How did the Code for Sustainable Homes rate a home?

The Code awarded credits across nine categories and converted them into a rating from Level 1 to Level 6. Level 6 was the highest standard, a zero carbon home.

What was required for Code Level 6?

Code Level 6 required a zero carbon home, with no net carbon dioxide emissions from all energy use. The home also needed very high standards in the other categories.

What were mandatory standards in the Code for Sustainable Homes?

Mandatory standards were minimum requirements a home had to meet to achieve a given level. Energy and water use carried mandatory minimums at every level.

Why were some Code standards mandatory while others were tradable?

Mandatory standards guaranteed a minimum performance in the most important areas. Tradable credits let designers choose how to earn the remaining points.

What are the nine categories of the Code for Sustainable Homes?

The first five categories are energy and carbon dioxide emissions, water, materials, surface water run-off and waste. The other four are pollution, health and wellbeing, management and ecology.

CCEA A-Level Environmental Technology 3930

Fossil Fuels

Topic overview Coal, oil and gas in modern society Reserves, lifespan and accessibility Fossil fuel combustion and the IPCC evidence Carbon trading schemes Fossil fuel demand, emerging economies and fuel security Environmental impacts of fossil fuel use

Global Action on Energy Conservation and Climate Change

Topic overview Sustainable development and climate agreements Emissions and energy efficiency targets for 2020 Renewable energy and demand reduction in policy Nuclear power as an alternative

Macrogeneration

Topic overview Conservation of energy and the simple generator Thermal power stations and steam turbines Direct and indirect renewable electricity Electricity transmission through the National Grid Smart grids and interconnectors Combined heat and power

Microgeneration

Topic overview Microgeneration technologies Benefits of home and community microgeneration The heat pump cycle and coefficient of performance Air source and ground source heat pumps

Energy From Wind

Topic overview Horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines Kinetic energy, wind power and the Betz limit Power curves, rated output and energy losses Swept area, blade length and turbine mass Air density, hub height and turbine siting Power control, yawing and survival speed Choosing a location for a commercial wind farm

Energy From the Sun

Topic overview Solar radiation, tracking and concentrating solar power Flat plate and evacuated tube collectors Sizing a domestic solar thermal system Photovoltaic cells and semiconductor wafers Types of photovoltaic module compared Planning regulations and solar incentives Passive solar design in new and existing buildings

Energy From Biomass

Topic overview Defining biomass and its main categories Energy crops grown for biomass Advantages and disadvantages of biomass fuel Combustion, woodchip and fuel quality Gasification and syngas Biogas and commercial anaerobic digesters

Energy Storage

Topic overview Intermittency and reliability of renewable supply Why renewable energy needs storing Pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage Where energy storage is most beneficial

Plastics for the Future

Topic overview Crude oil as a fuel and a feedstock Refinery gases and the making of polymers Persistent plastic waste and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Toxic gases from incinerating plastics Biodegradable, photodegradable and compostable plastics Testing photodegradable plastic against polythene Bio-derived polyethylene and a sustainable plastics future

Renewable Energy Investigations

Topic overview Desktop research on renewable energy technologies Choosing an investigation and its variables Apparatus and risk assessment for energy practicals Accuracy and reliability of energy measurements Presenting and analysing energy data Evaluating a method and site-based recommendations

Sustainable Development

Topic overview Population growth and demand for resources The I = PAT equation and the role of technology Ecological footprints, carbon footprints and One Planet Living

Waste Management

Topic overview Landfill dependence and the landfill tax Waste types, priority waste streams and EU directives The waste management hierarchy Recycling at a Materials Recovery Facility Landfill decomposition, methane and leachate Engineered landfill: dry tomb and bioreactor designs

Waste to Energy Technologies

Topic overview Embodied energy Incineration with energy recovery Digester design: solids content, residence time and staging Stages of anaerobic digestion and biogas CHP Composting and catering waste

Land Contamination and Remediation

Topic overview Contaminated land, risk and traditional remediation Bioremediation principles and bioreactor systems Micro-organisms that degrade named pollutants Bioremediation benefits and genetically engineered microbes Phytoremediation of metals and other elements Phytoextraction with Indian mustard and alpine pennycress Biohydrometallurgy and phytomining of ores

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Topic overview Hydrogen as a fuel: properties and storage Hydrogen production: steam reforming, electrolysis and photocatalysis How a fuel cell works and the PEM cell Alkaline, phosphoric acid, molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells Fuel cell applications and the challenges of hydrogen

Transport System Challenges

Topic overview Four key challenges for future transport New vehicle technologies and their infrastructure Bioethanol production and the heat energy of ethanol Biodiesel and the biofuel debate Strategies to reduce transport demand

Energy Performance of Buildings

Topic overview Energy conservation and residents' behaviour Insulation, air tightness and glazing U-values and the heat flow equation The zero carbon homes hierarchy BREEAM, the Code and upgrading existing homes

Emerging Technologies

Topic overview Tidal stream and tidal barrage power Wave energy converters Environmental impacts of wave and tidal energy Smart materials and smart systems Carbon capture and storage Geo-engineering, direct air capture and bio-photovoltaics

Sustainable Urban and Rural Communities

Topic overview Energy and buildings in sustainable urban developments Transport, waste and brownfield sites Water, drainage and urban green space Energy, water and waste for isolated rural dwellings Local food and communication technology in rural areas

The Code for Sustainable Homes

Topic overview Purpose, levels and assessment of the Code Energy, carbon dioxide and water categories Materials, surface water run-off and waste categories Pollution, health and wellbeing, management and ecology categories Measuring the performance of an existing building Performance profiles, improvements and evaluation

The Code for Sustainable Homes

Purpose, levels and assessment of the Code

3 things to know
A2 2

Overview

The Code's Levels 1 to 6, mandatory and tradable standards, its nine categories, assessors and design-stage and post-construction assessments, its withdrawal in 2015, Energy Performance Certificates and BREEAM.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Numbers

What was the Code for Sustainable Homes, and how did it rate a home?

Key term

What did Code Level 6 require, and what were the Code's mandatory standards?

Numbers

What was the Code for Sustainable Homes?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What was the Code for Sustainable Homes?
Model answer
The Code for Sustainable Homes was a national standard for rating the sustainability of new homes. The Code was launched in December 2006, came into use in April 2007 and was also applied in Wales and Northern Ireland.
2
How did the Code for Sustainable Homes rate a home?
Model answer
The Code awarded credits across nine categories and converted them into a rating from Level 1 to Level 6. Level 6 was the highest standard, a zero carbon home.
3
What was required for Code Level 6?
Model answer
Code Level 6 required a zero carbon home, with no net carbon dioxide emissions from all energy use. The home also needed very high standards in the other categories.
4
What were mandatory standards in the Code for Sustainable Homes?
Model answer
Mandatory standards were minimum requirements a home had to meet to achieve a given level. Energy and water use carried mandatory minimums at every level.
5
Why were some Code standards mandatory while others were tradable?
Model answer
Mandatory standards guaranteed a minimum performance in the most important areas. Tradable credits let designers choose how to earn the remaining points.
6
What are the nine categories of the Code for Sustainable Homes?
Model answer
The first five categories are energy and carbon dioxide emissions, water, materials, surface water run-off and waste. The other four are pollution, health and wellbeing, management and ecology.

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Fossil Fuels

Global Action on Energy Conservation and Climate Change

Macrogeneration

Microgeneration

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