Energist - Part L Compliance Experts - Blog

Over the coming weeks we’ll be examining the upcoming changes to SAP and SBEM in more detail, which will hopefully give you a bit of a head start when these tougher regulations kick in come October 1^st.

This week we’re travelling north of the border, and looking at the changes which are going to be imposed on Scotland when the new Section 6 goes live – this will also be on October 1^st in line with the new SAP methodology and the new Part L.

The biggest change to Section 6 is the Target Emission Rate which is being tightened. Overall, the emission rate is being lowered by 25%, but this percentage will vary depending on the type of dwelling being built (so some houses will need a 30% reduction compared to current figures, some will only need 20%, but the national average will be 25%). This is known as the ‘Aggregate Method’ for calculating the Target Emission Rate and is being used by the new SBEM method in England and Wales.

Air Leakage Testing is another big change – but this isn’t coming into play just yet. Air tests are now commonplace at new developments in England and Wales; they are currently voluntary in Scotland. From May 2011, air tests will become compulsory for small dwellings, followed by all dwellings in October 2011 – around 5% of new houses will need to be tested.

Limiting U-Values are being reduced – walls will need to achieve an average U-Value of 0.25, ground floors will need to be 0.2, roofs 0.18 and glazing / rooflights 1.8 – these figures are lower than what is required in England and Wales.

To make things slightly more confusing, U-Values are different if you are planning a conversions project to create a new dwelling – the most noticeable change is a maximum U-Value of 1.6 for all windows, rooflights and external doors. Extension projects will fall under a third band of U-Values!

Thermal bridges are going to affect Scottish SAP Calculations more than ever before, assessors will need to look more closely at areas of a building where insulation overlaps. The Accredited Construction Scheme from the Energy Savings Trust gives more information about what building practices are required in order to comply with this section.

The minimum efficiency of heating systems is being increased – boilers running on mains gas, oil and LPG must be A-Rated for all new developments – oil combi’s can be B-Rated.

When it comes to lighting, three quarters of all internal light bulbs must be low-energy, and 100% in communal areas, such as stairwells of flats.

As this list of highlights shows, the new Section 6 is going through some substantial changes in a bid to reduce carbon emissions in Scotland. To find out how Energist can help you with future developments, call our Customer Service team on 08458 386 387.

As regular Energist blog readers will be aware, we’re currently bringing you weekly updates on the changes to Part L, which will effect SAP and SBEM calculations.

These changes are coming into play in October… or are they?

It was recently announced in Building Magazine that the Home Builders Federation (HBF) had written to Andrew Stunnell, the Building Regulations Minister, requesting that the introduction of the new Part L be delayed by 6 months to allow the industry more time to adapt to the changes.

To make sure you are fully up to date with all the facts, we have queried this information with one of our accreditation bodies, NHER. We currently expect Part L 2010 to be introduced – as planned – on the 1^st October 2010, as the Communities and Local Government (CLG) has not indicated otherwise. Our assessment software to be completed and approved before this date, which means any projects being handled by the Energist assessment team will be dealt with without disturbance or delay.

As there has been no announcement from CLG regarding this article, we will continue to hold Part L 2010 training seminars and provide guidance on how to pass the new SAP and SBEM regulations on the basis that the Part L changes will come into force on October 1^st.

If any official statements are made, we will of course issue an update here, on our site and inform all of out clients. Regardless, we believe it’s best to prepare for this deadline and find the date has been moved, rather than leaving ourselves and our customers caught short without the information and knowledge needed to comply.

If you’d like any more information on the changes to the Part L Building Regulations please give us a call on 08458 386 387 to see how we can help.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be examining the upcoming changes to SAP and SBEM in more detail, which will hopefully give you a bit of a head start when these tougher regulations kick in come October 1^st.

This week we are focusing on air testing – an area which we’ve already featured on this blog, so here’s recap:

For the last five years in England and Wales it has been advisable to have a test completed on a newly constructed building to measure how air tight it is. This is a feature of Part L and can make a large improvement to a SAP or SBEM calculation if a good air test is recorded.

The test itself has many names… ‘Air Leakage Tests’, ‘Air Permeability Assessments’, ‘Air Tightness Testing’… whatever you want to call it, it’s a measure of how much air is escaping or entering the building through the building fabric.

The air test itself isn’t changing with the new regulations, but there are some important areas you need to bear in mind.

Firstly, the amount of air tests which are required is being increased. Officially, around a quarter of all new dwellings need to be tested when built. Any development which is registered after the October 2010 date will need to comply with the new Part L, which means around half of new dwellings should be tested. It’s fair to say that, in reality, this figure will be lower and Building Control departments will retain their discretion on which plots and how many are tested.

Commercial developments remain the same. Any building with a floor area larger than 500 sqm must be tested – anything smaller can be tested in order to achieve a lower EPC rating, but this isn’t compulsory.

The other big change is the ‘confidence factor’. Currently, if a new dwelling isn’t tested, the SAP assessment is based on the value which a builder claims they can achieve. So if a builder has achieved an air test of 6 on a previous house, the SAP for the new house can also use the same figure.

