Edinburgh - Code Assessment - 0131 614 0108

The office that covers this area is: Glasgow

Phone Number: 0131 614 0108 Email: edinburgh@e2consultants.co.uk

A Code Assessment - A Code Assessment in Edinburgh

The A Code Assessment in Edinburgh is the environmental assessment method for rating and certifying the performance of new homes; it is also known in Wales as part of the Carbon Reduction Commitment Scheme. In England it was launched in December 2006, by, the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG and became operational in April 2007 as the new national standard for sustainable design and construction of new homes. Since the 1st of May 2008 the developer of any new home in Edinburgh a must have a mandatory rating against the Code.

The Code measures the 'whole home' as a complete package, assessing its sustainability against nine categories

The UK Government has committed to a reduction in carbon emissions of 80% by the year 2050. Improvement of all the new and existing housing stock in Edinburgh will be instrumental in achieving this target. The key to achieving these carbon reduction targets, for new and existing dwellings in Edinburgh is by being more energy efficient. By having a Code Assessment, a level of reduction can be established.

The whole construction and house building industry must start building more sustainable properties in Edinburgh .To initiate this; the Government has introduced the new national standards for the use in the design and construction of new homes in Edinburgh . The Code Assessment for Sustainable Homes or the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) is the means of assessment.

It is a compulsory requirement for every new dwelling in England to achieve a rating or score against the Code assessment (C4SH). Information on this rating is to be made available to all potential buyers through a (HIP) Home Information Pack. This indicates whether the home has been built to a specific level of the Code, and if so, which one.

The Code assessment measures the 'whole home' sustainability of a new dwelling in Edinburgh against the nine categories of sustainable design; this produces a rating of the 'whole home' as a complete package. Each category is then further divided into further components which are individually assessed against a performance target and awarded the relevant credits for achievement.

It is a compulsory requirement for all new dwellings in England to have undertaken a Code assessment .This Information on the Code rating must be made available to potential purchasers via the Home Information Pack (HIP).The Code rating will state at what level the home has been built to.

Code Assessments (C4SH) have a rating system from one (1) to six (6) stars to show the overall sustainability performance of a new dwelling. One is the lowest rating and six the highest. A six star rated home is also classed as being zero carbon. Code assessments in Edinburgh set a minimum requirement for energy and water usage at different levels of the Code.

Code is measured by a weighted scoring system over 9 specific categories, this, when scored defines which code level the dwelling has reached.

Code at level six, is an aspirational standard which requires zero carbon emissions to be produced from the dwelling. Codes definition of a zero carbon home is a dwelling where the net carbon dioxide emissions resulting from ALL the energy used in the dwelling is at zero or better.

Code assessments in Edinburgh can only be carried out by a qualified and accredited Code Assessor. Assessments are generally a two-stage process: after Pre assessment, with the Design Stage, which leads to an interim certificate. This is followed by the Post Construction Stage, where the final certificate is issued. Evidence has to be collated and used to determine the rating via the number of credits that are awarded for each element. A summary report is submitted by the Code Assessor to the Code Service Provider for quality assurance and certification.

The levels of energy efficiency for the code (standard percentage better than Part L1A of the 2006 Building Regulations) are:

1. level 1 - 10%
2. level 2 - 18%
3. level 3 - 25%
4. level 4 - 44%
5. level 5 - 100%
6. level 6 - zero carbon.

All proposed sites, dwellings and developments requiring an assessment should be registered with the Code Assessors accreditation body as early as possible. A proposed development can only be registered against the current version of the Code. Sites which have been registered in Edinburgh against a previous version can be re-registered under the current version of the Technical Guide. Each registration is valid only for a maximum of 5 years between the expiry of the Technical Guide version it was submitted against and the submission of the design stage report.

If you require free initial advice, consultancy services or a definitive quotation on a A Code Assessment assessment in Edinburgh call one of our Edinburgh consultants at our Edinburgh Office on 0131 614 0108 or Email edinburgh@eliteenergy.org.uk.

Our other services include:

Code Assessment can also be known as:
Code for Sustainable Homes, Sustainable Homes, C4SH, CSH, Code for Sustainable Homes Daylight Calculation,