As part of the updates to Part L of the Building Regulations in England and Wales which came into force in 2022, project teams now need to complete compliance reports to be submitted to Building Control. These provide evidence that the building design and installation are fully compliant.
What are BREL and BRWL compliance reports?
The BREL and BRWL compliance reports (short for Building Regulations England Part L, or Building Regulations Wales Part L) are mandatory for all new domestic properties under the Approved Documents which support Part L of the Building Regulations in England and Wales:
Approved Document L 2021 – England
Approved Document L 2022 – Wales
Project teams must submit an initial design stage BREL/BRWL report before work starts, detailing the building’s expected performance. They must then provide an as-built BREL/BRWL report detailing any key changes and providing evidence that insulation measures are installed correctly and that the building meets the required performance level.
Both reports must be submitted to Building Control. Any issues may lead to the dwellings being deemed non-compliant, leading to costly remedial work.
Why were compliance reports introduced?
The reports are intended to help reduce any performance gap between what is designed and actual energy performance of the building. This can be impacted by a variety of factors including product substitution, inaccurate detailing or poor-quality installations.
What should be included with a design stage BREL or BRWL report?
The BREL/BRWL design stage report can be output directly from SAP. It will clearly state the targets that the building must meet for carbon emissions, Primary Energy and fabric performance, along with the expected performance of the property. The SAP modelling considers various aspects of the building, including the specified insulation materials and their details, as well as expected heat loss from thermal bridging at key junctions within the building (known as Psi-values).
These details are set to take on greater importance in Part L 2021 for England and Part L 2022 for Wales, as the Accredited Construction Details have been withdrawn. In addition, the default junction or global values, used where no details are supplied in SAP, have been worsened. This makes it much tougher to reach compliance without supplying details. Designers may be able to obtain some details via manufacturers or reputable industry libraries but these will not cover every scenario so it may be necessary to produce bespoke details with calculated Psi-values.
Learn more about why detailing matters in Part L 2021
Download the Kingspan Insulation construction details with psi-values.
What else should be included with an as-built BREL or BRWL report?
The as-built report should clearly identify any changes from the original specification or construction details. These should be supported with photographs of the insulation measures taken by the installers before junctions are covered, in order to prove that the materials fitted match the specification and have been installed per the detail.
Various supporting information also needs to accompany the BREL or BRWL report, this includes:
- U-value calculations, showing construction layers (materials, thickness and thermal properties), together with U-value corrections e.g. any bridging, fixings, fasteners or other corrections.
- Window U-values and g-values: evidence of the window properties as-built e.g. a BFRC certificate.
- Party wall U-values: evidence of edge sealing/detailing.
- Air permeability test report or certificate.
- A copy of the details used including any associated checklists, together with confirmation that calculations have been produced by someone with suitable expertise and experience.
- Evidence to support lighting performance.
- Evidence of performance and installation of any Solar hot water, PV, battery storage or community heating systems.
The as-built report needs to be signed by the SAP assessor to confirm that the inputs within SAP are accurate and that they have confirmed this by reviewing all of the photographic and other supporting evidence. The report should also be signed by the developer to confirm that the dwelling has been completed according to the specifications in the report.
What photographic evidence should be included in the BREL or BRWL report?
The photographs can be taken by anyone but need to be done at a point when the detail is complete and prior to it being covered up. The pictures should be unique for each property and the same images cannot be used to cover multiple dwellings regardless of whether the design or detail are the same.
Appendix B of Approved Document L provides a list of typical details which should be photographed to show thermal continuity and quality of insulation. These include:
- The perimeter of the ground floor.
- Structural penetrating elements in the wall (such as floor joists).
- Eaves and gable edges.
- At openings such as the positioning of windows in relation to cavity closers.
- Any additional airtightness details not captured in the standard photography.
Geolocation should be enabled to prove this along with the date and time of each image. In some cases, multiple images may need to be taken of a detail to fully capture it. The image file names should also include the plot number and a detail reference number based on those provided within appendix B.
Product awareness & guidance
To support project teams in delivering compliant constructions, we offer in-person training from our experienced Product Technicians covering the full range of insulation applications. These talks include:
- Product selection for specific applications.
- Advice on handling, storing and installing products.
- Support with detailing.
The Technicians will also review any Kingspan Insulation products already installed on site and provide a detailed report with comments and recommendations if required.
Email technicaladviceservice@kingspaninsulation.co.uk to book a talk today or learn more here
How can BREL or BRWL reports support specification?
The new compliance reports can help to strengthen specification if bespoke or product specific details are supplied. Factors such as the insulation product’s thermal conductivity and emissivity are incorporated into the Psi-value calculation for these details. As a result, the value is non-transferable to a different material. This means that if a different material is going to be installed, it cannot simply be substituted. Instead, the SAP calculation would need to be updated to take into account the thermal performance of the new product and to replace the Psi-values. This in turn could impact the FEES calculation so it’s a much more involved process.
Are BREL or BRWL reports required for refurbishments?
No, BREL and BRWL reports are not required for refurbishment projects, but project teams should still look to maintain best practice when fitting and installing insulation measures to ensure they perform correctly and avoid unintended consequences.
Are compliance reports needed for non-domestic buildings?
A more limited compliance report, known as a BRUKL (Building Regulations UK Part L) report, is needed for non-domestic buildings. As with BREL and BRWL reports, this requires design stage and as-built reports. These reports need to be generated via SBEM and again should include the target and actual Primary Energy and carbon emissions rate, with the as-built report listing any changes to the specification and performance of the building. The as-built reports must be signed by the energy assessor and client to confirm that the calculations accurately reflect the completed building.
Importantly, however, there is no requirement for project teams to provide photographic evidence to support this document.
