I don't think this is getting the coverage it needs. Scottish government to require passivhaus standard for all new build homes. This is big. Really big. Growing out of lessons from the 70's oil crisis. Passivhaus buildings use very little energy to heat, or to cool. We've known how to do this for decades. It's gross negligence from all western governments that the same is not true of all new builds in the developed world.
My first reaction to this is that it's about 30 years too late. But right now I'm just glad that at least someone has turned up to the party, even if it's later than ideal.
Building energy efficiency is something we really need to look into as we try to cut emissions here in the west. It's up there with reducing private car ownership for impact on emissions reductions. Imagine being able to live in a home that is warm, comfortable, and can be heated for next to nothing. Welldone Scotland.
Thinking about this some more. I find myself wondering if people have considered the full implications of what this means beyond the home itself. Having a home that you can heat for a few cents per day, but then parking a 3t death cage out front with a 100kwh battery in it seems to kinda defeat the point. As we divest ourselves of car dependence our future homes need to be built with this in mind, developers should be required to include public transport provision in their new builds too...