The construction industry plays a significant role in the economy and presently has an annual output of £115 billion in the UK. Whilst modern methods of construction are still deemed necessary to meet the growing demands for homes and commercial buildings, businesses in this sector face significant challenges if they are to meet new government regulations, such as the Code for Sustainable Homes, which can be downloaded at:

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/code_for_sust_homes.pdf

In this Code, as a preparation to the net-zero carbon home envisaged for 2016, much higher levels of energy and environmental performance are expected than currently being delivered by the industry. This can be achieved through a combination of improved building practice; building and site water management and sustainability; higher levels of insulation; improved glazing systems; and new and renewable energy technology integration, either individually or on a district-wide basis.

The opportunities for Northern Ireland businesses within the construction and manufacturing sectors are therefore significant.

What are the business opportunities?

The main areas of opportunity in this area include:

• new build requirements to meet the code for sustainable homes
• building retrofit for installation of energy efficiency measures such as insulation, glazing  and better heating controls
• new low carbon technologies such as solar thermal, photovoltaics, biomass boilers and heat pumps
• control systems for renewable energy integration.

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Find out how the Invest NI Sustainable Development Team could help boost your business performance.
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