Part L – Building Regulations to Push Down Co2 Emissions From Home Heating

High Efficiency Boilers to Reduce CO2 Emissions Thanks to Part L
by Tal Potishman

Introduced in 2005 the new Building Regulations Part L has changed the scene as far as boilers are concerned. According to the new requirement, all boilers replaced or installed must be of high efficiency rating. This includes condensing and combination boilers which utilize a larger heat exchanger (or a secondary heat exchanger) to recoup some of the heat that would normally be released into the atmosphere with the exhaust gases. Since some of the energy can be reused, the boiler can generate the same amount of heat with less fuel.

The new high efficiency heating unit introduced a new level of professional requirements from the system designer and the operative installing it. Each part of the system (such as the boiler, the radiators, the hot water cylinder and the heating controls) is fully integrated with the other components, to maximize the system's efficiency and heating output. As such, the design has to account for each component's specific set up and consider their input and output demands.

Research shows that since the introduction of the new Part L, the domestic heating industry has made a major reduction in the amount of carbon emissions generated every year. Recent analysis conducted in the industry indicates that savings of around 2.4 million tonnes of carbon have been made since the new Building Regulations have been introduced. Furthermore, the analysis shows that had Part L not been introduced and with the industry relying on SEDBUK D rated systems, the amount of carbon emissions would have increased by over one million tonnes since 2005.

At current levels there is still large potential for reducing the carbon emissions generated by the domestic boilers in the UK. There are around four million old boilers which are significantly less efficient than modern SEDBUK A rated boilers. Replacing such old boilers with an A rated boiler can reduce carbon emissions by around 30%. Each home in the UK produces an average of 5 tonnes of CO2 per annum. Across the whole population, domestic heating accounts for around 16% of the UK's CO2 emissions.

The government is trying to encourage carbon reducing behaviour within the home heating sector. It has scrapped stamp duty for carbon neutral homes and has introduced the home information packs which have an energy performance certificate as part of the pack. However, the stamp duty benefit does not apply to the vast majority of inefficient homes around the country making it less effective. The home information packs (with their energy performance certificate component) also have drawbacks in that they are only produced when the house is sold, and thus not having enough of an impact at other times to encourage reduction in carbon emissions.

Other levers that can be pulled to reduce carbon emissions from domestic heating in the UK are related to renewable and sustainable energy. The government plans to build around 3 million new homes between now and 2020. If just 10% of these new homes use solar thermal heating or heat pumps along with traditional (gas or oil) boilers, around 150,000 tonnes of carbon emissions would be saved annually.

The government applied a combination of carrots and sticks to force the domestic heating market to reduce its carbon emissions. The plumbing and heating industry is largely keeping up with the trend with many companies investing in training and professional development on renewable energy technologies to address any market need in those areas.