Part L 2010 - Summary of key changes

Martin Conlon of the Building Control Professional Group summarises the key
changes to Part L of the Building Regulations, coming into effect from October 2010.

Many of the changes aim to:

• More clearly distinguish "Requirements" (the Building Regulations) from

"Guidance" (supplementary information in the Approved Document ADL1A).
ADL1A has an Introduction (section 1), a section describing the Requirements
(section 2) and a section of Guidance (section 3)
• Improve compliance so that dwellings, when built, match the DER figures
claimed in submissions to Building Control

There are also a number of changes to both the Regulations and the Guidance, the
main ones being:

• Design Submissions
To be a requirement (in the Regulations) as well as As Built Submissions
• Software outputs that enable Building Control to check that the design has
been adhered to CLG are recommending no change to the methodology for
calculating the TER beyond the 25% reduction in the target, but do present an
alternative approach for consideration / feedback. The guidance proposes a
"strategic sequence" for meeting the TER target
• Confidence Factors
Builders to be able to get lower DERs if they adopt procedures that provide
more quality assurance e.g. Air Permeability (more pressure testing), Thermal
Bridges (use ACDs)
• Secondary heating
Dwellings with no secondary heating no longer have to assume on peak
electric secondary heating
• Lighting
All fixed low energy lighting is included in the DER assessment (no longer a
fixed 30% as previously)
• Design Limits for Building Fabric
No changes
• Design Limits for Building Services
Expanded to cover micro-generation of heat and electricity by heat pumps,
solar thermal panels, combined heat and power (micro-CHP), wind turbines
and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels; Domestic Design Heating Compliance
Guide expanded to provide a Building Services Design Compliance Guide
• Summer overheating
Despite the fact that air conditioning can now be modelled in SAP 2009,
assessment of mechanically cooled dwellings continues to be as though the
cooling were not present
• Clearer rules for air permeability assessment at the As Built stage,
involving more pressure testing, a revised sampling methodology and a clear
statement about what value to use in untested dwellings

Last Saved: 21/10/2010 23:12:00

Ι /opt/scribd/conversion/tmp/scratch6540/50145123.doc Page 1 of 7
 • Trickle vents
Also to be sealed when pressure testing
• Thermal bridging
25% to be added on to calculated values if accredited construction details not
used
• Party Walls
No longer assumed to have a U value of 0.0 W/m2K; value depends upon
construction details
• Conservatories
Exemption for conservatories of less than 30 m2 to be removed
• Swimming Pools
Clarification of how to deal with, if within a dwelling

All the amendments are due to come into force on the 6th October 2010

The Approved Documents for Part L of the Building Regulations were published
today - what are the big changes that will affect builders and designers of domestic
properties?

1) 25% less CO2 emissions that in 2006Part L1A 2010 - for new dwellings - aims to
reduce CO2 emissions by 25% over Part L1A 2006. This is a 40% improvement over
a dwelling built to the 2002 regulations and corresponds roughly with the trigger point
for Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3, in line with the government’s strategy for
getting newbuild dwellings to zero carbon by 2016.

2) The ’Flat’ TER wins the dayThe Target Emission Rate (TER) is calculated in much
the same way as it was in Part L1A 2006. The main differences are that (a) an
improvement factor of 0.4 is used rather than 0.2 to give the 40% improvement
referred to above and (b) the SAP 2009 methodology is used to estimate the carbon
emissions from heating, hot water, lighting, pumps and fans. The fuel factors have not
changed so that electric heat pumps and biomass will continue to be encouraged by
the TER; although this is countered to an extent by lower limiting U-values (see point
8 below). The fuel factor for heat pumps is also to be reviewed after the renewable
heat incentive is introduced next year. The ’Aggregate’ TER for dwellings was
rejected on the grounds that the benefits did not justify a change in methodology at
this stage, despite the aggregate option being selected for non domestic dwellings. he
issue will be re-examined for Part L1A 2013. You can explore how to meet the new
TER in practice using the updated NHER SAP 2009 Preview software:
http://www.nesltd.co.uk/content/sap-2009-preview

3) Cavity party walls - insulating and sealing them does not count towards the 25%
reductionA key feature of SAP 2009 is that party walls with unfilled and unsealed
cavities are assumed to have a U value of 0.5W/m2K. The notional dwelling used in
calculating the TER assumes a U-value for cavity party walls of 0.0W/m2K. This
compares to 0.4 W/m2K in last year’s Part L1A 2010 consultation. This means that
insulating and sealing cavity party walls will not count towards the 25% improvement
target.

