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• Part L Changing the way we build

Part L Changing the way we build

However, it is important that housebuilders, local authorities and architects are aware of a new piece of legislation when designing and building for the future, the changes to Part L of the Building Regulations for England and Wales in 2010. Part L refers to the conservation of fuel and power in dwellings and non-dwellings, controlling the energy performance of building elements, the allowable area of windows, doors and other openings, and other factors relating to the efficiency of a building. It sets out the requirements and Carbon Emissions Targets for new buildings, and also provides minimum standards of performance for components such as windows for existing buildings.

The Government’s CLG (Department for Communities and Local Government) has a well-publicised timeline for improving the requirements of Part L in stages up to 2016.  New dwellings will require CO2 reductions of 25 per cent by 2010, 44 per cent by 2013 and 100 per cent (zero carbon) by 2016. For non-dwellings, CLG will insist on the same improvement levels as for dwellings in 2010 and 2013, but delay zero-carbon standards until 2019.

The requirements for new buildings are based on the total energy performance of the whole building, which means that higher performance windows will be required. This has already led forward thinking local authorities, developers and architects to incorporate the substantial benefits of triple glazing into new, lower carbon properties – thus often offsetting the need to invest in costly renewable technologies.  As the regulations tighten, in new homes at least, the move to triple glazing, as in much of continental Europe, seems inevitable – still optimising both thermal insulation AND passive solar gain benefits.

For new homes, the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) fully takes into account the U-value, solar heat gain (g value) and daylight transmission characteristics of the windows. Therefore the positive, energy-gaining qualities of glass are embedded in the calculations. As a rough rule of thumb, an improvement in U-value is accompanied by a worsening of g value, and the two factors tend to balance. Lowering U values without considering the effect on passive solar gains can be counterproductive in terms of the total energy performance of buildings. The ways in which windows are evaluated in the context of Part L fully consider the positive energy benefits of glazing. This means liberation from the traditional fixation with simple U-values and that the full benefits of larger areas of glazing are recognised.

House builders that specify windows incorporating our energy efficient glazing range, Pilkington energiKare™ family, will find that the glazing will meet the upcoming changes to building regulations in 2010. From new homes to older traditional buildings, the Pilkington energiKare™ family will provide better energy performance in a wider range of properties. Pilkington energiKare™ is different to standard double glazing as it works in two ways. It reduces the amount of net heat lost by up to 90 percent by also allowing more heat (energy) from the sun in through the window. Pilkington energiKare™ family products are made up of Pilkington K Glass™, the UK’s best selling low e glass and Pilkington Optiwhite™, a special ‘extra clear’ glass which allows more solar heat in through the windows, making a home feel warmer without the need to turn up the heating.

In conjunction with Building Magazine we have produced a webinar about the changes to Part L with BRE and Ian Ritchie Architects. Please log onto www.pilkington.co.uk for more information. If you have any glazing-related Part L 2010 questions please email Pilkington@respond.uk.com.