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Specifiers need not go to 'L'

With the recent revision of the Building Regulations - Part L: 2006 the Government has firmly signalled its expectation that the UK building industry will make a significant contribution to its commitment to reduce the UK’s emissions of Greenhouse Gases which contribute to Global Warming. Dow has developed STYROFOAM Solutions, a range of fast-track templates to assist designers and specifiers in developing accurate insulation specifications quickly and painlessly.

The revisions, as detailed in the new Approved Documents L1A&B and L2A&B covering both new build and refurbishment, require buildings to be designed to emit 20 to 28% less carbon dioxide than the previous levels achievable by Part L: 2002. Also included in this revision is the implementation of the European Union’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive which focuses on assessing and improving the energy performance of buildings.

The new Approved Documents establish a ‘whole building’ energy performance-based approach to the design of new buildings. This includes consideration of the building type, configuration and siting, fenestration, fabric and services insulation, thermal bridging, air tightness, solar gain, ventilation, lighting, heating/cooling and fuel type.

This holistic approach now becomes the only route to achieve compliance and offers greater design flexibility. But at the same time it further enhances insulation’s contribution to improving the building’s energy performance. For refurbishment the emphasis still remains on the Elemental U-value approach but with more demanding fabric insulation requirements.

The key challenge for designers is to design buildings which will produce 20 - 28 % less carbon dioxide emissions – indeed some may wish to further improve seeing this as a bare minimum. Insulation will continue to play a dominant role in meeting this challenge for both new and existing buildings. Part L: 2006 ensures that the emphasis will not shift away from the long-term benefits of insulating the building fabric towards the short-term benefits of ‘renewable’ items.

STYROFOAMTM from Dow is the blue extruded foamed polystyrene insulation ubiquitous on UK commercial sites. First manufactured by Dow more than 50 years ago, STYROFOAM has been continually improved and updated to meet the demands of modern building insulation. The unrivalled technical properties of STYROFOAM give it low thermal conductivity, minimising the board thickness needed to achieve specific U Values, allowing greater design flexibility.

The STYROFOAM Solutions range of fast-track templates aims to assist designers and specifiers in developing accurate insulation specifications quickly and painlessly. STYROFOAM Solutions information, along with a comprehensive specifier’s guide to the insulation requirements of the new Part L regulations, is available to specifiers free of charge by calling 01234 567890 or by visiting www.styrofoameurope.com/partl. DOW- Building Solutions team in the UK is also available for site visits and to answer questions about a specific project's insulation requirements under Part L.

STYROFOAM is the most widely used extruded foamed polystyrene insulation board in the world, recognised as the market leaser for residential, commercial and industrial applications, whether new build or refurbishment. One of the largest companies in the world, Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural solutions to a huge variety of consumer and business markets worldwide.

Email: helencurry@foundationpr.co.uk