Sustainability through higher fabric standards
It is important that the carbon reduction solution taken to achieve Part L compliance is a long term one and that over the life of the building, carbon emissions are not adversely affected when the building services are replaced.
The lifetime of a building is likely to be between 50 and 100 years, significantly longer than that of its heating system, so the sustainable solution is to invest in the most efficient building fabric possible, in terms of insulation, air tightness and glazing, etc. These elements will remain with the building over the course of its lifetime, where it is perfectly feasible that, after a relatively short period of time, the heating system could be replaced with something far less efficient than that installed initially.
Because of the carbon content of today’s electricity generation mix is high, it is necessary to invest a little more in the building fabric to achieve Part L compliance. But as more of our electricity is generated from clean, renewable sources, the carbon efficiency of electrically heated buildings will improve and the higher standards of building fabric required today will ensure that the planet benefits tomorrow.