Changes to the Building Regulations will reduce emissions and bills

Housing and Planning Minister John Healey has announced changes to the Building Regulations to make homes, shops and offices warmer and cheaper to run and take Britain a step closer to meeting its low carbon commitments.

The amendments coming into force in 2010 will make homes 25 per cent more energy efficient, typically saving householders £100 a year on their heating bills.

Building on the Warm Homes, Greener Homes strategy announced earlier in March, the Government is continuing the drive towards all new buildings reaching the zero carbon standard from 2019.

The increasingly tough standards will see around 2 million tonnes of carbon saved every year by 2020, equivalent to taking over 3 million cars off of the road.

The measures include practical steps that builders can take to make buildings greener, while at the same time ensuring that more efficient, air-tight homes and offices are sufficiently ventilated. Where homeowners choose to extend or renovate their homes, they will now need to use more energy efficient windows and boilers.

New homes will need to be more water efficient too, with each household saving, on average, enough water a year for 260 baths.

Mr Healey said: "The higher green standards we're bringing in this year will cut emissions and play a crucial part in achieving our zero carbon policies. They will also make homes and businesses cheaper to heat and run.

"Nearly half the UK's carbon emissions come from our buildings. But more than one in three of the buildings we'll be working in and living in by 2050 have not yet been built, so action now can make a real difference in the future. We must all adapt to ensure that we cut carbon emissions where we can."

He added: "While we must act to reduce carbon emissions, we must do so in sensible stages to avoid unreasonable burdens on the building industry."

The UK is the first country to confirm legislation to require all new homes to be zero carbon from 2016, with all other buildings to meet the standard from 2019. The amendments to Building Regulations will come into force in October 2010, giving specifiers and builders six months to prepare. The standards will help to deliver real carbon savings without creating obstacles for builders during the economic recovery.

In addition, homes will also be safer from this year, with improved hot water safety and a new requirement for carbon monoxide alarms whenever solid fuel combustion appliances are installed.

Details of the amendments

The changes to Part L will require a 25 per cent improvement above current standards for every new home. An aggregate approach for improvement of new non-domestic buildings will deliver an improvement of 25 per cent overall, rather than for each individual building. This is because there is greater variety among non-domestic buildings and some will be much easier than others to make efficient. The changes to Part L will increase the minimum levels of energy efficiency for building fabric and services, so that CO₂ targets cannot be achieved through renewables alone. This reflects the principle of reducing overall demand for energy. The measures will also come into play when people elect to carry out work to existing buildings including extensions and conversions, fabric renovations, replacement windows and boilers.

Part F has been revised with new requirements and guidance for installation and commissioning of ventilation systems. This will help to maintain indoor air quality and avoid adverse health effects that could otherwise have occurred due to the greater tendency to more airtight buildings arising from the Part L changes.

Guidance on Part J has been revised to ensure that combustion appliances can continue to function safely in more airtight homes. A new requirement has been introduced for the provision of carbon monoxide alarms when installing all solid fuel appliances. The changes also remove technical disincentives to the wider use of biomass heating systems.

Changes to Part G, which come into force on 6 April 2010, extend and update the existing provisions in Part G that have been in force since 1992. As well as a general updating, they make three significant changes: they introduce a minimum water efficiency standard for all new homes, extend safety provisions to all types of hot water system (not just unvented systems) and require thermostatic mixing valves to be fitted on baths in all new homes.

Related information:

• Subscribe to NBS Building Regulations, for the full set of up-to-date Approved Documents, all in an easy to use online format
• To order your printed copies of the 2010 Approved Documents, contact RIBA Bookshops
• Find out more about the NBS seminars, The Approved Documents explained.

Written March 2010

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