The CCG Net Zero Home

The climate crisis is this generation’s greatest challenge and CCG is pioneering the Scottish housing sector’s transition to net zero with the ‘Net Zero Home’ building standard.

CCG’s experience in the applied research of net zero dates back to 2019. Our business acknowledged that with changes to building regulations, brought forward by the amended Scottish Government’s Climate Change Act, we had to have a practical, scalable and affordable solution that wholly addressed the removal of direct-emissions or “polluting” heating systems from new build homes which will now be prohibited from April 1^st of this year with the introduction of the New Build Heat Standard.

Our goal was to establish how our current resources and use of technologies could address future changes to building standards by targeting (regulated) operational net zero carbon, where greenhouse gas emissions associated with regulated operational energy (that which is consumed by the building and its controlled fixed services and systems such as heating, hot water, cooling, ventilation, fans, pumps and lighting) are reduced to rate of zero or less.

Working with our partners MAST Architects and energy and sustainability consultants, Carbon Futures, CCG developed a range of house types that were tested using SAP and Dynamic Simulation Modelling against Scottish Building Regulations. With Fabric First as our base principle, we analysed various renewable technologies to understand their practical and scalable use as well as their capital cost, and in 2021, the CCG ‘Net Zero Home’ was born.

The Net Zero Home building standard is designed to a ‘Platinum Level’ of carbon reduction and uses the combination of CCG’s enhanced ‘iQ’ Timber System and our own, PVCu enhanced window and door sets to deliver improved airtightness characteristics with an average space heating energy demand level of 20 kWh/m2. 

We then utilise our internal M&E expertise to choose a suitable heat source which, since our launch, has seen us utilise everything from air-source and ground-source heat pumps to exhaust air and district heating.

Ventilation is used to create a comfortable level of airtightness and maintain clean air flow. The combination of these measures not only wholly addresses current building standards but also achieves and surpasses upcoming legislative requirements; a future-proofed solution to support Scotland’s transition to net zero by 2045.

The CCG Net Zero Home. The homes of the future, today.