Rising energy costs? This architect in Leeds can futureproof your home

Insulation is not visible. It may not sound exciting. However, having the right standard of insulation makes a significant difference to your home’s temperature performance.

That’s because insulation prevents heat loss in winter and keeps temperatures stable. Even with a small single-storey house extension, we can bring in improvements by embedding insulation that meets the latest requirements. It often ends up being the warmest part of the property!

The team at our architect in Leeds will ensure your project meets every single one of the stricter insulation standards required by Part L building regulations.

We’re also anticipating an update to these regulations in 2026, which ensure homes produce less carbon emissions. And we will help the homeowners we work with meet these requirements to use less, and spend less over time.

When it comes to larger home remodelling projects, we can look at the house’s energy performance holistically. We recommend combining features to exceed building regulations.

These can include:

• Solar panels with battery storage, so you can retain the extra energy generated for later use.
• Air source heat pumps transfer rather than generate heat and are more efficient than boilers. All new build homes will require them.
• Underfloor heating, which distributes heat more evenly.
• Rainwater harvesting also reduces resource use.

These features will require an upfront cost, but are efficiencies that will pay you back in the future.

As architects in Yorkshire, most of the homes we work on date back to the mid to late 20th century, or even earlier. These types of homes were not built with energy efficiency in mind – coal fires would have been the source of warmth.

Now that lifestyles have changed, updating these homes to Part L regulations alone can save 75 per cent on CO2 compared to the previous regulations.

However, there is a way to make even more of an impact…

Passive House design is the gold standard when it comes to ultra-low energy use. Studio J has an expert in this area, our architectural technologist, Tom Booth. He is certified in Passive House design, which originated in Germany and requires an extra qualification to practice.

Only some new builds in suitable locations can qualify as Passive House homes, requiring super-insulation, airtight construction, high-performance windows and doors, and heat recovery ventilation. This ensures maximum comfort, indoor air quality and very low energy use.

It’s also a myth that you can’t open a window in a Passive House home. You can, but there’ll be less need to.

While Passive House design is not always possible, we can embrace some of its principles to apply to existing houses. This is called EnerPHit and it aims to bring a home as close as possible to Passive House levels through a more flexible, realistic pathway.

This retrofit work must still meet certain requirements. It can include insulation, replacing windows or installing HRV systems.

It always results in a drastic reduction of energy consumption, making your home cheaper to run and easier on the planet.