From October, if any plots are not tested, the SAP calculation must be based on the average air test value on the site, plus two. So, if you have five new houses, have two tested, one result is 9.5 and the other result is 7.6, the three other plots will be assumed to have an air leakage figure = (9.5+7.6)/2 +2 = 10.55… the highest figure allowed is 10 which means your remaining plots will no longer comply with Part L.

A good rule to remember is that individual plots must achieve an air leakage rate better than 10, the site average must be better than 8.

And just to get some scope on this, Germany has a figure around 5, Scandinavian countries are around 3 and the Passivhaus standard would expect to reach around 0.5. Air tests are being phased into Scotland next year.

For more information on this, or to arrange for an air test, contact Energist UK for a free quote on 08458 386 387.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be examining the upcoming changes to SAP and SBEM in more detail, which will hopefully give you a bit of a head start when these tougher regulations kick in come October 1^st.

This week we are going to cast a watchful eye over emission factors. But first we need to know what these are, and why we’re talking about them…

In the depths of the SAP and SBEM calculation methods, the amount of power used on heating, hot water, lighting and general appliances is worked out in kilowatt hours. This figure needs to be converted into kilograms of CO2 in order to calculate the Design Emission Rate.

Every fuel type (electric, gas, oil etc) has an emission factor, which is a set value used to convert between energy use and emissions. For example, under SAP2005 the emission factor for mains gas is 0.194 – so, for every kilowatt of energy used by mains gas, you produce 194 grams of CO2.

This figure takes into account the amount of CO2 which is produced in the process of getting the fuel from the source (usually under the sea bed) to your home… so that includes refinement at power stations and transportation of the fuel (through tankers in the case of gas and liquid, or through pylons in the case of electricity).

Under current regs, grid electricity has the highest emission factor at 422 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour – this explains why electric heating usually comes out with such a poor SAP rating.

Fuel types with low emission factors perform much better in SAP, such as Biomass, wood logs and woodchips (25 grams per kilowatt) – wood is treated as being nearly carbon neutral because it will only give off the same amount of CO2 ass the tree captured during its life.

The emission factors are being changed under the new regulations so they are based on more accurate, up-to-date figures.

The biggest shift is with grid electricity… it’s being made much worse jumping from 422 grams to 517 grams per kilowatt – if that doesn’t sound like much, think of the amount of kilowatt hours per year you get through by heating your home with electric panel heaters – your emission rates are going to jump by a quarter!

Oil is increasing by 12% and LPG by 5%. Wood based fuels are changing – some will be more favourable, some will be worse – but  these are going to have a minimal effect given the emission factors are already very low.

New fuels are being introduced to encourage builders to consider heating systems running on rapeseed oil, chip fat and geothermal energy (although we’re not sure how many people will be looking to heat their home via volcanic activity!)

This also works in reverse, if you produce your own electricity, the emission factor will be more favourable for you by around 7%.

For more information about emission factors, and how this will relate to the real world, let Energist UK look after your Part L needs, or book us for a training seminar in the regulation changes.

Contact 08458 386 387 for more information.

Firstly, I feel the need to offer huge ‘Congratulations’ to the brave team from Energist who completed a charity abseil last weekend.

MD Sarah Fenwick, sustainability expert Rosemary Bailey, Stuart Clark from the CSH team and Laura Pitcher from our Customer Service department managed to raise more than £1,100 for the Winston’s Wish charity – an organisation which helps bereaved children.

The abseil was down the face of the Eagle Tower in Cheltenham – the tallest tower block in the city stretching up fifteen storeys.

It’s not too late to donate! There’s always somebody in the Energist team looking to raise money for one charity or another. Keep in touch with us and we’ll let you know our upcoming fundraising events.

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Elsewhere in Cheltenham this week, Energist teamed up with solicitors, Rickerby’s, to offer a free training seminar covering BREEAM Communities and an update on the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment.

The morning was attended by a mix of fifty architects, surveyors, lawyers and people from across the construction industry, keen to find out more about how the new BREEAM scheme will effect the planning and development of future sites.

Attendees were also given an update on the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (previously known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment) which was launched in April, and is a plan to raise awareness in large organisations about energy saving measures and to encourage changes in behaviour and infrastructure.

In July, Energist will be hosting a training morning dedicated to the changes in Part L regulations, the effect this will have on SAP and SBEM calculations.

For more information about this and other training sessions which are available, contact our Customer Support team on 08458 386 387.

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The final story of the week looks at the Government announcement of a series of cuts which has instantly hit a number of grants for installation renewable technologies in the home.

The Department of Energy And Climate Change has had its budget cut as part of the coalition Government’s saving plans. It means that, with immediate effect, there are no grants available for installing heat pumps or solar panels.

Grants for using photovoltaic panels or wind turbines were scrapped under Labour, with a Feed-In Tariff introduced to replace it.

It’s thought this announcement will put a dent in the amount of renovation projects using renewable technologies, but it isn’t expected to have such an impact on new build developments, which are being forced to use more energy efficient means of fuel by building regulations.