Building Regulations - The Future Homes & Buildings Standard

The content relates to the new approved documents and is therefore subject to change, pending publication of the final versions. The following is based on the draft versions.

Context
•    Building Regulations, Approved Documents, Building Safety Act, Building Control
•    Future Homes and Building Standard (including interactions between Parts F, L and

O
•    Transitional arrangements

Ventilation
•    Ventilation provision
•    Minimising the ingress of external pollutants
•    Work on existing dwellings/buildings
•    Commissioning and providing information
•    Appendices

Conservation of fuel and power
•    Calculating the target energy and carbon metrics
•    Calculating the dwelling/building energy and carbon metrics
•    Limiting heat gains and losses
•    Carbon and energy performance of building services – general guidance
•    Carbon and energy performance of building services – system specific guidance
•    Air permeability and pressure testing 
•    Commissioning fixed building services and on-site electricity generation systems 
•    Installation, certification, inspection and testing of heat pump systems
•    Providing information to owner about the building, fixed building services and maintenance requirements
•    Replacing thermal elements and limiting heat gains and losses in existing buildings, including extensions
•    Renovating thermal elements and limiting heat gains and losses in existing buildings
•    Consequential improvements
•    Appendices

Overheating
•    Simplified method
•    Dynamic thermal modelling
•    Ensuring the overheating mitigation strategy is usable
•    Providing information
•    Appendices

Conclusion
•    Summary of changes
•    Part Z – Whole Life Carbon
•    Decarbonising the Built Environment

Learning Outcomes

Please note that Building Regulations are devolved areas of law and are therefore different in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively. This course is almost entirely focused on England, though some of the key principles are more broadly applicable.

The course starts with a brief overview of how building work is regulated and goes on to describe the scope of the Future Homes and Building Standard.
It then goes on to outline the regulations and guidance on ventilation, energy efficiency (‘conservation of fuel and power’) and overheating. This includes the following.

•    Building work covered by these parts of the regulations.
•    Differences between the treatment of new buildings and work to existing buildings.
•    Differences between the treatment of dwellings and buildings other than dwellings.
•    Overview of calculation methodologies used to demonstrate compliance.
•    Minimum standards to be achieved.
•    Activities during the construction and handover & completion phases.

The focus is on key principles, with illustrative examples. Changes coming in to effect in 2025 are emphasised. The presentation is not intended to cover every aspect in detail, as this would take too much time and because some of the guidance deals with very specific and unusual circumstances.
The course concludes by providing a high-level summary of the changes, contextualising these within the broader policy framework and trends, and considering the implications for how buildings are designed.
It is intended that delegates will be able to apply the knowledge gained to a wide range of project work, mainly from a design perspective.