Building Regulations...Standards we work to
How they relate to the Central Heating products we install:
The rules around gas installations are designed to protect you and your family. The standards are regularly improved. From 1 April 2005 all central heating boiler installations fall under the control of building regulations (the change applies to oil-fired central-heating boilers from 1 April 2007).
If you are having a gas appliance installed or replaced, this is how the current rules apply:
All gas boilers (and oil boilers from 1 April 2007) fitted in both new and existing homes must be condensing boilers with either an ‘A’ or ‘B’ efficiency rating (A= greater than 90%, B= 86%-90%).
There are exceptional circumstances (for example where it is not practical or economic) when a non-condensing boiler can be fitted and in this case an ‘exception certificate’ will be provided.
Declaration of Safety Certificate
You will receive a safety certificate (called a Declaration of Safety) from CORGI after a gas appliance has been installed. Please keep this safe as it proves the appliance has been installed by a professional. It will also form an essential part of the Home Information Pack, to be a legal requirement in England and Wales from 2007. For more information about the introduction of the Home Information Pack visit www.odpm.gov.uk .
Working Practices:
Building Regulations define how a central heating installer should work:
The regulations refer to documents which give clear advice for any installer or homeowner. The two main documents are The Good Practice Guide 302 (GPG302) and Central Heating Standard Specification (CheSS – GIL059), these give two levels of control that will be deemed to satisfy the regulations; “Good Practice” and “Best Practice” .
What is required?
- Every time a boiler or hot water cylinder is changed, the whole heating system must be checked and brought up to the new standards of efficiency and control if necessary. This will ensure that the boiler will be able to work to its declared efficiency. Afterall there is no point in fitting a new highly efficient boiler if the rest of the system is inefficient.
- The new boiler or cylinder must meet efficiency standards – SEDBUK for the boiler BS for the cylinder. (Medium duty cylinders DO NOT satisfy these).
- For the system to be compatible with the higher efficiency boilers, it should be fully pumped.
- The system must have a boiler interlock. A means of shutting down the pump and boiler when no heat or hot water is required.
- If a bypass circuit is fitted, an automatic bypass valve must be used.
- The controls fitted should be either Good or Best practice as defined in CheSS or GPG302.
- When completed the system must be commissioned to ensure that all components are installed and functioning properly.
When the central heating system is handed over by the central heating engineer to the householder: operation and maintenance must be explained to the householder and instructions left with proof of commissioning. ( A completed and signed Benchmark Logbook is accepted).
Minimum requirements to fulfil "Good Practice" or "Best Practice" requirements are:
For Good Practice Stored Hot Water Systems should include:
- Programmers (Preferred with independent times for CH/DHW)
- Room Thermostat
- Cylinder Thermostat
- Motorised Valve (s)
- Radiator thermostats throughout*
- Automatic Bypass Valve**
For Good Practice Combi Boilers should include:
- Timeswitch
- Room thermostat
- Radiator thermostats throughout*
- Automatic Bypass Valve**
For Best Practice Stored Hot Water Systems should include:
- Programmable room thermostat with capability to control DHWRoom thermostat
- Cylinder thermostat
- Motorised valve (s)
- Radiator thermostats throughout*
- Automatic bypass valve**
For Best practice Combi Boilers should include:
- Programmable room thermostat
- Radiator thermostats throughout*
- Automatic bypass valve**
* Radiator thermostats should be used on all radiators except where the room thermostat is fitted.
** If a bypass circuit is used, then an automatic bypass valve must be fitted.
For stored hot water systems, Sundial S, W and Y Plans satisfy Good practice and Smartfit satisfies Best Practice.
Documentation and reference:
- TACMA - A new guide - How to comply with the revised building regulations 2001/2002. This guide supports the official guidance covering the use of controls in boiler based, gas and oil fired domestic central heating installations within the revised Building Regulations, Part L1 for England & Wales and Part J for Scotland.
- Guidance notes from the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes entitled "The Domestic Heating & Hot Water Guide to the Building Regulations 2001 - Part L1" is available from the DTLR
- A leaflet on the Building Regulations Part L1 is available in all merchants.
- Benchmark Logbook.
- Visit the Heating Controls Information website - TACMA to download a copy of the Building Regulations Part L1.
- CORGI is the Council for Registered Gas Installers
- OFTEC is the Oil Firing Technical Association
- SEDBUK is a British standard designed to be a realistic measure in practice, it stands for: Seasonal Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the UK.
- Energy rating can be expressed in BTU/h (British thermal units per hour) or kW (thousands of Watts). To find the total energy produced or consumed they should be multiplied by time so that the units of energy become BTU (or kBTU) or kWh.
- To convert from kW to kBTU/h multiply by 3.413
