Thursday 9 January 2020

New rules for low carbon heating in Scottish homes

New regulations to ensure all new homes in Scotland use renewable or low carbon heating from 2024 are to be drawn up by the Scottish Government.

The rules will also be phased in for non-domestic buildings given consent to build from 2024 as part of several initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help tackle the climate emergency.

The project, which will run alongside a £30 million investment in renewable heat projects, will contribute towards Scotland’s target for net zero emissions by 2045 and an interim goal of achieving a 75% reduction by 2030.

Scotland’s Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “It’s becoming increasingly clear that the pace of decarbonising Scotland’s domestic and non-domestic buildings has to increase significantly to achieve those aims and emissions from our buildings will have to fall close to zero.

“We will ensure that new homes and buildings across Scotland meet the challenge of the climate emergency, combining the action we need to take on climate change with our ambition to provide affordable, warm homes.”

The Scottish Government is also reviewing the energy standards that are included in building regulations to improve the energy efficiency of new builds and include measures in support of the move towards low carbon and renewable heat.