4) Thermal bridges - 0.08 for accredited construction details is no longer an optionIn

Part L1A 2006, it is acceptable to assume an effective U-value (the y value) of

Last Saved: 21/10/2010 23:12:00

Ι /opt/scribd/conversion/tmp/scratch6540/50145123.doc Page 2 of 7
 0.08W/m2K if accredited construction details have been used. This will not be
possible with Part L1A 2010. Instead, the length of each junction will need to be
measured, multiplied by the appropriate psi values and added up to produce the y
value. The psi values can either be values already supplied in the SAP 2009 document
or supplied by the relevant approved government accredited construction detail
scheme. The psi values can also be calculated for specific junctions. A confidence
factor will be applied to the psi value calculation for an individual junction if either
(a) the calculated psi values are not from a government approved accredited details
scheme or (b) if no on site checks can be demonstrated to have been made. The
confidence factor applied to the psi value calculation is 25% or 0.02, whichever is the
larger.

5) Air Permeability - more pressure testing and a confidence factor for untested
dwellingsThe volume of pressure testing required will roughly double. A pressure test
should be carried out on three units of each dwelling type or 50% of the instances of
the dwelling type, whichever is the smaller.

In addition, a confidence factor will apply to dwellings not pressure tested. Where a
dwelling has been pressure tested, the measured value is used in the calculation of the
dwelling emissions rate (DER). Where the dwelling has not been pressure tested, the
value used in the DER calculation is the average of the measured values for dwellings
of the same type but with the addition of a confidence factor of 2.0 m3/(hm2) at 50
pa. This means in effect that the design air permeability must be at most 8.0m3/(hm2)
in order to meet the maximum allowable value of 10.0m3/(hm2) at completion of the
dwelling. A value of 15.0m3/(hm2) can still be used in small developments.

6) Low energy lighting - 100% counts towards meeting the target emissions rateA
minimum of 75% of light fittings must be low energy. If further low energy light
fittings are also low energy, the full 100% will contribute towards meeting the target
emissions rate (TER).

7) Electric secondary heating - no longer assumedIn Part L 2006, a penalty was

applied in dwellings not fitted with a secondary heating appliance. In such cases it
was assumed that 10% of the heat in the property came from direct acting electric
heaters, thereby significantly increasing the dwelling emission rate. In Part L 2010,
there is no such penalty unless the dwelling has a chimney or flue and no appliance is
installed; in such cases the calculation is the same as in 2006.

8) New limiting U-values - including for party wallsElement 2006 2010

Roof 0.25 0.20

External wall 0.35 0.30

Party wall N/A 0.20

Floor 0.25 0.25

Windows 2.20 2.00

Last Saved: 21/10/2010 23:12:00

Ι /opt/scribd/conversion/tmp/scratch6540/50145123.doc Page 3 of 7
 Air permeability 10 10

9) ’Design’ submissions now part of regulation - alongside ’as built’ submissionsIn

Part L1A 2006, it was recommended that a submission be provided to building
control prior to the building work being completed on site; but this not an absolute
requirement. However, in Part L1A 2010 the person carrying out the work must
provide building control the target emission rate (TER), dwelling emission rate (DER)
and a list of specifications before work starts on site. Then, no later than five days
after the work has been completed, they must notify building control of the TER and
DER actually achieved, and whether the building has been constructed as per the
design specification; if not, a list of changes to the design specification must be
supplied. This is to better enable building control to confirm that what has been built
aligns with the claimed performance. New outputs from SAP software will be
available to help building control with this process.

10) Addressing the performance gapThere is growing evidence that completed

dwellings do not in practice achieve the intended energy performance. This is referred
to by government as the ’performance gap’. If we are to achieve true zero carbon by
2016 it is vital that this gap be closed. Part L1A 2010 contains various things that aim
to contribute to this. Firstly, the document is clearer than previous versions in
distinguishing between ’Regulation’ and ’Guidance’ and is less ambiguous in many
places. This should help developers better understand what is required of them and
give building control clearer guidance on how to check for compliance. Secondly, the
requirement to produce a ’design submission’ as well as an ’as built submission’,
including a comparison of specifications, will hopefully bring more standardisation
and rigour to the compliance checks. Thirdly, the notion of ’confidence factors’
should start to reward those developers who adopt good quality control procedures
both in design and on site. We can expect to see more of these confidence factors in
2013 and beyond.

