OPINION: REGULATIONS
WHAT’S HAPPENING TO PART L?
Many CIBSE members are asking for an update on Part L. It even featured in the full Budget statement. Hywel Davies explains the current position
The Budget statement does not usually include announcements
about Building Regulations. But tucked away in paragraph 1.109 was this statement: ‘The government is committed to implementing ‘zero carbon homes’ from 2016. ‘The Department for Communities
and Local Government will publish a detailed plan, setting out its response to the 2012 consultation on the energy efficiency requirements in building regulations, by May 2013. ‘The government will then consult
on the next steps, including on the means of delivering allowable
solutions, by the summer recess.’ So it announced an announcement,
telling us to wait until May. So far, so good. There was once talk about publishing the revisions to Part L and supporting documents (see box, Part L timeline) in April, to give the industry six months to prepare for them to come into force in October, but this always looked a challenging goal.
Confusing picture It is also not clear from the statement whether changes to Part L will come into force in October, whether there will be another consultation, or maybe both.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ‘PART L’?
The phrase Part L is often used to refer to those aspects of Building Regulations and the associated guidance that deal with energy efficiency in buildings. Part L is a reference to Schedule I of the Building Regulations, which sets out the specific statutory requirements relating to the conservation of fuel and power (as the Building Act 1984 describes energy efficiency or conservation). These are the specific requirements relating to energy efficiency, along with those regulations that explicitly cover commissioning, testing of airtightness, for example, and provision of information and sub-metering. These are the ‘must do’ elements. To support the requirements for each part of the Schedule there is associated
formal guidance, approved by the Secretary of State, known as the Approved Documents. These are guidance, not statutory requirements, and they state quite explicitly that it is quite legitimate to demonstrate compliance with the statutory requirements by another method or approach. For Part L, there are four Approved Documents, L1A for new homes, L2A for domestic refurbishment, L2A for new non-domestic and L2B for non-domestic refurbishment. In addition, there are two ‘compliance guides’ (the clue is in the name, guides) for domestic and non- domestic building services. Contrary to popular usage, there is no such thing as ‘Part L1’, it’s Part L or ADL1A (or B).
It is widely rumoured that the standards are viewed by ministers as red tape and burdensome to industry, and therefore ripe for cutting
There is further confusion over the ongoing housing standards review. This is addressing the role of standards that add to Building Regulation requirements, such as the Code for Sustainable Homes, or Secured by Design, or Lifetime Homes. This review is due to report in May, and it appears that the two announcements are planned to coincide, which seems logical. It is widely rumoured that the standards are viewed by ministers as red tape and burdensome to industry, and therefore ripe for cutting. The Code was adopted by the last government to set requirements for social housing beyond Building Regulations, funded through the Homes and Communities Agency. It also serves as a ‘forward look’ for domestic Building Regulations. So housebuilders deliver taxpayer-funded new homes to Code levels that exceed the absolute minimum requirements of Building Regulations. This provides an early learning opportunity before the higher standards become the absolute minimum at the next revision of Part L. It provides a learning curve to take us to zero carbon homes, to which the budget statement recommits. There are two drawbacks. The first is that requirements to build
16
CIBSE Journal May 2013
www.cibsejournal.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64