The report from the Future Homes Hub on the whole life carbon impact of new homes looks at three options for house builders, two variations on masonry and one of timber frame, finding that timber has lower carbon intensity whether a home was end-terrace, mid-terrace, or detached.
While the report makes clear that there is no silver bullet when it comes to reducing embodied carbon, it will help homebuilders and designers to understand and reduce the whole life carbon impact, with clearer options for updating their house types to meet the Future Homes Standard.
“The models developed by Future Homes Hub demonstrate timber frame construction has ~3-5% lower upfront embodied carbon intensity than masonry construction for a similar thermal and energy performance – across all archetypes,” said Charlie Law, head of sustainability, Timber Development UK.
“This reinforces the findings of Timber Development UK, along with many independent researchers, universities, and built environment organisations across the country that timber – when designed well and sourced from sustainable forests – outperforms other build methods on carbon.
“The report also showed that there are numerous opportunities for timber to greatly reduce it’s carbon intensity – particularly around insulation, by selecting lower carbon alternatives to widely used materials like the mineral wool – which was used as the baseline in this study.
“Both ourselves and our members are passionate about accelerating a lower-carbon future using wood, and models such as those generated by the Future Homes Hub reinforce that material selection – together with intelligent design and circular principles – will be crucial to this transition.
“We strongly recommend that all engage with this Future Homes Hub report, together with their free WLC Assessment Tool which helps inform early-stage decision-making – which is the most impactful time for carbon reduction in the build process.”
Key learnings
- Understanding Whole Life Carbon is crucial: The Future Homes Standard Options report delves into the embodied carbon impact of new homes, helping homebuilders and designers to understand and reduce the whole life carbon impact, as they consider options for updating their house types to meet the Future Homes Standard.
- Future Homes Standard Implications: Fabric specification options being considered by homebuilders to meet the operational carbon performance of the FHS have broadly similar upfront and whole life embodied carbon impacts.
- No ‘silver bullet’ solution: There is no single solution to reducing embodied carbon – a multifaceted approach is needed. Whilst design and construction-system improvements offer opportunities to reduce embodied carbon, the report concludes that significant decarbonisation of construction products is essential to minimise embodied carbon impacts.
- Tool comparison and validation: The report is based on the Hub’s Whole Life Carbon Conventions for New Homes (an agreed set of assumptions relevant for the new homes sector). It is imperative that all analysis is based on a common set of conventions. This creates a simple way or comparing designs and means that tools that work to these conventions give aligned results.
- The Hub’s WLC Assessment Tool: The tool provides a consistent, quick, and accessible way to estimate and compare the whole life carbon of different design options, enabling informed early-stage decision-making. Designed for developers, architects, and designers, this free Microsoft Excel Online add-in simplifies embodied and whole life carbon calculations, allowing users to rapidly assess the impact of various construction systems and specification choices.
- Upfront vs. Whole Life Carbon: The report breaks down both upfront and whole life carbon impacts, showing that the majority of whole life carbon emissions occur during the initial material and construction stages (A1-A5).
- Call to Action: Empowered by the report’s insights, explore the Hub’s Whole Life Carbon Assessment Tool (or other suitable tools) to analyse your own Future Homes Standard design options, compare material choices, and engage your supply chain in sourcing low-carbon products.
Find out more
To further discuss the findings and implications of this report, the Hub are hosting a webinar on Friday 28 March at 1pm, as part of their Lunch & Learn webinar series. This session will provide an opportunity for industry professionals to engage with homebuilders and gain deeper insights into the report’s key findings and practical applications. Register for the webinar at: Future Homes Hub Webinars.
You can download the full report here.
