Achieving zero carbon hard despite updated Part L Building Regulations

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published the documents to give advice on how to achieve the stricter energy efficiency standards that will come into force in April 2014.

The proposals highlight a strong need to improve the thermal efficiency of the building fabric. Standards are lower however than the levels put out in 2011, which saw an eight per cent improvement on the 2010 regulations for new homes and 20 per cent for non-domestic properties.

The 2014 figures for change have dropped, requiring a six per cent improvement on new homes, with non-domestic properties being cut to just nine per cent.