12/11/2024
In this blog, BWF Technical Director, Kevin Underwood, discusses the recent government amendments to the fire safety guidance in Approved Document B, set to take effect between March 2025 and ...
Last week saw the first meeting of the Domestic Group for Part L 2013. The discussion has given us a better idea of where the new changes will be directed, and is the spur for BWF members like yourself to propose the changes you want to see.
The group was chaired by John Tebbit of the Construction Products Association and hosted by the Zero Carbon Hub. It was attended by representatives from house builders, architects, component and material suppliers, service providers, developers of compliance tools and representatives from the relevant government departments.
The Domestic Group is one of four Working Groups considering the amendments to Part L of the Building Regulations for 2013.
As this was the first meeting of the Working Group its main purpose was to describe the environment in which the decisions regarding changes to the various building elements would be made. The key consideration is that the proposals made by the various sectors should place the performance requirements for Part L 2013 somewhere between the requirements under Part L 2010 and the targets for Zero Carbon Homes and the amendments to Part L that would be required to realise them in 2016. This time around the consultation will not include a revision of Part F, which relates to the ventilation of buildings.
The new definition of Zero Carbon for 2016 will mean that house builders will be accountable only for those carbon dioxide emissions that are covered by Building Regulations which will be emissions from energy use through heating, fixed lighting, hot water and building services. Earlier proposals that Carbon emissions under the 2013 amendment to Part L should provide a 44% reduction compared to the 2006 levels have been dropped. Other factors that will influence the decision making process are the Green Deal, the Local Standards Framework, Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2010/31/EU) and Local planning requirements such as are laid out in the London Plan. An issue, however, when we consider the 2010 amendment to Part L and their affects on new build is that very few dwellings would have been built under the new guidance. Most new build work will still be done under the 2006 or even earlier amendments.
There is one useful guide, however, and that is that dwellings constructed to level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, of which there are many, will be a close approximation so there will be some useful input from house builders who have experience of construction to Code level 3. Another point raised was that for the previous amendment the changes proposed for existing dwellings (AD L1B) were somewhat of an afterthought and that there should be a clear focus this time around. It could be the case that an elemental approach to existing dwellings i.e. U-value of 1.6 W/m2K or an Energy Rating of band C would be replaced by a calculation approach based on measurable improvements in the energy performance of the dwelling.
How do we move forward? With the options for change ranging from – do nothing now and do everything for zero carbon homes in 2016, through to – full Zero Carbon compliance now, the possibilities for change are quite large. We have an opportunity to propose the changes we would like to see. But to make proposals on your behalf I need to know your thoughts.
