Scottish Building Standard 3.28

Standard 3.28 of the Scottish Building Standards Domestic Technical Handbook (December 2022 edition) was released in June 2022 and came into force for all residential Building Warrant applications submitted in Scotland from 01 February 2023.

Government regulation

Standard 3.28 - Every building must be designed and constructed in such a way that the risk to the health of the occupants from overheating is reduced. Limitation - This standard applies to: 1. a unit of residential accommodation occupied by an individual, or individuals, living together as a family or as a single household, and 2. a shared multi-occupancy residential building

Compliance

Like the English and Welsh equivalent standards, there are two routes to demonstrate compliance with Standard 3.28:

1. The Simplified Method: a prescriptive approach, which defines maximum glazed areas and minimum window open areas, which can only be used where apartment district heating systems are not distributed in the common

2. Dynamic Thermal Modelling: a computational method offering additional design flexibility over the Simplified Method.

However, unlike the English and Welsh equivalents, Standard 3.28 has differences, including the Simplified Method assessment having a fixed basic standard of mitigation only needing to be done for east, south or west elevations, no action required if the building has cross-ventilation, no restriction on the use of foliage to provide solar shading, less prescriptive standards to define what classes as a noise, pollution, safety or security issue and in place of a checklist, a requirement to submit an assessment and statement on overheating risk with the building warrant application.

Overheating in buildings has been highlighted as a key risk for the health and productivity of people and businesses in the UK

It is estimated that there are about 2,000 heat-related deaths each year in England and Wales.

This has led to new regulations to ensure occupants in new residential buildings do not suffer excessive temperatures.

Approved Document O England

Approved Document O (2021 edition – England) was released in December 2021 and came into force for all Building Regulations building notices, full plans applications and initial notices for residential buildings submitted in England from 15 June 2022.

Approved Document O Wales

Approved Document O (2022 edition – Wales) was released in May 2022 and came into force for all Building Regulations building notices, full plans applications and initial notices for residential buildings submitted in Wales from 23 November 2022.

Scottish Building Standard 3.28

Standard 3.28 of the Scottish Building Standards Domestic Technical Handbook (December 2022 edition) was released in June 2022 and came into force for all residential Building Warrant applications submitted in Scotland from 01 February 2023.