NEW building developments may in future have to meet even tougher environmental standards aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Representatives of the local construction industry who attended the most recent Norman Piette best practice seminar learnt about tighter requirements recently introduced under the UK building regulations.

Although they have yet to be introduced locally, it is likely they will be in the near future.

Representatives of UK insulation manufacturer Kingspan outlined the new requirements under the Part L regulations, which govern the thermal performance of buildings.

These came into effect in the UK in April last year.

Guernsey has adopted the previous Part L requirements, which were introduced in the UK in 2002.

These established standards for thermal performance aimed at reducing the amount of heat lost through a building’s walls, roof, windows and other elements.

They also give designers a range of options for calculating that.

Under the new UK regulations, which apply to both residential and commercial properties, designers have only one method of demonstrating compliance.

As well as the fabric of the building, other elements, such as the performance of boilers and central heating systems, have to be taken into account.

Kingspan area sales manager Chris George said there had been a significant tightening of the standards that applied to the various elements.

‘Previously the regulations related to the performance of a whole building based on incremental values for each element,’ he said.

‘Provided you came within the overall standard, you could trade off by using some materials with high thermal efficiency and others with less.

‘Now the measurement is of carbon emissions per square metre of floor area, with standards set for the overall building and limits for each individual element.

‘The requirements are about 20% higher than those introduced in 2002.’

Means of complying with the new standard include better insulation and improvements in workmanship, said Mr George.

‘Complying with the standards is all about slowing down the heat loss through the various elements.

‘You can do that by using higher performance products, or equally by ensuring there are no weaknesses in the construction, which would allow heat to escape,’ he said.

The event attracted more than 100 representatives of the local construction industry, including builders, surveyors, architects and engineers.

Norman Piette architectural and training consultant David Collen said it was the highest ever turnout for one of the company’s seminars, which reflected the level of interest in this important topic.

‘Energy conservation and reduced carbon emission are key issues for the building trade and designers locally have already had to adapt to the regulations that were introduced in Guernsey last year.

‘In the UK now the standards are being set even higher and it is the trend that I am sure we are going to be following,’ he said.