Green homes on the rise: up to 60% more eco homes to be built in the next three years

Though the UK currently lags behind much of the world when it comes to building green homes, the global outlook is good, according to a new study

In the next few years almost two thirds more green homes could be built across the world, if industry predictions are correct.

The World Green Building Trends 2018 Smart Market Report, which surveyed 2,000 build industry insiders, including architects, engineers and builders from across the world, projects that by 2021 green housing projects will have risen globally by as much as 60%.

Chris Nelson, President, Commercial HVAC for Carrier, one of the sponsors for the study, said: “The fact is, green buildings provide a triple win – delivering measurable benefits for building owners, occupants and the public from reduced operating costs, improved indoor air quality and reduced energy consumption. The trends uncovered in this report reflect what we’re seeing in our business – building green is good for the public health, the environment, and the bottom line.”

The UK is currently in joint 13^th place out of the 20 countries ranked in terms of building green homes. Australia comes top of the class, followed by China and then Ireland.

Green building in the UK is moderate, with 27% of respondents saying the majority of their projects are green, although 40% expect most of their build projects will be green by 2021.

The main trigger for building greener homes in the UK is client demand, followed by environmental regulations, which respondents believe will drive a higher number of these builds.

Issues holding green builds back in the UK include a lack of client demand at present and also the high costs that need to be paid out initially, which can take quite some time to recoup – on average seven years.

However, there appears to be a real want to go greener and 70% of UK respondents say reducing energy consumption is a reason for going green. Lowering greenhouse gas emission is also one of the main reasons for building green homes in the UK and Ireland.

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As well as being good for the planet and encouraging more sustainable living, the evidence suggests that going green is also good for our pockets.

“Among the most compelling elements of the data are the strong business benefits reported for both new green buildings and green renovations/retrofits of existing buildings,” the report states.

“The findings since 2012 have clearly demonstrated the value of investing in green. For example, there has been a steady growth since 2012 in the number of owners who see a 10% or greater increase in asset value for new green buildings compared with traditional ones.”

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