New Building Regulations will affect your home
Editor’s Note - The following text was scanned with OCR from a full page advertisement in the Manchester Evening News, Friday March 29 2002 (page 15). Irrelevant images and anecdotal references are not included. The information and some links may be of interest.
QUOTE
New building regulations will affect your home
In the UK, nearly 30% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere comes from generating the electricity we use to run our homes. In fact, £5 billion is wasted on energy in the UK every year. But now, following a recent energy policy review, the Government has committed itself to putting extra emphasis on energy efficiency - and with the help of the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and revisions to the Building Regulations, we are moving one step closer to being an Energy Efficient Britain.
From April 1st 2002, the Building Regulations (Part L) for England and Wales will change in some very important ways. They will for the first time, require householders to install more energy efficient options if they are replacing windows, central heating boilers and controls or hot water cylinders.
Up until now, Building Regulations have only affected extensions to existing homes and new buildings, but this represents only a very small percentage of the UK’s total building stock. Now, changes to existing homes are being affected by the regulations. Existing homes now come under the Building Regulations remit because of the need to reduce energy loss from homes to meet increasingly stringent national and global energy saving targets.
Saving our environment
The burning of coal, gas and oil in our homes and power stations releases carbon dioxide (C02) into the atmosphere, which scientists believe is causing detrimental changes in our climate. Because of this, the Government has recently reviewed its energy policy and has pledged to work towards cutting C02 emissions considerably, of which Building Regulations play a part.
What is the purpose of the Building Regulations ?
The Building Regulations deal with the minimum standards for buildings. The Regulations contain a list of requirements that are designed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of people in and around buildings and to provide for energy conservation. They ensure the job done meets minimum health and safety standards.
What do the Building Regulations apply to ?
The Building Regulations may cover work you do to your home. Generally you would need to obtain Building Regulations approval when:
- you’re building an extension to your home
- you’re building a garage extension to your home
- you’re carrying out a loft conversion
- making certain internal alternations within your home
- installing or altering the position of a heating appliance
- installing hot water storage
- inserting cavity wall insulation
- replacing windows and doors
- fitting glazing in your existing and/or new conservatory
How to ensure your work meets the Building Regulations
Consumers looking to make home improvements or embark on self-build projects such as loft conversions or extensions should take professional advice or consult the local Building Control Department at their local authority. Every installation will need to be certified as being installed and commissioned by a competent person. The routes to this are:
- for a competent person to self-certify the work, using an approved ‘commissioning certificate’
- apply for approval through the local Building Control body
The Government has defined a competent person as:
- A CORGI registered installer for gas installations
- An OFTEC registered technician for oil installations
- A HETAS registered installer for solid fuel systems
- Registered operatives who comply with Building Regulation G3 for hot water systems
- A FENSA registered installer for glazing
If you are having central heating or glazing work done on your home, a way of ensuring the work has been carried out in compliance with the new Building Regulations is to ask for one of the following:
Where there is a CORGI, HETAS or OFTEC installer, they should be asked to leave a Benchmark certificate with the householder at the end of their work.
Certificate from FENSA
If you choose a company that is registered with FENSA (Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme), a certificate will be supplied to the householder by the FENSA database. A certificate of compliance will also be forwarded by FENSA to the local authority.
- A completion certificate from the Building Control Body.
How the new regulations affect domestic heating
From 1st April 2002, the changes in the Building Regulations will affect how your installer replaces your boiler or makes changes to your heating controls.
Boilers will have to meet new energy efficiency requirements and every installation involving a boiler or hot water tank will need to be certified as being installed and commissioned correctly (See: How to ensure your work meets the Building Regulations).
The new Building Regulations also outline the minimum standard of thermal insulation for replacement windows. Ultimately this means that “low emissivity”, or low E double glazing, is likely to be needed for all new and replacement windows.
Achieving more than the minimum
The Building Regulations are only a minimum standard. There is lot more that you can do around your house to make it more energy efficient. Kelly Butler, warmth programme manager at the Energy Saving Trust commented:
‘The EST welcomes the changes which set out the minimum standard when making changes to existing homes, but we urge homeowners to look beyond the minimum regulations by making their home even more energy efficient. By going beyond the regulations and considering other recommended energy efficiency measures, homeowners can save up to £200 a year. Through free expert help we can help people identify the energy wasters in their home and stop them behaving badly.”
Knowing who is up to speed on the new regulations isn’t something as a homeowner you need to worry about. The Energy Saving Trust’s Energy Efficiency Installer Network provides a qualified, audited, reliable UK network of heating, glazing and insulation installers, ensuring that you get the best advice. For more general energy efficiency advice, local Energy Efficiency Advice Centres (EEAC) are on hand to help identify and eliminate energy wasting hotspots within your home and are accessible through a free hotline on 0800 512012.
[Editor's note – The Installer Network referred to subsequently collapsed but new arrangements are being made and the EEAC still exist – 13.10.2003]
For More Information
Glass-and Glazing Federation (GGF) Tel: 0207 403 7177.
If you would like a list of your local GGF Members contact us on 0207 403 7177 or try their web site http://www.ggf.org.uk
Heating Systems and Controls
Central Heating Information Council (CHIC) Tel: 0845 600 2200.
[Editor's note – The CHIC is now called the HHIC or Heating and Hot Water
Information Council with the same URL – 13.10.2003]
For more information on the changes in Building Regulations taking place on 1st April 2002.
You can view copies of the actual Part L regulations here
[Editor's note – Link subsequently broken by HMG]
This web site contains a frequently asked questions section:
http://projects.bre.co.uk/partlfaq/default.htm
To check that your building work complies with the Building Regulations, contact the Local Authority’s Building Control department.
General Energy Efficiency Advice.
Call your local Energy Efficiency Advice Centre for more information on 0800 512 012.
END OF QUOTE
Editor’s Note:
The following data was also provided in minute print at the bottom of the page:-
- At standard temperature and pressure 1kg C02 has a volume of 0.509m3
- 24.6 million households in the UK
- The average electricity use per home is 4534 kWh
- Average cost of domestic electricity = 7 pence / kWh
- Annual energy consumption of BBC is 403 GWh
- Energy required to run a TV for a year is 118 kWh
|
