ReaCT 0204 Legislation

EEEN60422 - Zero carbon Built Infrastructure
LECTURER:
Rodger Edwards ( School of MACE)
Section 2.04:
Regulatory and legislative issues.

In this session….
o We will address the issue of current

regulatory drivers and requirements
o The focus will be upon England / Wales and

the EU
Why England and Wales?
UK Building Regulations have a long history of being
weird.
In the past, Scotland has had its own Building

Regulations / codes, administered by the Scottish
Office.
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1390393
The logic was that construction detailing in Scotland

(for example in roof construction) had to be better
because of the worse weather.
www.flags.net
Northern Ireland has its own set of Building

Regulations. These are the responsibility of the
Northern Ireland Office.
Again, Northern Ireland is held to have

differences in regulatory needs.
When an English person talks about Building
Regulations, what they usually mean are the
Building Regulations for England and Wales.
England and Wales are dealt with together

because their regulatory needs are thought to
be similar and the Welsh Office does not in any
case have the necessary powers (yet)
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/963219
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Wales_2.svg
The Government has signalled its intention to

allow the Welsh Government is to set its own
Building Regulations – but that is for the
future……
Current situation
Despite all the current drivers for

independence within the UK, curiously there is
a much higher level of conformity between the
current sets of regulations, particularly in
respect of energy conservation.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Europe.svg
This is due to the influence of the European

Union.
Treaty commitments
The push for greater energy efficiency is in

effect one of the actions needed to reduce
CO2 emissions. The process was initiated by
The UN Convention on Climate Change in
1992
http://unfccc.int/essential_background/convention/items/6036.php
Treaty Commitments
A major push towards binding international

action on greenhouse gas emissions was
provided by the Kyoto Protocol in 1998:
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf
Treaty commitments
It should noted that in 1998 the purpose of

Kyoto was to combat climate change by
reducing greenhouse gas emissions – as
Section B of the Kyoto Protocol shows, other
gases of greater greenhouse potential were
also identified for reductions in total
emissions
Kyoto list of main greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide (CO2)

Methane (CH4)
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)
Rio Summit
This was held in June 2012.
At the summit, attempts were made to

strengthen international action on climate
change beyond the commitments made at
Kyoto.
http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.php?
menu=14
Rio Summit
A satisfactory conclusion was not reached at

the summit.
It is highly likely that another attempt will be

made to make progress
EU Legislation
At the time of writing, the UK has a so called

“opt out” on EU legislation in a number of
areas, an example being the Working Time
Directive.
Energy and Environment are not among these

opt out areas.
EU Legislation
The EU has produced one key Directive which

is relevant to us who live and work within the
European Union.
This is The Directive on Energy Performance of

Buildings (2002/91/EC)
http://www.managenergy.net/resources/139
EU Legislation
To quote verbatim from
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32002L0091:EN:NOT
“Buildings are responsible for 40% of energy

consumption and 36% of EU CO2 emissions. Energy
performance of buildings is key to achieve the EU
Climate & Energy objectives, namely the reduction of
a 20% of the Greenhouse gases emissions by 2020
and a 20% energy savings by 2020. Improving the
energy performance of buildings is a cost-effective
way of fighting against climate change and
improving energy security, while also creating job
opportunities, particularly in the building sector”.
EU Legislation
Furthermore:
“The Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings

(2002/91/EC) is the main legislative instrument at
EU level to achieve energy performance in buildings.
Under this Directive, the Member States must apply
minimum requirements as regards the energy
performance of new and existing buildings, ensure
the certification of their energy performance and
require the regular inspection of boilers and air
conditioning systems in buildings.”
EU Legislation
For a good summary of the key points of

2002/91/EC, see
http://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/Scotland/
Energy_Performance_of_Buildings_Directive_(EPBD).pdf
EU Legislation
In addition, this reference also contains useful

information about the 2006 changes to the
England and Wales Building Regulations made
in response to the introduction of 2002/91/EC
EU Legislation
There was always the intention that

2002 /91/EC would be a starting point for a
long term plan for the reduction of carbon
dioxide emissions
( source:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/doc/buildings/
presentation_general_short.pdf)
EU Legislation
In May 2010, the EU formally adopted the

Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
2010/31/EU (EPBD), which is now the main
legislative instrument to reduce the energy
consumption of buildings.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32010L0031:EN:NOT
EU Legislation
For the accompanying press release please go

to
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?
reference=MEMO/
08/693&format=HTML&aged=1&language=en&guiLanguage=e
n
This document summarises things concisely.

EU Legislation
As a result of the EU’s ambitious plans for

reducing energy consumption in buildings,
2010/31/EU was very quickly (by EU standards)
superseded by Commission Delegated Regulation
(EU) No 244/2012
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?
uri=CELEX:32012R0244:EN:NOT
EU Legislation
Quoting directly from Commission Delegated

Regulation (EU) No 244/2012:
“…supplementing Directive 2010/31/EU of the

European Parliament and of the Council on the
energy performance of buildings by establishing a
comparative methodology framework for calculating
cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance
requirements for buildings and building elements.”
EU Legislation
For a useful accompanying note, please see
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?
uri=CELEX:52012XC0419(02):EN:NOT
EU Legislation
In summary
the European Union has set out a roadmap to

