Standard for residential park homes is revised

21 January 2016

 BSI, the business standards company, has revised BS 3632 Specification for Residential park homes and Residential Lodges to take into account changes in technology and improve energy efficiency performance. As these types of  accommodation do not typically come under the Building Regulations, the revision allows manufacturers to produce safe homes that are fit for purpose and comfortable all year round. With an increased uptake of holidays and residence in park homes in the UK, this becomes more relevant. 

Residential park homes are traditionally thin-walled, single-glazed units with poor insulation where the cost to maintain a comfortable level of heating can bevery high. Therefore BS 3632:2015 aims to improve this in new homes and lodges. It gives the minimum specification for residential park homes in terms of ventilation, thermal insulation, stability once sited and room sizes etc. It will address how to construct external walls, floor and roof, (excluding any door and window openings), in an energy efficient manner.

In the absence of such guidance, some manufacturers may move straight to building regulations which are not best suited to this product. Others would assemble basic products that would not be built to any known standard, which could lead to unsafe products.

It will be relevant to designers, manufacturers, their main contractors, specialist sub-contractors and customers. 

What has changed? 

• The 2005 version did not take account for increases in required energy efficiency, or improvements in technology

• It refers to new technology such as the use of Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery

• It includes a grading system which utilizes Heat Loss Parameters

• It utilizes the latest European Reaction to Fire, classification system

Anthony Burd, Head of Sector, Built Environment at BSI said: “The previous version of BS 3632 did not take the importance of energy efficiency sufficiently into account. Whilst older homes cannot readily  be retrofitted, for improved energy efficiency, manufacturers can have confidence that the new homes they produce will be to standard.”

BS 3632 has been developed using a consensus-based collaborative approach with input from such organizations as Building Research Establishment, The National Caravan Council, The Health Protection Agency, and fire authorities amongst others.