The Department of Finance opened a consultation on the review of energy efficiency requirements and related areas of Building Regulations on 26 July 20231.
The department describes the exercise as "Phase 2" in a programme for energy related aspects of the Building Regulations, published in the Executive's Energy Strategy1. Sections 3 and 4 of the document cover dwellings and buildings other than dwellings respectively, and set out a detailed pre-consultation on potential next steps, labelled "Phase 3", addressing Part F (Conservation of fuel and power), Part K (Ventilation), overheating risks in dwellings, and electric vehicle infrastructure to parking spaces at buildings1. Section 5 investigates potential directions for later phases, while section 6 considers additional matters including embodied carbon, the sizing of new homes and issues within current energy assessment methodologies1.
The document also examines policy developments elsewhere as a basis for potential developments in Northern Ireland, with the pace of moves towards low carbon heating expectations for new buildings described as one important theme1. The consultation is technical in parts and assumes a reasonable familiarity with current Building Regulations application processes, the technicalities of assessments and typical building outcomes1. Homeowners are listed among the audiences for the consultation1.
"Your views and evidence will help inform uplifts to the energy related aspects of building regulations over the coming decade."
The department states that it is not compulsory to answer all questions, and that answers will inform the development of final policy proposals and legislation1. Responses are treated in strict confidence and analysis carried out on an anonymous basis under GDPR guidelines; where consent has been provided, responses will be published on the Department of Finance website without personal data1. Personal data collected through the process will be kept for two years, after which all data will be deleted1. The contact for the consultation is the Building Standards Branch1.
Why it matters for households
Building Regulations set the energy performance standard that a new home or an extension must meet, so any uplift to the energy related parts shapes how much a dwelling costs to heat and how well it holds warmth once occupied. The scope here reaches beyond fabric and heating: ventilation and overheating risk affect summer comfort and indoor air, while electric vehicle infrastructure to parking spaces at buildings concerns how easily a home with an off-street space can be charged. Embodied carbon and the sizing of new homes sit outside the usual energy assessment regime, and the consultation treats them as matters for consideration rather than settled policy1. For a household, the practical effect of this phase is indirect: it concerns the rules applied to building work, not obligations on existing homes. The rules differ across the UK, and readers in Northern Ireland are governed by the Building Regulations in Northern Ireland and the Technical Booklets, while equivalent regimes operate under Building Regulations in England, Building Regulations in Wales and Scottish Building Standards. How such exercises feed into final rules is set out in Energy Consultations: How Rules Are Proposed, Decided and Changed.
What happens next
The department states that the answers given will inform the development of final policy proposals and legislation1. No date for publication of a response or for subsequent legislation has been reported.
Sources1 cited
- [Review of energy efficiency requirements and related areas of Building Regulations