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Publication - Advice and guidance

Building Standards technical handbook 2017: domestic buildings

Published
1 March 2017
Topic
Building, planning and design
ISBN
978-1-78544-328-2

The Building Standards technical handbooks provide guidance on achieving the standards set in the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and are available in two volumes, domestic buildings and non-domestic buildings. This publication is available in html and also in PDF format (in 'supporting documents' ).

View supporting documents Supporting documents

6.8 Written information

Mandatory Standard

Standard 6.8

The occupiers of a building must be provided with written information by the owner:

  1. on the operation and maintenance of the building services and energy supply systems, and

  2. where any air-conditioning system in the building is subject to regulation 17, stating a time-based interval for inspection of the system.

Limitation:

This standard does not apply to:

  1. major power plants serving the National Grid

  2. buildings which do not use fuel or power for heating, lighting, ventilating and cooling the internal environment and heating the water supply services

  3. the process and emergency lighting components of a building

  4. heating provided solely for the purpose of frost protection

  5. lighting systems in a domestic building, or

  6. energy supply systems used solely for industrial and commercial processes, leisure use and emergency use within a building.

6.8.0 Introduction

Correct use and maintenance of building services equipment is essential if the benefits of enhanced energy efficiency are to be realised from such equipment. The intention of this standard is to make the information that will help achieve this available to the occupier of the building.

Although there is no requirement within Section 6 for minimum efficiency levels of either, building-integrated or localised energy supply systems (e.g. diesel generators, micro wind turbines or photovoltaic arrays), there is a need for user and maintenance instructions to enable efficient use, unless they are exempt under schedule 1, regulation 3.

Power plants which serve a number of buildings (e.g. housing estates) and only export surplus electricity to the National Grid will also need to have user and maintenance instructions, unless exempt in terms of schedule 1, regulation 3.

Conversions - in the case of conversions, as specified in regulation 4, the building as converted shall meet the requirement of this standard (regulation 12, schedule 6).

6.8.1 Written information

Written information should be made available for the use of the occupier on the operation and maintenance of the heating, ventilation, cooling and hot water service system, any additional low carbon equipment installations and any decentralised equipment for power generation to encourage optimum energy efficiency. If an air conditioning system is installed in a dwelling the guidance to regulation 17 should be followed.

6.8.2 Quick Start Guide

In addition to comprehensive information provided under clause 6.8.1, a quick start guide, identifying all installed building services, the location of controls and identifying how systems should be used for optimum efficiency should be provided for each new dwelling. Further information and an example of such a guide can be found within Section 7 (Sustainability) – refer to Annex 7B.

6.8.3 Work on existing buildings

Where alterations are carried out to building services on a piecemeal basis, the alterations may not result in optimum energy efficiency being attained for the whole system. In this case a list of recommendations which would improve the overall energy efficiency of the system should be provided.

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