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Part L updates and how they affect you

What are the key water treatment processes that you should apply in order to comply with the 2022 updates to Part L of the Building Regulations? Fernox head of chemistry Richard Crisp has some answers.

The latest revision to Part L of the Building Regulations in England came into effect last June as a major step in the government’s drive for the UK to become carbon-neutral. The regulations cover the Conservation of Fuel and Power and concern the thermal performance and energy efficiency for new and existing buildings, including a focus on the treatment and maintenance of central heating systems.

For heating engineers who are already familiar with BS 7593:2019*, the changes should be largely straightforward, as much of the recommended guidance was formally upgraded to legal requirement in the revision to Part L.

Fernox has advocated the principles of BS 7593 for many of cleaning is powerflushing, which increases the flow rate in the system to aid the dispersion of debris. This process may also be evidenced as part of the Benchmark Commissioning Checklist, which engineers can complete as a means of showing compliance with with the Building Regulations.

Guard

To capture sludge and debris that has built up, in-line filters help to keep central heating systems clean and working at optimum efficiency. It should therefore come as no surprise that fitting a filter is now mandatory.

When specifying a filter, consider the type of filtration technology as this will have a fundamental impact on the amount and type of debris that details of this procedure can also recorded on the Benchmark Commissioning Checklist and the specific brand of inhibitor used at the time of commissioning.

Maintain

years as a best-practice approach and has welcomed these updates to underpin the essential role of heating system health in relation to optimising energy performance.

Clean

The regulations mandate that central heating systems must be cleaned either before any new heating appliance is installed or when isolated from the rest of the system, to dislodge and remove system debris, limescale and sludge build-up. This process is widely acknowledged for its role in improving the energy efficiency of the system by restoring the heat distribution throughout the property and therefore lowering its energy usage.

A particularly effective method will be captured and contained and, therefore, the overall energy performance of the property. Filters with hydronic particle separation (HPS) technology and magnetic filtration can remove both magnetic and non-magnetic system debris quickly and efficiently.

Protect

Correctly dosing central heating systems with an inhibitor to minimise the formation of corrosion debris and limescale has long been part of the best-practice approach to central heating system maintenance. The obligation to carry this out has been reinforced in the revisions to Part L.

As with the cleaning process,

The government has continued to address the harmful impact that limescale can have on the heating system’s energy performance. As such, the stipulation that provision is made to reduce the rate of limescale in hard water areas which exceeds 200ppm remains, and this can be achieved with a quality electrolytic/magnetic scale reducer.

Furthermore, the government has set out that new and replacement heating systems in both domestic and non-domestic buildings should operate at lower flow temperatures of 55°C, where possible. For heat pump applications, a flow temperature of 45°C should be used to achieve maximum Co-efficient of Performance (COP).

It is not currently a legal requirement but it is still imperative that these systems should be dosed with biocides in order to prevent microbiological fouling, which typically can occur at temperatures lower than 60°C.

Filters must be cleaned regularly to remove the sludge and debris captured as part of the annual boiler or heat pump service and according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Filters that are sealed and do not have a lid and can be flushed and cleaned in-situ through their drain valve are an ideal solution.

Test

To ensure that the system is adequately protected and therefore running efficiently, you should carry out an on-site test of the system water during the boiler service, and this process can also be confirmed on the Benchmark checklist. In addition, the system must be either re-dosed with inhibitor or a full laboratory analysis of the system water conducted (and re-dosed with inhibitor if required) every five years. Leading manufacturers have made compliance with this simple, using quick on-site kits and apps. n www.fernox.com/part-lbuilding-regulations

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