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Part L of the Building Regulations

With domestic and commercial buildings accounting for such a high proportion of the UK's carbon emissions, the Government sees the control of energy usage in buildings as a crucial part of the strategy to meet its Kyoto commitments. Once implemented, it is anticipated that the measures in Part L of the Building Regulations which focus on the conservation of fuel and power, will acheive considerable reductions in carbon dioxide emissions by reducing energy consumption in new and refurbished buildings, both domestic and commercial.

Regulation determining the minimum levels of energy efficiency for new cooling equipment applied to new and existing UK buildings is covered under the 'Energy Performance of Building Directive' and many of the directives requirements will be enforced through application of the Part L of the Building Regulations.

The Part L document specifies the minimum energy efficiency of cooling equipment as a stand alone energy consumer. This particular requirement is quantified by the type of cooling equipment and the equipment's full load efficiency or EER.

The measurement of a buildings efficiency is based around the use of the Target carbon dioxide Emission Rate (TER), which measures the mass of CO2 emitted per year, per square metre of the total floor area of the building - shown as kg/m2/year.

The TER is calculated using one of the following approved calculation tools:

  • Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) for dwellings
  • Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) for non-dwellings
  • Other software tools based on the SBEM, which have been approved by the ODPM

Once the TER has been calculated, this provides a target for the Building carbon dioxide Emission Rate (BER), which is calculated using the same calculation tools as the TER. The BER must not exceed the TER.

Rapid Air Conditioning will ensure all equipment installed meets the Part L requirements.

Please Note: This is an introductory guide and is not a definitive source of legal information.

Comprehensive technical guidance and a detailed explanation of Part L requirements are available at the Planning Portal website http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/. At this site you can also access documents which you may need if you are involved with a project that needs to meet Building Regulations.