Low or zero carbon technologies

8.2.1Compliance

LZC technologies shall comply with the Technical Requirements. Issues to be taken into account include:

  1. relevant standards
  2. product certification
  3. operative competency.

LZC technologies that comply with the guidance in this chapter will generally be acceptable.

Relevant standards

LZC should comply with relevant standards including where applicable:

BS EN 12809‘Residential independent boilers fired by solid fuel’.
BS EN 12975-1‘Thermal solar systems and components. Solar collectors’.
BS EN 12976-1‘Thermal solar systems and components. Factory made systems’.
BS EN 14511Parts 1-4 ‘Air conditioners, liquid chilling packages and heat pumps with electrically driven compressors for space heating and cooling’.
BS EN 14785‘Residential space heating appliances fired by wood pellets’.
BS EN 303-5‘Heating boilers for solid fuels, hand and automatically fired, nominal heat output of up to 300kW. Terminology, requirements, testing and marking’.
BS EN 61215'Terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules - design qualification and type approval'.
BS EN 60068 'Environmental testing of electrical equipment.'
BS EN 61400-1‘Wind turbines’.
BS EN 61400-2‘Wind turbines. Small wind turbines’.
BS EN 9806 'Methods for testing durability, reliability, safety and thermal performance of fluid heating solar collectors.'
BS EN IEC 61730'Requirements for testing and construction of PV.'
BS EN IEC 62108 'Requirements for assessing the products capacity for long term operation in general open-air climates.'
Fluorinated gas (F) Gas 'Guidance for users, producers and traders of HFCs, PFCs and SF6.'

Product certification

LZC technologies should have current certification confirming satisfactory assessment by an appropriate independent authority acceptable to NHBC.

Systems, products and installations that are assessed through the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) will generally be acceptable to NHBC. Certification and test documentation should be made available to NHBC upon request.

Other certification bodies or test documentation may be acceptable where they are considered by NHBC to be a suitable alternative.

Operative competency

LZC systems should be installed by operatives:

  • competent and familiar with the system being installed, and
  • certified to a standard acceptable to NHBC.

Installers who have been trained in accordance with the MCS installer standards will generally be acceptable to NHBC.