It’s been just under three years since the SANS 10400 National Building Regulations, covering energy usage in buildings, were amended in the form of the XA appendices. The aim was to further enforce and regulate energy efficient practices in the built environment, with the long-term benefit of reducing overall energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

However, the slow take-up of these regulations within the built environment, especially with regards to fenestration, is very worrying and could lead to dire consequences for all parties concerned.

Some industry professionals share their views:

Frans Dekker, president of the South African Institute of Architectural Technologists (SAIAT) says, “The purpose of SANS 10400 was to reduce South Africa’s CO² emissions as per the Kyoto protocol. In South Africa, over 40% of all energy usage is expended in buildings, and if this number could be reduced, we would need to burn less coal, thereby reducing our overall CO² emissions.”

According to the Sustainability Institute, residential and commercial buildings consume some 60% of the world’s electricity, and the building sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Fenestration remains one of the worst culprits for energy loss in a building. It has been estimated that approximately 40% of all energy loss in a home occurs through standard, single pane windows. This number can be dramatically reduced if compliant windows are used.

Hans Schefferlie, executive director for the Association of Architectural Aluminium Manufacturer of South Africa (AAAMSA) says that everybody involved in the built environment should be sitting up and taking notice of these regulations. When it comes to enforcing these regulations, he says there will be no exemptions granted; private, commercial or government, “By law, all new buildings have to comply with these regulations, as must any additions and extensions to existing buildings that require planning approval from a local authority. These regulations are being strictly enforced through the mechanisms and procedures used to regulate new buildings, such as plan approval and certification at the completion of the contract.”

Cobus Lourens from wooden window and door manufacturer, Swartland, says: “Even though the SANS 10400-XA regulations have been in force for quite some time, non-compliant windows are readily available on the market. This is extremely alarming as, simply put, a new build without compliant windows will not pass the building regulations and will be deemed unfit and, hence, illegal.”

Although there are currently no compulsory specifications for the manufacturing of windows, investing in compliant windows is imperative, says Schefferlie, “Generally speaking, the most economical solution usually prevails, and the purchaser often does not insist on buying certified products as they don’t know any better. However, this is lethal for the future security of the build in question, as if it is deemed that it doesn’t meet the regulations, it will need to be rectified in order to be passed, and this could be an incredibly expensive procedure.” He says that at the moment, the number of problems and complaints arising from non-compliance are “too many to count”.

Schefferlie notes that in order to ensure compliance you need to obtain an AAAMSA Performance Test Certificate confirming that the mechanical performance standards are met, as well as a SAFIERA (South African Fenestration and Insulation Energy Rating Authority) Energy Rating Certificate confirming the thermal properties of the product.

He points out that buyers need to be acutely aware of guerilla marketing tactics, “It’s not a simple matter of one shoe fits all, make sure that the certificate of compliance is relevant to the specific fenestration products you are using. If a 1m x 1m window is tested for example, then this makes a window this size, and all windows smaller than this size, compliant. Do not be fooled by a certificate that shows that a small window is compliant, if you require a larger window. Also, if you require a certificate for a full pane window, a certificate for a cottage pane window for instance, will not suffice either.”

Everyone involved in a project can be liable in some way or another if non-compliant windows are used. The owner of a property is typically considered to be the individual responsible for ensuring compliance with the SANS 10400-XA regulations, unless he or she has appointed a professional to specify the products for them, such as an architect, draughtsman, or engineer, who is then deemed to be liable for compliance assurances.

Dekker explains in more detail the dire consequences surrounding the issue of non-compliance:

• If an architect specifies non-compliant fenestration products, in terms of the Code of Conduct of a Professional Body, he or she can be charged with misconduct.
• If the builder did not use compliant products, even though they had been specified in the drawings, he can also be held accountable for non-compliance of the end build.
• If a retailer sells a non-compliant product, when a compliant product has been ordered, then they will be held to book for fraud.
• Ultimately however, the buck stops at the property owner, as they will be the one stuck with an illegal build that they won’t be able to resell as a compliant dwelling. In these circumstances, he or she will be ordered in terms of the National Building Regulation and Standards Act to replace the non-compliant elements of the build or, in dire circumstances, to demolish the entire build.

Schefferlie asserts: “The Consumer Protection Act casts a wide net to parties that may be held accountable if non-compliant fenestration products are used. So, to avoid any costly consequences, compliant windows are the only windows that should ever be specified and used in any building project.”

In conclusion, Mark Hamilton-Payne from Primador, supplier of aluminium windows and doors, says: “Apart from the fact that compliant windows are required by law, the built environment should really be embracing these new regulations as they are moving our industry into the first world. At the end of the day it really is no brainer – compliant windows are much more energy efficient and far better insulators than non-compliant windows, and this means that any new build will be more comfortable and cost-effective to habitat in the long run.”