'Cool Rule' to mandate cooling systems in homes

Taunton and Wellington’s MP, Gideon Amos, is calling for a ‘Cool Rule’ to be applied in new homes.

The Liberal Democrat spokesperson for housing and communities wants it made compulsory for properties to be fitted with cooling systems, either air conditioning or reversible heat pumps.

Mr Amos said: “We have spent generations building homes to keep the cold out; now we must urgently adapt them to survive the heat.

"The UK housing stock was designed for a cold climate problem that no longer matches the risk profile the sector now faces.

“As heatwaves become a recurring feature of the British summer, overheating in homes has moved from a niche design consideration to a live public health and productivity issue, and building regulations have not kept pace.

“The scale of the problem is no longer marginal. Recent UK heatwaves have been linked to an estimated 2,700 excess deaths, concentrated among older people and those with existing health problems.

“And UK hotels are even seeing surges in bookings from parents with babies desperate to escape overheated homes.

“The economic impact is similarly significant: ITV reported that, in June alone, the UK lost 24 million hours of work to heat, equivalent to roughly three million full working days.

“For a sector already under pressure to demonstrate value for money in housing investment, this is a cost that policy has largely left unpriced.”

Gideon added: “For decades, housing standards have rightly focused on thermal retention: insulation, airtightness and heating efficiency as the primary routes to comfort, health and lower bills.

“That focus was correct for the risk profile of the 20th Century. It is no longer sufficient on its own.

“Current building regulations, which restrict mechanical cooling to ‘exceptional circumstances’, were not written with today’s summer temperatures in mind, and arguably now work against occupant safety in a meaningful share of the housing stock.

“Recent studies, including by the University of Manchester, have also now shown that fears mechanical cooling adds unacceptable energy demand and emissions, are not borne by the facts.

“Hot summers are producing excesses of clean electricity in the UK which is going unused.

“In addition, shading provided by simple tree planting delivers ten times the cooling effect needed to outweigh any heat emitted from the installations involved. 

“The time has come to demand a statutory minimum standard – a ‘Cool Rule’, requiring all new homes to be fitted with cooling provision, whether through air conditioning or reversible heat pumps.

“This would make homes capable of maintaining a safe internal temperature of around 20°C during extreme heat events.”

Gideon said that, for existing homes, the most practical delivery mechanism would be to broaden the current Warm Homes Grant into a Better Homes Grant, funding cooling measures as essential features alongside insulation and heating upgrades for those least able to adapt their homes unaided.

“The sector has spent a generation optimising for heat retention.

“The next phase of housing standards needs to treat overheating with the same regulatory seriousness that has historically been applied to underheating," he added.

"It's time for a new 'Cool Rule'. Every home that needs it must have access to cooling systems that guarantee a liveable temperature.

"In this escalating heat, surely a thermometer that rises to 20 is plenty for our babies, our grandparents and our workers alike."