Consultation On Changes To The Building Regulations In England: Energy Efficiency

On 31 January 2012 the Department for Communities and Local Government launched a consultation on proposed changes to the Building Regulations regime in England. If implemented, some of these changes may become effective from October 2012 with more following in 2013. The changes relevant to this article are those aimed at reaching carbon targets for buildings (see below) by improving energy efficiency and existing building control systems.

Whilst the consultation documentation is largely technical, certain proposals are likely to impact broadly on the uptake of clean technologies in the building sector. Section two in particular, (which aims to raise the energy performance standards for new and existing buildings and introduce new requirements for energy efficiency consideration in works on existing buildings) provides examples and analyses of the ways in which new performance targets could be met in practice (for example, through the use of more energy efficient