16 - The potential impact of policy and legislation on the energy demands of UK buildings and implications for the electrical network

Summary

Introduction

The EU has promoted energy efficiency in the built environment through policy and legislation such as the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) (EU, 2002) and also through funded research projects including several focused on the definition, validation and dissemination of the EU Passive House standard for new and renovated buildings. The UK and its devolved parliaments have developed their own policy and legislation aimed at reducing energy use and carbon emissions associated with the built environment largely in synergy with the EU. In this chapter we review a selection of the EU and UK legislative approaches.

Building on this review, the types of new and renovated buildings that these policy initiatives will tend to promote are illustrated; and an analysis of some of these probable future buildings is undertaken to illustrate the likely changes in energy demands that will result. Some key factors which have large future uncertainties are identified and potential consequences of these uncertainties projected. Finally we discuss the potential increased use of heat pumps for heating and cooling and the increased deployment of photovoltaic and CHP (combined heat and power) generation systems and discuss some of the potential challenges for the generation, grid and distribution network.