbon dioxide emissions come from homes.
It believes reducing households' fossil fuel consumption is key to meeting a 80 per cent reduction in emissions from 1990 levels by 2050, which was made legally binding in the Climate Change Act last year.
Yet Mr Sellwood said that in some areas, up to 30 per cent of new properties would fail existing regulations.
"Our building regulations in the UK are among some of the toughest in Europe, but they are extremely poorly enforced as far as energy efficiency goes," he told the BBC.
"To me, this highlights a real gap between the aspiration to do something appropriate and the actual delivery on the ground.
"It is simple things like people not fitting windows or doors correctly. Instead of getting energy efficiency, we are getting energy inefficiencies.
"When you think that we are putting a lot of reliance on meeting our CO2 reduction targets by increasing the toughness of our building regulations, this is a real concern."
Mr Sellwood said local authorities must be given more money to help residents make their homes energy efficient and to increase the number of building inspections.