Changes to Scottish Building regs

[jamieled]

This will be more for interest for most people as this is just a consultation - any changes are a while off. But you may be sufficiently motivated to respond if you plan another build or are upset about something.

 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-building-regulations-proposed-changes-energy-standards-associated-topics/pages/1/

 

I haven't time to read the whole thing in detail, but the bits that jumped out so far:

 

-Improvents to the standards required for a SAP pass as well as changes to minimum u values.

 

-Proposals to air test ALL new homes (not just a proportion as currently happens on larger developments). I'd imagine the housebuilding lobbyists might be swinging into action on this one.

 

 

[Ferdinand]

This is interesting:

 

Bye bye gas boilers? How does a woodstove produce zero emissions at the point of use? By 2024?

 

Quote

2024 New Build Heat Standard

As part of our Heat in Buildings Strategy, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that, from 2024, new buildings must use heating systems which produce zero direct emissions at the point of use.

 

A scoping consultation^[11] on proposals was undertaken from December 2020 to March 2021 which set out our high-level vision for the new Standard. This focused upon regulation of new buildings to meet the commitment set out in the 2019 Programme for Government to require new buildings to use renewable or low carbon heat.

 

The Scottish Government is currently developing more detailed proposals for further, detailed consultation on this issue. Provisions within this energy standards consultation are framed in the context of the anticipated use of ‘zero direct emissions’ heat solutions in the very near future. Proposals offered include the need to ‘futureproof’ new buildings, by delivering very high levels of heat demand reduction and setting out information on simple, low cost adaptation where such solutions are not included on initial construction.

 

Good to see the move to total testing for leakage; that may be easier due to more Timberframe in Scotland. That now needs to be total inspection.

 

Now for England to catch up; I don't like being behind.

 

F

[nod]

9 hours ago, jamieled said:

This will be more for interest for most people as this is just a consultation - any changes are a while off. But you may be sufficiently motivated to respond if you plan another build or are upset about something.

 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-building-regulations-proposed-changes-energy-standards-associated-topics/pages/1/

 

I haven't time to read the whole thing in detail, but the bits that jumped out so far:

 

-Improvents to the standards required for a SAP pass as well as changes to minimum u values.

 

-Proposals to air test ALL new homes (not just a proportion as currently happens on larger developments). I'd imagine the housebuilding lobbyists might be swinging into action on this one.

 

 

The airtightness testing as it stands is nonsense Its so rare to see testers on-site 

Certainly not one in seven 

Most are done as a desktop survey 

[jamieled]

@Ferdinand it's a tricky document to get my head round. I found a couple of statements that suggested you could still use gas/solid fuel but you will need to do a lot of work on the building fabric to meet the emissions and energy targets. It will be a lot more straightforward to just say you are using a heat pump and so I suspect this is one way of incentisvising heat pump use.

 

Many people around us seem to install woodburners for aesthetic reasons rather than as a significant source of heating and there's nothing obvious in these proposed changes that would prevent that.

 

Incidentally I was speaking to an acquaintance in a small off grid community on the Scottish West coast this afternoon. They have a private wire electrical network fed from a small hydro. Heat pumps may not be particularly suitable there - they might quickly overload the grid at peak demand. They're a bit of an outlier, but it will be interesting to see whether any exceptions to the move towards heat pumps are made.

[saveasteading]

Wood burners are extremely unsustainable when the pellets are imported from Canada.

As are government sponsored power stations fuelled the same way.

 

But when made from timber waste nearby it is pretty clearly ok, esp in open countryside.

Burners are about 90% efficient these days, as demonstrated by the tiny amount of ash.

 

So I too predict a trade-off of penalty points for wood, and have to get a better U value. 

You can have your wood burner but it will cost you a capital extra cost, that you then get back in savings over time.

 

Gas is already disallowed in new London projects.

 

We plan on having wood burners because a country home benefits from  it aesthetically, but also as a very easy way to heat up a big space in a hurry, or as a reserve.