Renew On Line (UK) 28

Extracts from the Sept-Oct 2000 edition of Renew
These extracts only represent about 25% of it

New UK building regs

The Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions has produced a consultation document on some proposed new building regulations for England and Wales, which aim to cut CO2 emissions from new houses by up to a quarter and save householders as much as 25% on energy bills, by raising building energy performance standards in part L of the Regulations.

Building Regulations only apply to new buildings and (some) renovations, but given that the UK is supposed to need an extra 4m or so homes, the impact could be significant. As Construction Minister, Nick Raynsford noted "Buildings produce about half of the total national CO2 emissions, and average building performance is poor by comparison with current best practice. If implemented the proposals would yield significant improvements in the energy efficiency of new buildings and also in existing buildings when they are renovated."

He went on "We anticipate receiving comments on the proposals from all interested parties, and all such comments will be considered when drafting our final proposals for amendments".

The proposed amendments to Part L of the Building Regulations go well beyond just the building structure and address the efficiency of most energy related equipment and systems. The new regulations would:

Significantly raise the performance standards for insulation in building fabric after 2 years with interim improvements applying after 6 months, and tying these standards more firmly to the efficiency of central heating boilers;

Improve standards for space heating and hot water systems controls;

Introduce standards for internal lamps and the control of external lighting in dwellings;

Introduce new performance standards for shading of windows, boiler efficiencies, air conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems, lighting fittings and energy meters in non-domestic buildings;

Introduce new performance standards for commissioning, testing, and the provision of operating and maintenance information for all buildings;

Widen the application of the technical requirements so that more types of work on the existing stock of buildings (mainly boiler and window replacement) would need to meet appropriate standards

Interestingly, the DETR notes that ‘in the Government draft climate change programme (see Renew 126) it was estimated that the prospective Building Regulations amendments would yield at least 0.25 MtC/year. This was a cautious estimate made when the proposals in this consultation had not been finalised. Indeed the estimates will not be finalised until this consultation has been completed and the proposals have been re-considered and revised in the light of the response. However, we now estimate in the draft Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) included in the consultation document that the proposals, if implemented in full, would yield a reduction in 2010 of about 1.32 MtC.’

On cost, it adds that ‘the draft Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) that is included with the consultation package indicates that the proposals will be cost-effective without taking into account any putative financial valuation of the environmental costs of carbon dioxide emissions. However there would be additional construction costs ranging from £600 to £1400 per dwelling and up to £10/m2 of gross floor area for other types of building’s".

The consultation document is at: http://www.construction.detr.gov.uk

The government should respond to the consultation in May next year and the provisions could start to come into effect 6 months later. A similar review is in progress in Scotland and in due course a review will be launched in Northern Ireland.