BUILDING REGULATIONS
CHANGES IN THE BUILDING REGULATIONS FOR BOTH IRELAND AND NORTHERN IRELAND AIM AT REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS AND MAXIMISING ENERGY
EFFICIENCY OF RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS… On the road to net zero
T he conservation of fuel and power in residential and commercial buildings has been a top priority for building regulations on both sides of the border. In Northern Ireland, the new energy performance standards proposed by the Department of Finance came into effect in June 2022, with changes in Part F of the regulations. In the South, Part L of the Building Regulations was updated in 2019 to sets out requirements for the conservation of fuel and energy. Since then, the document also includes the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD) requirement for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB). Learn more about the changes and the methodologies used to evaluate the energy performance in buildings in both countries.
NORTHERN IRELAND The New Technical Booklets F1 and F2, which cover conservation of fuel and power in dwellings and non-dwellings, were acknowledged as the first step to bring local energy efficiency standards in line with developments elsewhere. New domestic buildings should achieve a 40% reduction in carbon emissions and new non-domestic buildings a 15% reduction over previous standards. The Part F of the regulations also tightened minimum fabric standards for both new domestic and commercial buildings and proposed the removal of the default air permeability test score of 15 m3/m2/hr @ 50 Pa. The new regulation should help reduce energy bills in new homes and buildings and, in the longer term, support a more secure energy system and the renewables sector.
According to Part F of the Building Regulations, the methodologies to measure the compliance target of new buildings in Northern Ireland remain the same: SAP for residential buildings and SBEM or DSM for commercial ones. All methods evaluate ventilation characteristics, thermal insulation, materials used, fuel used to produce space and water heating, efficiency and control of the heating system, and renewable energy technologies (if applicable). FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS A new build residential property must achieve a Dwelling Emission Rate (DER) equal to or lower than the Target Emission Rate (TER) established before the property is built, to comply. SAP calculations are used to calculate the energy performance of a building at both “design” and “as built”
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