BMF All Industry Conference 2023 Changes to building regulations Steve Duke, commercial director at Knauf Insulation
Duke addressed the audience about the changes to building regulations and what this means for businesses going forward. “Part L is the part of the building regulations which deals with the conservation of fuel and power. In terms of operational carbon, the headline target is a reduction of 31% which is a huge amount compared to the previous building regulations. There is also a major change in terms of the focus on quality. With previous building regulations, you could design your property exactly how you wanted but we were all very reliant on building control to come on our site to check it was done properly. Now, in order to get buildings to perform properly and to genuinely make these carbon savings, they have to be built as they say they are going to be built. The new BREL report, which stands for Building Regulations England Part L, looks at the designed performance of the property compared to the actual building. Whoever is building the property has to do exactly as it says in the plans with photographic evidence. Now, for the first time, every single dwelling has to be air-pressured tested and there is a tighter standard for that. It’s really about
The merchant opportunity Ian Mcconville, Group procurement director at MKM
Mcconville ended the workshop highlighting what the latest energy efficiency policies mean to merchants. “What is the opportunity? For a merchant the opportunity is no different to anybody else. Our job as a merchant is to make our customers’ business better and in doing that, we get that
repeat business. A lot of the current opportunity exists in the products that we sell currently. 50% of the opportunity is in insulation. It is our job as merchants to make sure we have the right people in our businesses who have spent time with the right manufacturers and have that education. Whether it
narrowing the performance gap. In terms of timing, this was launched in December 2021 and it was implemented in June 2022. Crucially, the transition period that we have for moving from the old regulations to the new regulations closed on June 15, 2023. The important thing with the transitional arrangement is in the past it was done at a site level. If you started building a single property on a site, you were able to build to the previous regulations for that whole site. That loophole has been closed and it is now done at a property level. That transition is happening much faster than it has in the past.”
“As you would expect, this means more insulation. This will mean more floor insulation to support sales of more rigid foam boards and typically in the loft we’re looking at 500mm rolls. In cavity walls it still possible to comply with the new regulations by maintaining 100ml cavity, however we’re seeing people move up to around 150ml. In terms of technology, because there is air-pressure testing on every property, there is also a requirement for mechanical extract ventilation so we’re seeing that new
technology come through. To comply with the new regulations, you’ll need some form of renewable energy generation, typically solar pv or waste water heat recovery. This is a halfway house to the new future homes standard which will come in from 2025. At the moment we’re looking at operational carbon savings of 31%, the new homes standard will see that increase to 75% savings. This is why we’re seeing people stretching out to 150ml cavities because they are looking to future-proof designs knowing this is coming down the line,” he added.
Duke concluded: “All of these carbon savings are dealing with the operational carbon of a building which is the carbon being emitted while the building is in use. Once we make that 75% savings step, in terms of the total carbon cost of the building, the operational carbon will only be around 50% of that. The rest of the carbon cost is in the materials used in that building. Embodied carbon is going to become more and more critical. It’s time to start thinking and asking your suppliers about the embodied carbon in their products.”
“This conference is about creating connections and the partnerships between the merchant, tradesman and manufacturer is more important than ever before.” IAN MCCONVILLE
is to do with energy efficiency or plumbing and heating, the role of the merchants is to educate and inform our customers. The
merchant becomes that local hub of expertise and information for the customers. This conference is about creating connections and the partnerships between the merchant, tradesman and manufacturer is more important than ever before. The changes to building regulations are confusing but having people in your business to translate them is important. Generally, everybody has the same products and ranges but what differentiates you is becoming that local expert. When we’re looking at some of the difficulties the industry is facing at the moment in terms of volume, this will keep us going. The retrofit market and new housebuilding will keep us going. As bad as things have been in previous months, there is a relatively brighter future.”
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www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net July 2023
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