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| Part L Revealed |
Since the announcement last September by the Minister for the Environment of substantial improvements to be made under Part L of the Building Regulations, speculation has been rife in the construction industry about what the details of the updated regulations would entail. Jeff Colley examines some of the key parts of a regulatory improvement that will help the Irish construction industry to modernise and meet the demands of a rapidly changing world.
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An evacuated tube solar thermal array
Air-tightness
Bringing Ireland in line with the UK Building Regulations, the new Part L introduces specific air-tightness requirements for the first time, with an air permeability rate of 10m3/(hr.m2) at worst to achieve compliance. Such a level should not prove taxing for builders or designers, and many in the industry felt that a superior rate of up to 4 or 5m3/(hr.m2) would have represented real progress. Nonetheless, increasing air-tightness levels above the bare minimum will make achieving the 40% reduction easier, and it is both significant and very positive that the Department of the Environment has introduced an air-tightness requirement of any description, in particular in light of how it will be measured.
Air-tightness will be measured by conducting air pressurisation tests on a proportion of the dwellings in every new development. The significance of this change cannot be overstated. Without air pressurization tests, Part L would have been only complied with in theory; with them, Ireland will be moving substantially closer to actual compliance. By introducing air-tightness testing Minister Gormley has ensured that the new Part L will not merely pay lip service to energy efficiency, but will instead give homebuyers real confidence that the house was built properly. If it is reasonable to expect that the mandatory air permeability rate will be improved when the regulations increase again in 2010, it would also be desirable that the air tightness testing requirement be extended for every new building under construction.
With air tightness on the agenda as never before, it’s logical that Part L should also make reference to mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. Put in the simplest terms, as buildings become more air tight, the need to ensure adequate ventilation becomes more and more important from an occupant health perspective. In truth though, ventilation requirements need to be addressed by revisions to the long neglected Part F of the Building Regulations, something leading sustainable design consultant Jay Stuart predicts to be on the cards:
“The government has made its first hints that it is next going to be looking at Part F. Part F is wholly inadequate and you shouldn't have air tightness without also having an energy efficient designed ventilation system”.
The combined heat and power plant room at the ground breaking BedZed development Photo: Tom Chance
A long overdue measure introduced under the new Part L which will also contribute to reducing primary energy demand is the requirement that oil or gas boilers must meet a minimum efficiency of 86%. Since early 2005, high efficiency boilers have been mandatory in the UK under the SEDBUK scheme. The failure of the Irish Government to respond at the time has seen the Irish market, with its relatively lax regulatory environment, flooded with inefficient boilers which could no longer be sold in the UK. The Department of the Environment has thankfully taken the opportunity afforded by the Part L revision to apply the 86% efficiency rule not only to new build, but also to any replacement of boilers in existing homes after March 31.
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Issue 1, Vol 5 Out Now
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