Postscript:

Dyfrig Hughes manages the NHER technical and development team at National
Energy Services

Further information

Approved Document ADL1A 2010 can be found here:

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADL1A_2010.pdf

National Energy Services are running a series of interactive seminars on Part L 2010 /
SAP 2009, with the Zero Carbon Hub, from May to September 2010. Details can be
found here:

http://www.nesltd.co.uk/events/part-l1a-2010-sap-2009-and-fees-interactive-seminars

A summary of the differences between SAP 2009 and SAP 2005 can be found here:

www.nesltd.co.uk/sites/default/files/documents/blog/10_ways_SAP_2009_will_impa
ct_you_100422.pdf

Last Saved: 21/10/2010 23:12:00

Ι /opt/scribd/conversion/tmp/scratch6540/50145123.doc Page 4 of 7
 Educational SAP 2009 / Part L 2010 software from National Energy Services is
available here:

http://www.nesltd.co.uk/content/sap-2009-preview

Part L 2010

Posted : May 7, 2010 by Kaye, Category: Building Regulations, Uncategorized

Unsurprisingly one of the hot topic’s at last week’s CIBSE Conference was the
upcoming Part L 2010 Building Regulations. We are lucky enough to have a unique
insight into the practical implications of the forthcoming changes. This is due to our
working closely with AECOM to inform our software development.

It’s important to really get to grips with the key changes proposed. Building
magazine’s Dyfrig Hughes gives more detail here, but here’s an overview of what to
expect:

Last Saved: 21/10/2010 23:12:00

Ι /opt/scribd/conversion/tmp/scratch6540/50145123.doc Page 5 of 7
 After carrying out some 2010 Part L pre-assessments looking at representative
building types (such as offices, schools, and hospitals) using our VE-DSM tool, we
identified 5 key design implications:

1. Beating the Notional Building will be a tough challenge needing a focused and
clear compliance strategy.

2. If an electric system is specified as the fuel source this will only tend to compete
with the 2010 Notional Building target in highly insulated buildings. Otherwise fuel
types with lower carbon intensities will have to be considered.

3. There’s less scope for the conventional ‘rescue measures’ without recourse to
Renewable technologies. 2010 Part L will encourage better lower carbon intensive
buildings as a fundamental pre-requisite to new building design.

4. Buildings such as Commercial Offices will require significant improvements in

lighting efficiency with increased use of daylight and therefore more use of dimming
and/or new lamp technologies.

5. Naturally ventilated schools although less heavily affected by % CO2 reductions

than some air conditioned buildings will not pass as easily with Biomass boilers
without other additional energy saving measures.

The question is how will these changes affect building design?

Reducing CO2 by an average of 25% will be a significant challenge for the

Construction Industry. Designers will need to target energy savings in all areas to
meet the much more stringent Notional Building Standards.

Compliance will still be possible without the need to install renewable energy sources
however it will need a combined effort by all member of the Design Team to assess
and reduce energy and carbon to the required levels.

There will be greater use of DSM to maximise calculation accuracy and opportunities
for passing 2010 Part L.

CIBSE members will uniquely be able to take a lead in the process by helping
Architects and others to understand how to approach compliance on a building wide
basis, by calculating where saving are needed.

The improved benchmark for specific fan power will impact on plant spaces and
ductwork risers such that additional space might be needed in the footprint of new
buildings.

Last Saved: 21/10/2010 23:12:00

Ι /opt/scribd/conversion/tmp/scratch6540/50145123.doc Page 6 of 7
 Here’s an easy to read summary presentation pulled together by one of our
Consultants Tracy Keegan, click here to download the PDF…

Our consultants are already working on providing ball-park testing results against the
upcoming Part L 2010 regulations, if you are interested in this service, you can
contact one of our consultants at consulting@iesve.com.
Our developers here are working really hard to get the software ready in time for the
regulations to come into force in October, we will also be offering training and
accreditation schemes to help get you ready for this. If you are interested in keeping
up-to-date with releases and information regarding Part L 2010 then please contact
PartL@iesve.com and we can get you signed up!

Last Saved: 21/10/2010 23:12:00

Ι /opt/scribd/conversion/tmp/scratch6540/50145123.doc Page 7 of 7