The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has issued a consultation on changes being considered to Part L (conservation of fuel and power) and Part F (ventilation) of the Building Regulations for non-domestic buildings and dwellings; and overheating in new residential buildings.

The proposed changes are aimed at simplifying and harmonising standards between new and existing installations. A key highlight is the requirement for centralised automation (BACS) to be provided on all installations greater than 290kW and the requirement for self-regulating devices to avoid overheating spaces. Furthermore, BACS are described as centralised control and switching systems that meet the standards of BS15232 Class A.

As an authority on the control and automation of building services, the BCIA welcomes the changes and proposed enhancements within and offered further suggestions to encourage energy efficiency through the application of automatic control solutions.

Terry Sharp, president of the BCIA, said: “The scheme is moving in the right direction to encourage the use of energy efficiency technologies and is starting to describe the minimum standards expected of efficient installations. We admire the greater ambition for the use of automation and have suggested how further energy savings could easily be economically achieved.”