Building Regulations

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Current Standards Future Standards

The Building Regulations set the national minimum construction standards for all new dwellings and for the refurbishment of existing dwellings. These minimum standards were last revised in 2006, but the energy/carbon performance standards will be ramped up in three stages to 2016 in order to achieve the government's objective of ensuring that all new dwellings are zero carbon by 2016.

The ‘energy use in buildings' is a term that covers both ‘regulated' and ‘unregulated' emissions. Regulated emissions are those which relate specifically to building services which are covered by Part L of the Building Regulations - space and water heating, lighting and pumps and fans for building services. Unregulated emissions are not controlled under Building Regulations - cooking, appliances and lighting of communal areas. For housing the split of emissions between regulated and unregulated emissions is about 50:50.

Current standards

Approved Documents
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/professionals/en/1115314110382.html

The most recent versions of the Approved Documents (see also legal status) for the fourteen technical "Parts" of the Building Regulations' requirements are accessible from this page. Please also see the copyright statement

The two which are most relevant to low carbon homes are those on the conservation of fuel and power in new dwellings and existing dwellings.

Approved document L1A: Conservation of fuel and power (New Dwellings) (2006 edition)

Approved document L1B: Conservation of fuel and power (Existing Dwellings) (2006 edition)

Future standards to reach zero carbon by 2016

The government has recently published a document which provides details of its intentions to ramp up the standards in three stages, namely 2010, 2013 and Zero Carbon in 2016.

This confirms the government's intention to sustain the pressure on the industry to deliver zero carbon housing by 2016 and shows the challenges that the industry will have to progressively meet.

This provides unprecedented clarity about the future development of the regulatory framework for housing construction.

Building Regulations. Energy efficiency requirements for new dwellings. A forward look at what standards may be in 2010 and 2013 July 2007