Briefing: The code for sustainable homes

Lessons learnt by the first four developers to design to the Code for Sustainable Homes on the Building Research Establishment (BRE) Innovation Park, have led to the production of some useful tips for those working on code-compliant projects. New guidance for housebuilders on delivering homes that comply with the code for sustainable homes has been published as a four-part information paper covering building fabric; energy and ventilation; water; and architecture, construction and sourcing. The guidance is based on lessons learnt from the experiences of housebuilders Ecotech, Hanson, Kingspan Offsite and Stewart Milne Group, which were the first companies to design and build to the code between November 2006 when the code was published and the Offsite exhibition in June 2007.