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The introduction of the European Union’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) on 4th January 2006 is one of the main drivers for changes in building regulations covering the conservation of fuel and power. In the British Isles governments are implementing revised regulations to meet the directive and to improve energy efficiency in buildings. The changes in regulations will bring new and revised calculation methods, requiring updates in our calculation software. This page summarises the changes to the regulations as they affect calculation methods.
England and Wales
Extensive changes to Part L of the Building Regulations came into force on 6th April 2006. The changes were introduced to help the UK meet the government’s targets for greenhouse gas emissions and also to implement the EPBD.
For dwellings the Elemental, Target U-value and Carbon Index methods for demonstrating compliance have been replaced by a test of the Dwelling Emission Rate (DER), which must not be greater than a Target Emission Rate (TER) calculated using a revised edition of the government’s standard assessment procedure (SAP 2005).
We have developed the new JPA Designer SAP 2005 module to implement SAP 2005: you will find more details on our Programs page.
Buildings other than dwellings must comply using SBEM (Simplfied Building Energy Model): a free implementation of SBEM is available from the ODPM web site.
The current JPA Designer Non-dwell module, which uses the Elemental method for demonstrating compliance is no longer valid for England and Wales, although it remains valid for Scotland.
Although elemental U-values will no longer be a means of demonstrating compliance they will still have to be calculated for SAP and NCM calculations. As the methods for calculating U-values are now defined in European standards we do not expect substantial changes to the JPA Designer Uvalue modules during this revision of Part L.
Scotland
The building control system in Scotland was re-organised in 2005 and the Technical Standards to the regulations were replace by two Building Handbooks (one for dwellings and one for other buildings). The compliance standards for the conservation of fuel and power are now in Section 6 of the Building Handbooks (they were previously in Technical Standard J). The requirements in Section 6 are identical to those in the old technical standards.
The latest information from the Scottish Building Standards Agency indicates that Scotland will adopt a regime substantially similar to that introduced in England and Wales using SAP 2005 and SBEM in 2007.
Until then, the JPA Designer SAP module and the JPA Designer Uvalue modules continue to offer valid means of demonstrating compliance.
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland the requirements for the conservation of fuel and power are set out in Technical Booklet F. The DFNPI intends to issue revised regulations in November 2006. The revisions are expected to introduce SAP 2005 for dwellings and SBEM for other buildings. The new edition of Technical Booklet F is expected to be published in summer 2006.
At present, SAP calculations for Northern Ireland are being carried out with JPA SAP v2, the predecessor to JPA Designer SAP module. Because of that there is no direct upgrade path to the SAP 2005 module.
The revised regulations will also change the method of calculating U-values from the proportional area method (as used in JPA Uvalue) to the combined method used in the JPA Designer Uvalue modules. Users will have to upgrade from JPA Uvalue to one of the JPA Designer Uvalue modules.
Please contact us for details on upgrade options.
Republic of Ireland
The Republic of Ireland is taking a phased approach to the introduction of the EPBD, with building energy ratings being introduced in 2007 for dwellings and 2008 for non-dwellings. Changes to the a new edition of Part L for non-dwellings comes into force, extending the overall heat loss method to non-dwellings. The government is currently consulting regarding the best methodologies for implementing the EPBD.
Our JPA Designer SAP RI module remains valid for demonstrating compliance of dwellings. We are reviewing the position for non-dwellings. The JPA Designer Uvalue modules remain valid for calculating U-values.
Condensation risk analysis
The method for condensation risk analysis required by all regulatory bodies remains that set out in EN ISO 13788:2001, which is implemented in the JPA Designer Uvalue Professional module.
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