2020, at which the expectation is that all new
buildings will be near zero energy at the very
least. Since 2002, a series of requirements such
as Energy Performance Certificates have been
introduced and the EU is clearly aware of the
importance of the cost implications of its plans.
EU Legislation
In the future, I think that much more attention

will be paid to existing buildings and it is my
opinion that this is where the whole process
might get into bother.
England and Wales Legislation
In this course unit, we will concentrate upon

the requirements for England and Wales.
The Building Regulations for England and

Wales are presented as a set of Approved
Documents
The document of relevance is Approved

Document L: Conservation of Fuel and Power
There are 4 sub sets of regulations:
o Approved Document L1A: Conservation of fuel and power

(New dwellings)
o Approved Document L1B: Conservation of fuel and power

(Existing dwellings)
o Approved Document L2A: Conservation of fuel and power

(New buildings other than dwellings)
o Approved Document L2B: Conservation of fuel and power

(Existing buildings other than dwellings)
All of these documents can be downloaded

from the UK Government Portal:
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/
buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partl/
approved
In brief, performance standards and

compliance requirements for new buildings are
set on the basis of determining annual carbon
dioxide emissions for the proposed building
and then comparing the result obtained with
those for what is termed a “notional building”
which is of the same size and geometry built to
comply with the 2005 version of Approved
Document L.
To comply, the proposed building must emit in

operation at least 25 % less CO2 as the
notional building. In addition, there are other
restrictions in place. For example, a set of
minimum U values for building elements are
specified.
For a detailed explanation of the 2010

revisions of ADL ( covering all sections ) please
watch this video.
http://www.thenbs.com/nbsTV/Regulations/
programme.asp?
refCode=313189&title=Building+Regulations+E
xplained+%2D+Part+L
NOTE: YOU WILL NEED TO ALLOW ABOUT 100
MINUTES
The relevant calculations have to be carried
out by a certified person ( “Low Carbon
Consultant”) using one of two standard
methodologies:
o Simplified Building Energy Model(SBEM) for

commercial buildings
o Standard Assessment Procedure ( SAP) for

dwellings
A phased revision of Approved Document L
has been rolled out.
This was intended mainly to implement

changes made to the requirements of 2010/31
resulting from the introduction of 244/ 2012
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/
br/approved-documents-amends-list_2013.pdf
The 2013 revisions to AD L are buried amongst

a number of revisions to other Approved
Documents. These latter revisions are mainly
intended to implement recent changes to
European Construction Product Directives
On page 12 of the document, the following
may be found:
“Before construction of a new building starts,

the person who is to carry out the work must
analyse and take into account the technical,
environmental and economic feasibility of
using high – efficiency alternative systems….in
the construction, if available- “
“
(a) decentralised energy supply systems based
on energy from renewable sources;
(b) co generation;
(c) District or block heating or cooling,
particularly where it is based entirely or
partially on energy from renewable sources
and
(d) Heat pumps
”
The message is clear – from now on, the use of

renewables has to be considered as a core part
of design rather than simply as a tool for
reducing carbon emissions
In passing, it should be noted that under

English law, local authorities have limited
powers to insist upon increased levels of
renewables usage
The most well known case is the so – called

“Merton Rule”
In conclusion
o The current legislative framework steers
developers towards higher levels of demand
control, coupled with increased use of
energy saving technologies and renewable
energy sources
o There has to be some action taken soon to
force improvements in existing buildings
o The current UK government is not keen on
more legislation

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EEEN60422 - Zero carbon Built Infrastructure

Regulatory and legislative issues.

o We will address the issue of current

o The focus will be upon England / Wales and

In the past, Scotland has had its own Building

The logic was that construction detailing in Scotland

Northern Ireland has its own set of Building

Again, Northern Ireland is held to have

England and Wales are dealt with together

The Government has signalled its intention to

Despite all the current drivers for

This is due to the influence of the European

The push for greater energy efficiency is in

A major push towards binding international

It should noted that in 1998 the purpose of

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

This was held in June 2012.

At the summit, attempts were made to

A satisfactory conclusion was not reached at

It is highly likely that another attempt will be

At the time of writing, the UK has a so called

Energy and Environment are not among these

The EU has produced one key Directive which

This is The Directive on Energy Performance of

“Buildings are responsible for 40% of energy

“The Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings

For a good summary of the key points of

In addition, this reference also contains useful

There was always the intention that

In May 2010, the EU formally adopted the

For the accompanying press release please go

This document summarises things concisely.

As a result of the EU’s ambitious plans for

Quoting directly from Commission Delegated

“…supplementing Directive 2010/31/EU of the

For a useful accompanying note, please see

the European Union has set out a roadmap to

In the future, I think that much more attention

In this course unit, we will concentrate upon

The Building Regulations for England and

The document of relevance is Approved

o Approved Document L1A: Conservation of fuel and power

o Approved Document L1B: Conservation of fuel and power

o Approved Document L2A: Conservation of fuel and power

o Approved Document L2B: Conservation of fuel and power

All of these documents can be downloaded

In brief, performance standards and

To comply, the proposed building must emit in

For a detailed explanation of the 2010

o Simplified Building Energy Model(SBEM) for

o Standard Assessment Procedure ( SAP) for

This was intended mainly to implement

The 2013 revisions to AD L are buried amongst

“Before construction of a new building starts,

The message is clear – from now on, the use of

In passing, it should be noted that under

The most well known case is the so – called

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