From the 15th June 2022 new updated Approved Documents will come into force. These are the documents which set out how you can comply with the UK Buildings Regulations, the technical design requirements.
The documents which are changing are Part F (Ventilation) and Part L (Conservation of fuel and power), and the release of a new Approved Document for Overheating (Part O).
The new documents are primarily focused on new non-domestic buildings but include policies for existing non-domestic buildings and new and existing housing. These are very much focused on making buildings more energy efficient.
All Building Regulation applications received after 15th June will need to comply to the new standards.
Key changes:
New Houses
- All new build homes must reduce their carbon emissions by 30%. A further step toward the government’s goal for all new homes to be net-zero ready by 2050.
- A new Approved Document, Part O has been created to tackle the issue of overheating in homes. As our buildings become more insulated and air tight overheating has become a more common issue.
- Adoption of the Fabric Energy Efficiency Standard, a proposed maximum space heating and cooling energy demand for zero carbon homes.
Existing Houses
- An uplift of the required thermal performances of all building fabric elements (walls, floors, roofs etc)
- New or replacement heating systems are required to be designed to accept low-carbon heating, including Ecodesign appliance benchmarks. This is working towards the use of heat pumps and other low carbon technologies and the phasing out of gas heating.
- New whole house calculation method for extensions to existing homes, with the introduction of a primary energy and fabric energy efficiency metric. This brings the requirements closers to how new houses are assessed.
- Updated guidance on ventilation systems.
Building other than dwellings
- A 27% cut on emissions from new commercial buildings, including offices and shops, in line with 2050 net-zero commitments.
- Updated guidance on ventilation systems.
