Time is running out on Part L
Manufacturers of aluminium windows and doors could find that all or part of their product offer falls short of proposed changes to Building Regulations. This will effectively lock them out of the market within the matter of months, according to some within the industry.
The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is expected to publish new standards for energy efficiency in the autumn.
This, according to Deceuninck Aluminium, creates a ticking time bomb for manufacturers of less energy efficient systems, which could be left high and dry when the new and more stringent requirements come into force.
“We’re not over playing this when we say it could lock some fabricators, or at the very least some of the products that they manufacture, out of the market,” Nigel Headford, director at Deceuninck Aluminium, said.
“There are a lot of aluminium products which as it stands only just scrape in under Part L energy requirements.
“If Part L now goes to U-values of 1.4W/m2K, some older systems aren’t going to make the grade and fabricators could find that something that they have supplied for a decade falls short, excluding it from the market almost overnight.”
A revision of Parts L and F of the Building Regulations is expected in October as part of the new Future Homes Standard.
Although the detail is still to be published, consultation documents proposed a tightening of standards, introducing new minimum U-values for windows of 1.4W/m2K from the existing 1.6W/m2K.
For doors the step change is even greater, with the same new U-value of 1.4W/m2K but from the pre-existing 1.8W/m2K.
“There are aluminium bifold and inline sliding systems out there that struggle to achieve a U-value of 1.6W/m2K,” Nigel said. “You can maybe bump up your glass spec but it’s going to make to your product uncompetitive.
“If things move to 1.4W/m2K, systems companies are either going to have to move exceptionally quickly to redesign their products, or fabricators are going to have to switch suppliers.”
Consultation on the Future Homes Standard closed in January this year. Although the time frame has potential to slip, the MHCLG is expected to release its revision of Part L in October, coming into effect in April 2022.
Driven by the UK’s pledge to cut carbon emissions, including improving the energy efficiency of existing and new homes, proposals set out in the consultation document suggest a significant step change will be required across a wide range of building products, including windows and doors.
Launched at the beginning of 2020, Decalu by Deceuninck Aluminium, is an ultra-energy efficient window and door offer.
This includes: the Decalu88 bifolding door, which achieves U-values as low as 0.68W/m2K; the Decalu163 lift and slide, which hits U-values as low as 0.8W/m2K; and the Decalu101 Scand, which offers U-values as low as 0.89W/m2k.
“Being able to meet and significantly exceed current and future Building Regulations is critical,” Nigel said. “As a fabricator, right now, I’d be asking some pretty serious questions of my aluminium systems supplier.”
