Energist - Part L Compliance Experts - Blog

Here are some interesting lines from the Code for Sustainable Homes guide: (Credit: CLG)

‘Water is becoming more scarce at the same time as population and demand for water is increasing. The development of practical ways to reduce water demand is very important.’

When building a new house in line with the Code, there is a mandatory requirement that you need to prove the overall water use of the dwelling. This can range from 120 litres per person per day for a Code 1 assessment, to 80 litres for Code 5.

On the 5^th of April this year, the Water Efficiency Calculation was extended into the mainstream of Building Regulations.

Part G in England and Wales Building Regulations covers water sanitation and efficiency. A new paragraph has appeared in this update which requires ALL new houses and any EXISTING building which is being converted into a dwelling to have a Water Efficiency Calculation completed. A target of 125 litres of water, per person, per day has been set.

So, in line with Energist’s one-stop-shop attitude to all things energy-saving, we will shortly be launching Water Saving Calculations into our list of Part L services. For more information, call our Customer Support department on 08458 386 387.

In order to complete the calculation, we will need to know the flow rate of the taps which are to be fitted, the size of the bath-tubs, the flushing volume of the toilets, and whether devices such as dishwashers or water softeners are to be installed. The calculation also has provisions for rainwater and greywater harvesting systems.

If the calculation shows the dwelling is expected to exceed the 125 litres target, the dwelling will not comply with the latest version of Part G and technically should not be signed off by Building Control, although we are expecting there to be some leniency for the few first few months of this regulation being in force.

As mentioned, as calculation has an effect on the Code for Sustainable Homes assessment – it will also have an effect on the standard SAP assessment from October of this year: If you are able to prove your new house gets a tick for water efficiency, you will get a better result in your SAP report. The logic being that a home using less water will need to heat the water less, saving power.

 In recent weeks, we’ve seen a lot of curiosity in the marketplace around BREEAM… so in typical blog fashion, here’s a crash course:

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method in case you were wondering!) [Thanks to Martin for confirming that!] is used on commercial buildings, and has a lot of similarities with the Code for Sustainable Homes on the residential side of the building industry.

The Government is planning to tighten up on the current planning regulations so that all new commercial developments after 2019 must be able to show the buildings will be zero carbon. The aim is to achieve this by 2016 on the residential side.

So how does BREEAM help to do this? There are five levels of BREEAM starting with Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding. The higher BREEAM rating you get, the better level you can reach.

A BREEAM calculation is split into ten categories which cover areas such as Health & Wellbeing of the occupiers, Transport links, plans for dealing with waste, ecology…. Each one of these categories carries with it several criteria, and each one of these criterion carries a certain amount of credits. The more criteria you agree to (and are able to prove!), the more credits you get, with then gives you a better BREEAM rating.

Here’s an example from the Energy section: ‘One credit is available where energy-efficient external lighting is specified and all light fittings are controlled for the presence of daylight.’ If your building complies with this, you get one Energy Credit which will give you 0.79 of a percentage point.

Another example from the Transport section: ‘Up to five credits are awarded on a sliding scale based on the assessed building’s accessibility to the public transport network.’ Depending on the information you can provide us about the transport links of the site, you can earn up to five Transport credits – each one will give you 0.8 of a percentage point.

The credits which are available to you will depend on the type of building you are constructing. A prison will clearly have different needs to an office, so the credit criteria will change accordingly.

Also, some credits are mandatory, depending on which level of BREEAM you are aiming to achieve. This credit is from the Health section: ‘One mandatory credit where evidence provided demonstrates that the risk of waterborne and airborne legionella contamination has been minimised.’ If you are unable to meet this demand, you will automatically fail the BREEAM assessment – all mandatory credits must be achieved.

When all of the percentage points are added up – anything over 30% will get you a ‘Pass’ rating (the first level). 85% will get you to the ‘Outstanding’ level.

Energist’s assessment team is fully qualified to help you with all your BREEAM, CSH and Part L calculation needs. 08458 386 387

Everyone at Energist is chuffed to bits with our end of term report! The feedback we’ve had from Stroma (the regulatory body for the Code for Sustainable Homes) is that our reports are “well written and presented“.

Well done to our sustainability team - top of the class!

Why not see what we can do for you - call us on 08458 386 387 or visit our website www.energistuk.co.uk

PassivHaus originated in Germany where the 1st PassivHaus was built in 1991. PassivHaus is a standard for energy efficiency and PassivHaus buildings have very low energy use.

Unlike the Code for Sustainable Homes, which focuses on reducing CO2 emissions, PassivHaus is about reducing energy demand and is becoming a common building standard throughout Europe.

At Energist we have a team of fully qualified Energy Assessors who can guide you through the PassivHaus process, from initial building design to final certification. We can also provide technical advice and training on all aspects of PassivHaus.

For more information on PassivHaus and how Energist can help you achieve compliance call us on 08458 386 387, or email info@energistUK.co.uk or check out our website www.energistuk.co.uk/residential/passivhaus

Energist’s crack team of Code Assessors were called on recently to help out with a last minute Code for Sustainable Homes Assessment!

We got the call when the building was at first fix stage and got stuck straight into the project for CSH Level 3. Even though the handover of the building was imminent, we were able to travel to the property with just one day’s notice to carry out the Post Construction Review before the occupants moved in!

Because our involvement was at a late stage in the project, it became apparent at the Review that the project was not going to meet Code Level 3. However, with our help the customer is now hoping to achieve level 2.

For the best possible Code Level we would always recommend involving our Assessors at the earliest possible stage, ideally at Planning. Call us on 08458 386 387 to take advantage of a Free Pre-Assessment on your next Code project.

For details on our Code service, visit www.energistuk.co.uk/residential/code-for-sustainable-homes