Appendix E – Applicability of BREEAM UK New Construction Simple Building Assessments

The BREEAM UK New Construction 2014 version can be applied to both complex and less complex building projects. This section provides guidance to assessors and project teams on the application of BREEAM to less complex i.e. simple building projects.

A Simple Building is defined as one where the building services are predominantly of limited capacity and local in their delivery, largely independent of other systems in the building fabric and avoid complex control systems.

Where the building includes complex services, systems or functions/facilities including, but not limited to those listed below, it cannot be defined or assessed as a Simple Building and a full BREEAM UK New Construction 2014 assessment should be carried out:

• Air-conditioning (with the exception of local split cooling systems, see Building Services section).
• Full mechanical ventilation, displacement ventilation, and complex passive ventilation (see Building Services section for guidance on permitted systems).
• Renewable energy sources, with the exception of on-site micro-generation technologies1Micro-generation is defined under the Energy Act 2004 as < 45KWth (micro-heat) and <50KWe (micro-electricity). Micro-generation can refer to community scale energy which may fall within these capacities or connection to existing community / district heating or cooling systems.
• Laboratories and buildings that contain either fume cupboards and/or safety cabinets and/or containment areas.
• Major water-consuming plant or functions such as swimming/hydrotherapy/research pools and/or vehicle wash/irrigation systems.
• Cold storage plant and enclosures, with the exception of domestic scale refrigeration
• Escalators and/or travelling walkways.

The list above is not exhaustive, but serves to indicate the types of services and systems that describe a more complex building solution and therefore would not be present within a simple building. Examples of buildings which could fall under the BREEAM UK New Construction definition of Simple Building (depending on the remit of the works) include: offices, educational and community buildings, GP surgeries, basic industrial units, and extensions to existing buildings.

The following section describes some of the additional features a Simple Building may have. These descriptions can be used to support the classification of a building for the purpose of a BREEAM Simple Building Assessment.

Building type

The following building services and systems can be assessed under Simple Buildings:

Heating

Space and/or hot water heating is provided by simple systems only, e.g. systems with total capacity of less than 100kW.

Cooling

Small systems, such as local split cooling systems to service single rooms or areas for occasional or seasonal use, with a total system capacity of less than 12kW2To refer to the total for more than one unit where applicable. Multi-split cooling systems and VRF systems cannot be assessed under the Simple Buildings criteria and a total collective refrigerant charge of less than 5kg.

Ventilation

1. Single sided / cross ventilation using windows, rooflights and/or trickle vents
2. Simple ‘bespoke’ passive solutions utilising wind driven or stack ventilation where:
   1. The system does not serve multiple rooms or levels
   2. The system does not use multiple (more than one) control dampers to control air flow
   3. The system uses local standalone controls only and is not linked to a building management system that controls the whole building ventilation strategy
3. Standalone ‘off the shelf’ natural / assisted natural ventilation solutions where:
   1. The system does not serve multiple rooms or levels
   2. The system uses local standalone controls only and is not linked to a building management system that controls the whole building ventilation strategy
   3. The system utilises only basic components e.g. low power fans, control dampers, filters
   4. The product supplier/manufacturer does not recommend specialist commissioning i.e. no special training is required to ensure the unit is commissioned correctly
4. Local mechanical ventilation where:
   1. The system does not serve multiple rooms or levels
   2. The system uses local standalone controls only and is not linked to a building management system that controls the whole building ventilation strategy
   3. The central fan / air handling unit (AHU) utilises only basic components e.g. fan, filter, basic air to air heat recovery, and only requires a single phase electrical supply
   4. The system does provide any form of heating, cooling or humidification to the supply air (except via basic air to air heat recovery)
   5. The system does not comprise multiple duct work branches that require proportional balancing
   6. The system is not a Variable Air Volume (VAV) system i.e. one which comprises variable performance fans and complex control systems that would require specialist commissioning
   7. The central fan/AHU supplier / manufacturer does not recommend specialist commissioning i.e. no special training is required to ensure the unit is commissioned correctly

Additional Requirements

Domestic scale sanitary, kitchen and laundry facilities with only basic connections for hot and cold water provision and drainage.

Building services commissioning required will be limited in complexity.3Typically, complex systems are systems that involve interaction between a number of components to ensure proper operation. They will usually require specific knowledge and expertise to be designed and installed, and they may depend on other systems such as control systems to work effectively

Typical profile of a Simple Building

The cost and size of a Simple Building is likely to differ, so BREEAM uses the complexity of the building function and its services to determine whether it can be assessed using the BREEAM Simple Buildings criteria.

If a particular building does not meet the profile described above, but exhibits features which suggest it could be classified as a Simple Building, review your scheme against this guidance and highlight these areas for further consideration to BREEAM Technical Support by contactingbreeamtechnicalcs@bre.co.uk for further advice and classification.

summarises the BREEAM UK New Construction 2014 assessment issues, credits and criteria applicable to an assessment of a 'simple building'.

BREEAM UK New Construction 2014 issue applicability for Simple Building Assessments

BREEAM UK New Construction non-domestic buildings technical manual 2014
Reference: SD5076 – Issue: 5.0
Date: 23/08/2016
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