How do the new building regulations for 2022 affect me and my home improvements?

5th July 2022

There is now a real pressing need for the UK to reduce its carbon emission and the Government has responded with new Building Regulations which affect all home owners, self-builders and home renovators.

The Government are pressing the construction and home improvement industry and home owners into implementing new ways to reduce heat loss through the fabric of buildings, and in turn reduce energy consumption.

Significant changes to building regulations came into effect on June 15, 2022, which require all new homes to produce 30% less carbon dioxide emissions.

The changes are aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings, and in turn help the country move toward its target for Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The building regulations also include new standards to reduce energy use and carbon emissions during home improvements.

At EYG, we have been ahead of the curve in alerting our teams in sales, manufacturing, and installation, to help them understand the necessary changes and implement these new measures.

The good news is that our windows, doors and extensions are all fully compliant with the new regulations.

Some examples of changes for compliance are on our newbuild extensions. For example, our retro-fit works on bases, roofs, and cavity walls have now had a significant increase in insulation.

What are trickle vents for and do I need them?

Another noticeable change is the introduction of trickle vents on windows.

These are installed to address the issues around poor ventilation in dwellings, creating a healthier and better living environment.

As we continue to improve the insulation of homes an unfortunate by-product of this is that stale and moist air cannot escape, causing condensation and mould.

Trickle vents, which is termed background ventilation; and sashes, which is purge ventilation, provide a solution to this.

Trickle vents are a device which is fitted to the window and allows stale air to escape and fresh air in to ventilate the room with cleaner, healthier air.

In order to be compliant with new building regulations, we now fit trickle vents to all windows in inhabited rooms.

Any windows fitted after this date with trickle vents will no longer receive a FENSA certificate.

So home owners need to ensure they are using complaint home improvement specialists in order to make sure their home is up to date with the new legislation.

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