The Zero Carbon Hub will this week deliver to government its report on a proposed minimum energy standard to government. The standard is set to be “challenging but practical” and is seen as a key step to delivering zero carbon homes from 2016. It is designed to be included in an updated Code for Sustainable Homes. “Our aim is to develop a national energy efficiency standard that is both suitably stretching but also realistic from a business perspective,” chief executive of the Zero Carbon Hub Neil Jefferson said. As Housebuilder went to press the Hub was consulting with industry on the proposals. The Hub is recommending that builders are asked to meet an energy output per square metre depending on building type. For flats and mid terraced houses the standard will be 30 – 35kWhr/sqm/yr, 35 – 40kWhr/sqm/yr for semi-detached houses and 40 – 45kWhr/sqm/yr for detached houses. <br>