WindowMaster (www.windowmaster.co.uk), Europe’s largest provider of natural comfort and smoke ventilation solutions, is contributing to the debate on planned revisions to Part L of the Building Regulations, due to take effect from 2013.
WindowMaster has submitted recommendations to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC).
WindowMaster’s Tom Lymn said: “We responded to the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers’ (CIBSE) leadership of the non-domestic working group on planned changes to Part L for 2013. We outlined some points to consider based on our experience in designing and implementing effective natural ventilation solutions that help to address some of the common issues with building energy performance and internal climate.”
There is evidence to suggest that new buildings are not performing as they have been designed to. It is hoped that the updated building regulations, part L in particular, will ensure that a completed building delivers in real terms on its stated design, rather than just ‘ticking the boxes’ and using generic methods, materials or technologies.
Tom Lymn explained: “There may be a gap in the education of some designers that can lead to solutions which are under-engineered – resulting in poor energy performance or, more likely, as a result of poor historic experiences with weaker or poorly implemented solutions, effective alternatives are overlooked. Poor performance is accepted as inevitable in this instance. The education gap can also lead to over-engineered solutions being employed – resulting in increased and often prohibitive costs.
“To avoid these scenarios there should be better guidance within the regulations relating to solutions for improved performance. For example, the potential for the poor performance of manual windows could be contrasted with the features and benefits of 'well controlled' automated solutions, which minimise energy and enhance the indoor environment, with reference to accurate control, feedback and single source supply.”
CIBSE (www.cibse.org) is leading the working group on changes to the non-domestic Part L of the Building Regulations. The group is advising the DCLG and BRAC.
Its objectives are to look at the potential to further reduce carbon emissions from new and existing non-domestic buildings within the broader policy constraints set by the government. Its findings have been submitted to BRAC and a public consultation will be carried out in spring 2012 with the aim of publishing the new Approved Document in October 2012, coming into force in April 2013.
