News
New Part L 2021 – The Impact of Heat Losses
Posted on January 24th 2022
Part L 2021 places significant weight on heat network heat losses and will require design enhancements to meet carbon & primary energy requirements. Part L 2013 allows a default Distribution Loss Factor (DLF) in SAP of 1.05 (i.e. 5%), which has always vastly under-accounted real heat losses. The new Part L offers three possibilities: Use a default DLF of 2 …
Water Neutrality Requirements Bring Extra Costs
Posted on January 19th 2022
New water neutrality requirements in North Sussex require all new developments to substantially reduce the water usage of new homes and offset the remainder. Water consumption values need to reduce from the Building Regulation Part G amount of 105L/pp/day for internal water consumption to 85L/pp/day at most. This reduced value can be achieved in two ways: Maximising the water efficiency …
SAP 10.2: CHP Back on the Table?
Posted on January 14th 2022
We now have Government confirmations on how the new Part L and SAP will treat CHP and the results may be more positive than previously anticipated. We previously wrote about the SAP 10.2 proposals regarding CHP. In these, the Government recognised the importance of CHP but the measures proposed were found to not be enough to make them acceptable under …
Will the New Part O Push Central London Developments to use Cooling?
Posted on January 14th 2022
Developments in areas with high external noise levels are unlikely to be able to rely on opening windows to mitigate overheating risk and may be required to install comfort cooling. Approved Document O (Overheating), published on 15th December 2021, sets internal noise limits that must be met in bedrooms during the night. If these limits are not met with windows …
Part L 2021 Finalised
Posted on December 15th 2021
The Government released its new statutory requirements for energy, overheating and ventilation for buildings in England on the 15/12/21. The following is an initial review of the updates which are largely the same as we have previously discussed in various articles: Regulations – The new tougher requirements covering energy, overheating and ventilation have been confirmed. These are presented in new Approved …
Merry Christmas from all at Hodkinson Consultancy
Posted on December 14th 2021
We all wish you an enjoyable Christmas and hope that 2022 brings us continued good health (and no further global emergencies). It has been a pleasure working with all our clients over the past year and particularly enjoyable to see an increasing number of you in person. Our office is closed from 23rd December, reopening on 4th January when we …
Heat Network Water Quality – New Guidance
Posted on December 14th 2021
New guidance on heat networks’ water quality has just come out which calls for more sensors, probes and closer monitoring. The new BG50/2021, published in November 2021, introduces a number of updates over its predecessor (BG50/2013) which are aimed at making Heat Networks (and closed loop systems in general, including cooling) more robust, efficient and with longer life spans. Among …
All New Homes with Parking to Provide an EV Charge Point
Posted on December 2nd 2021
From next year all new homes with associated parking will be required to be fitted with an electric vehicle (EV) charge point. Developments will need to consider the additional electrical needs and costs that this could incur. The Government has responded to the 2019 consultation (which was summarised in our article earlier this year) and is set to introduce into …
How to get Heat Pumps Right
Posted on November 29th 2021
Compared to traditional heating systems, heat pumps need a different way of thinking about design, construction and operation to make them work as well as possible. With heat pumps becoming increasingly popular, and practically a requirement for new builds in London, its important to ensure they are delivered well. On paper, the high efficiencies and therefore low carbon associated with …
Zero Business Rates for Low-carbon Heat Networks
Posted on November 29th 2021
The government’s October 2021 budget promises 100% relief of business rates for eligible low carbon heat networks and a commitment to support green investment and decarbonisation of non-domestic buildings. This is expected to provide approximately £750 million of support to businesses, to encourage investments to meet net zero targets in the next five years. Business rates are generally charged on …