News / Part L2
Building Regulations
Amendments to Part L Building Regulations
The new Part L regulations are scheduled to be issued by the Office of the
Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) on the 6th of April 2006, with measures to make
buildings more energy efficient. The new measures together with the 2002
Building Regulations will aim to cut down the carbon emissions even further.
The regulations are designed to reduce the amount of heat/conditioned air already lost through air leakage, through the fabric of the building. The maximum air permeability permitted is 10m3/h/m2 at the pressure of 50 Pascals, for non-domestic buildings with a net floor area greater than 1000m2 (however different purpose buildings may require lower air permeability). There are also changes in regulations for extensions to existing buildings in the non domestic sector. If the extension to the existing building has a greater area than 100m2 and greater than 25% of the gross floor area of the existing building it will require testing.
Additional Information
Changes have also been made to the domestic sector which will now require air leakage testing with a maximum air permeability of 10m3/h/m2. Although, on a large development only a selection of different types of design need be tested to show compliance.
The ODPM is also clamping down on approved inspectors and building control inspectors to ensure newly completed buildings are air tight and comply with pressure testing requirements.
The legal requirements will be defined in the new regulation and guidelines will be provided for the residential and commercial sectors in the approved Part L documents (see ODPM link).
Leaky buildings represent a significant waste of energy and a high proportion of overall heat loss of a building. Therefore compliance to the new legislation will ensure air tight buildings and will help meet carbon emission targets.