What is Section 6?
Section 6 is a facility within the Virtual Environment’s <VE> Compliance view providing facilities for testing compliance with Section 6 of the Building Regulations (Scotland), 2005 edition.
Section 6 (2005) applies to all new buildings in Scotland. Unlike the regulations covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Section 6 has not been updated in 2006.
The 2005 Section 6 regulations introduced minor revisions to the previous (2002) ‘Part J’ regulations. These revisions have been incorporated into the IES software, though in this document and in the results files some of the Part J terminology has been retained.
The Section 6 facility covers both dwellings and non-dwellings.
Data for the Section 6 analysis is taken from the <Virtual Environment> model, supplemented where necessary by inputs specific to the requirements of Section 6.
Results of the Section 6 analysis are presented in three levels of detail:
Pass/fail verdicts for the methods tested.
A summary of the checks carried out within each method and their results (an HTML file).
A report setting out the analysis in detail (an HTML file).
Certain analysis results are processed and displayed immediately data is entered, providing instant feedback to the user.
Part L (England & Wales) and Section 6 (Scotland)
The software covers both Part L (England & Wales) and Section 6 (Scotland). To switch between Part L and Section 6, click on ‘Regulatory framework’ from the ‘Building Regulations’ option on the ‘Settings’ menu.
There is considerable overlap between the Part L and Section 6 regulations, and data is shared between these software applications. Important differences are:
For dwellings
In Part L, the Elemental method may only be applied where the heating system is based on an efficient gas or oil boiler, on a heat pump, on community heating with CHP or on biogas or biomass fuel. In Section 6, the Elemental method may be applied regardless of the type of heating system, but with modified U-value requirements in some cases. Section 6 Elemental U-values tend to be more stringent than those in Part L.
Part L and Section 6 use different formulae for target U-value.
Unlike its Part L counterpart, the Section 6 Target U-value method does not allow the target U-value to be relaxed if the heating system efficiency exceeds the Mininum SEDBUK.
The Section 6 Elemental and Target U-value methods allow some concessions for conservatories.
For buildings other than dwellings
Section 6 elemental U-values are more stringent for external walls and display glazing.
For methods other than the elemental method, the poorest (maximum) U-value for roofs is less stringent in Section 6 than in Part L.
Section 6 has no requirement to avoid solar overheating.
Section 6 has different carbon intensity targets for heating systems and allows no trade-off between heating system carbon intensity and fabric losses.
Section 6 imposes a more stringent specific fan power requirement on non-office buildings.
Section 6 assesses office systems using a Carbon Performance Index. Part L uses the closely related Carbon Performance Rating. Process loads are excluded from the assessment in Part L but not in Section 6.
Section 6 has no counterpart of the L2 Whole-Building Method.
Guidance on using the Part L software is provided in the Part L (2002) User Guide.
Overview of Section 6
The requirements of The Building Regulations, Section 6 (Scotland), 2005 edition, are set out in The Scottish Building Standards Agency’s Domestic and Non-Domestic Handbooks – May 2005[0] (Section 6), the Scottish Executive’s Technical Standards document[1], section J Conservation of Fuel and Power (Regulation 22), and related documents. The official documents should be consulted in the course of any submission for Section 6 compliance. Copies of the relevant sections are provided with the Section 6 software.
The broad requirements of Section 6 are set out in Regulation 22:
“22.(1) In a building to which this regulation applies, reasonable provision shall be made for the conservation of fuel and power.
(2) This requirement shall apply to all buildings, other than –
(a) a building which is unheated or which has a space heating for protection against frost designed to give a maximum output not exceeding 25 Watts per square metre of floor area; or
(b) unheated parts of a building of purpose sub-group 1A that do not form part of a dwelling.
Routes to compliance are outlined in the section of Section 6 headed ‘Compliance with the Regulations’:
“Without prejudice to any other way of meeting the standards, complying with the provisions that are deemed to satisfy the requirements of the regulations, as given in this document, constitutes compliance.
To satisfy the regulations therefore the design, materials and methods of construction must be at least to the standards set in this publication. The provisions deemed to satisfy the standards are provided for the convenience of designers only if they choose to adopt them. There is no obligation to do so, but if used properly deemed to satisfy solutions must be accepted by the local authority.”
Guidance on the Carbon Emissions Calculation Method is provided in the CIBSE/ODPM publication TM32[4].
Not all the requirements of Section 6 can be tested in software. However, IES is in the process of developing software covering all requirements that can be so tested.
