Vital technical guidance to support the new Overheating: Approved Document O 2021 (England) has been published by the Future Homes Hub.
The guidance, authored by the Good Homes Alliance, with leading experts Susie Diamond (Inkling LLP) and Julie Godefory (Julie Godefroy Sustainability), comes just days after UK temperatures broke 40 degrees celcius for the first time on record.
All previous regulations on overheating have been brought together into the new official approved document (also known as ‘Part O’). It stresses the importance in design of limiting solar gains through windows and providing adequate opening areas to remove excess heat in relation to high risk and moderate risk locations. It also provides additional guidance on other limiting factors such as noisy roads, pollution and security.
The accompanying technical guidance provides information on how to comply with the Building Regulations Part O requirement to assess and limit overheating risk in residential buildings. It focuses on homes (“residential dwellings” in Part O). While much of it is applicable to other types of residential buildings, specific considerations will apply to accommodation such as care homes.