TRAINING QUESTIONS FOR BUILDING REGULATIONS IN ENGLAND & WALES

October

Conservation of fuel and power, Part L1 & L2

Approved Documents

1. An owner intends to construct a detached summer house in their garden. As it will be used in the winter, a fixed electric fire is to be installed in the building. It is to be constructed as a timber shed with timber cladding to the walls, except for one wall that is to be completely made up of single glazed patio doors. The internal floor area is 20sq.m. and the shed is 500mm from the boundary. The owner asks do the patio doors need to be double glazed or is single glazed acceptable?
2. An large flat is being sub-divided to form two flats. As part of the work independent gas-fired central heating systems are being installed to the flats. The builder asks you, does the pipework to the central heating system have to be insulated?
   If there was a roof void over the flats, would the loft insulation have to be increased?
   If the plaster was removed from the solid, 9 inch thick, walls of the flat, would the external walls have to be dry-linned?
3. A large conservatory is being added to a house with an internal floor area of 35 sq.m. The conservatory is separated from the remainder of the house by walls with a U-value of 0.35 and timber external doors. It is proposed to have a hot water radiator fixed to one of the walls in the conservatory. What does the Approved Document recommend to ensure adequate conservation of fuel and power in the conservatory?
4. A new block of flats is being constructed. It is not proposed to put any heating in the common access corridors and stairs. What thermal resistance would the walls need between a flat and these common areas?
5. A new office block is centrally heated using 4 boilers. What space heating controls are required?
6. A new office building has large open plan floors. At what spacing should the light switches be installed?
   Why is this important?
   What requirements are there to use high efficency lamps in the lighting system? Would your answer have been different if all the rooms had been less than 100sq.m. in floor area?
7. An extension to a house has cavity walls with block-insulation-brick type construction. There are to be french type windows installed flush with the face of the brickwork to allow the doors to be opened to their full extent. Is there a risk of surface condensation and mould growth on the reveals of the french window? (Use Appendix D of Approved Document L1 to decide on how to avoid this problem).
8. A new house is to be built with a SAP rating over 60. The individual elements, however, do not all meet the "U" values of the elemental method. What other methods could be used to show that adequate Conservation of Fuel and Power had been achieved?
   What is meant by SAP ratings?
9. An office has air-conditioning from a central plant room. Large ducts are used to transfer the air at the correct temperature to the offices. The ductwork has to pass through several unheated spaces before it gets to the rooms. To what standard should the ductwork be insulated?
10. A large extension is being built to a house. The walls are being constructed of 360mm thick lightweight blocks. The builder asks you if the window and door openings can have a solid concrete lintel 360mm wide?
    Would a steel box lintel with insulation inside the box be a better solution? What else could be done to avoid thermal bridging around the openings?
11. A house owner is designing their own large extension. The existing house is poorly insulated with single glazed windows. The owner would like as much light as possible in the extension and tells you that cost is not an issue. What is the relationship between floor area of the extension and the average "U" value?
    What type of glazing can give the best "U" value and how large a window size would that give?

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Building Regulations

1. A large flat in an existing 1930's block of flats is being converted into 2 smaller flats. The builder asks is it necessary to provide an energy rating for the new flats? Would your answer be different if it was a new house that was being constructed?
2. Can the Local Authority Building Control issue a Completion Certificate if a SAP rating has not been provided for a dwelling?

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Building Act 1984

3. Under what section of the Building Act is the Secretary of State given Power to make building regulations for furthering the conservation of fuel and power?

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