energiKare partners Hazlemere pass on Pilkington’s advice on changes to Building Regulations Part L

With the recent announcement of changes to Part L of the Building Regulations to come into effect on 1st October 2010, it is important that all UK property owners are made fully aware of how the proposed changes will impact the specification of glazing in both domestic and commercial developments and how glass manufacturers Pilkington Building Products is responding to the requirements.

The Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) made five key changes in relation to glazing. These are:
• significant reductions in target carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for all new buildings
• tighter requirements for Window Energy Ratings (WERs) in replacement glazing
• greater restrictions on the use of centre pane U-values in measuring compliance
• recognition of the benefits of supplementing existing single glazing with low-e secondary glazing
• increased focus on the risk of overheating in summer

The full details of the changes affecting glazing in Part L 2010 are summarised in a downloadable PDF bulletin 10 produced by Pilkington

Pilkington developed this bulletin to provide a comprehensive summary of the new Part L regulations for England and Wales. It outlines the significant changes and detail the implications for new and existing dwellings, new and existing buildings other than dwellings, conservatories, historic buildings as well as information about how to limit the effects of solar gains in summer.

The new rules and regulations will have an impact on the design and specification process. Navigating this can be made easier by knowing which products will help achieve compliance. For replacement windows, the requirements for Window Energy Ratings and window U-values have been tightened. Greater restrictions are placed on the centre pane U-value compliance route and the benefit of supplementing existing single glazing with low-e secondary glazing has also been recognised. Energy efficient glazing such as Pilkington K Glass™ and Pilkington energiKare™ can satisfy these requirements. For non-dwellings, there will be a greater focus on limiting solar gains in the summer, high performance solar control glass such as Pilkington Suncool™ and Pilkington Eclipse Advantage™ will make it easier to achieve compliance. Find more information about each of these products visit www.pilkington.co.uk or for more on Part L visit www.hazlemere.co.uk