Increasingly there is a movement towards ‘performance not compliance’, which recognises that buildings can deliver more than is asked of them in regulations.
Building regulations/standards feature mandatory requirements that set a minimum level of performance to be achieved. Complying with the requirements should ensure the health and safety of people in and around the building in question, while also conserving energy and water use.
The regulations provide no incentive to exceed the minimum requirements. For example, there is no rating system to reward higher levels of performance.
Increasingly, however, there is a movement towards ‘performance not compliance’. It recognises that buildings can deliver a lot more than is being asked of them in regulations. The movement is also an acknowledgement that, when it comes to climate change in particular, we can move faster and further than the pace of regulatory change otherwise allows.
A frequent criticism of national building regulations is how requirements for certain areas of performance are not linked, even though they impact one another.
The most commonly-cited example of this is the relationship between energy efficiency and ventilation. As buildings become better insulated and more airtight, a reliable source of fresh air is vital to reduce the risk of poor indoor air quality. In the past, energy efficiency requirements have been tightened without ventilation requirements also being updated.
The Building Regulations in England were updated in 2022, with Part F (ventilation) and Part L (conservation of fuel and power) being updated together, alongside the introduction of Part O (overheating). The simultaneous updating represented progress of sorts, but the requirements of each Part were still not directly linked to one another.
Various voluntary standards exist that do offer a more joined up approach and think about a building holistically. The Passivhaus standard is one such example (with its EnerPHit equivalent for existing buildings), while the PAS 2035 methodology sets out a holistic approach to whole-building retrofit.
It can be said that, generally, voluntary standards seek to provide the end users with a tangible level of wellbeing and comfort that isn’t necessarily provided by regulatory compliance alone. They might also result in a building that is more resilient to future climate conditions, whereas regulations are geared more towards meeting the needs of ‘now’.
Delivering this higher level of all-round performance typically requires more design and calculation input, and the use of more and better quality materials. While that is likely to (but doesn’t always) cost more upfront, any additional investment often pays for itself in the long term – although such an approach is unlikely to win favour with those who see regulatory compliance as something of a tick box exercise.
Thermal bridges and junctions between building fabric elements are part of regulatory compliance. Even so, people can be unwilling to take the time to have details properly designed, calculated and constructed.
They see it as a cost saving, but the irony is that it makes compliance harder. They have to achieve lower U-values in the rest of the building fabric, which means over-specifying to compensate for the poor psi value performance. Recent updates to building regulations are making it harder to ignore thermal bridging, as the penalty for doing so is simply too difficult to overcome.
Junction detailing and the calculation of psi values can still be seen as complex or inaccessible, however. That’s where AutoPSI can help. The online modelling tool, developed by BRS Technology, offers quick and easy calculation of psi values in accordance with relevant standards and conventions.
Its drag and drop interface allows fully customisable junction details to be modelled, with products and components capable of being added and removed quickly and easily. Details can therefore be refined to meet regulatory requirements, deliver higher levels of performance (that could result in savings elsewhere in the specification), and also benefit the end user with a more comfortable building.
To find out more, visit the AutoPSI website or visit our LinkedIn page.