Question reference: S6W-10120
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 2 August 2022
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Current status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 25 August 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the impact would be on (a) the cost of constructing new buildings and (b) the subsequent sale price to the purchaser of the final building, of its proposal to prohibit the use of direct emissions heating systems, such as those run on fossil fuel, in new buildings from 2024.
Answer
The Scottish Government is introducing the New Build Heat Standard from 2024 in direct response to the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change on how to meet the net-zero legal obligations legislated for by the Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish Government has previously commissioned research which considered the capital costs associated with delivering zero direct emissions heating (ZDEH) technologies within new homes.
The research found that the installation of ZDEH systems ranged from £2,000 to £5,000 more than compared to a gas boiler counterfactual. However, these costs are highly variable and depend on a range of factors from the choice of system used to the nature of the construction of the individual development. It is also expected that both innovation and economies of scale will reduce the price of ZDEH systems as Scotland and many other countries increase their deployment.
Conversely, in off-gas areas, the capital costs of ZDEH systems were found to be comparable with fossil fuel alternatives (such as oil boilers).
Copies of the research papers are available here:
- Renewable and zero emissions heating systems in affordable housing projects: evaluation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- Costs of zero emissions heating in new buildings (climatexchange.org.uk)
At the introduction of these regulations, a full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) will be published – and the findings from these research reports and other relevant information will be incorporated into the final BRIA.
The sale price of a new building is a matter that is determined by each individual developer and takes into account a range of variables related to the cost of construction of the building and the local housing market.