BRE to develop a new standard assessment procedure

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has agreed a new project with BEIS to modernise the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) home energy rating scheme in time for the Future Homes Standard.

The project will see BRE lead a number of organisations and individuals in academia and industry to deliver a new methodology – known as ‘SAP 11’ – which will be used by governments and industry to better measure and understand the energy performance of homes.

As part of SAP 11, BRE will drive a ‘root and branch’ review of the existing methodology to create a new version that is better suited to modern and dynamic technologies which will help decarbonise the UK’s housing stock, such as heat pumps, renewables, storage technologies and smart control devices.

SAP 11 is expected to be ready for use as part of the Future Homes Standard – a set of measures to be introduced on new homes built from 2025, to ensure they are fitted with low-carbon forms of heating, in line with the UK’s wider net zero drive.

BRE says its methodology development will be guided by organisations and individuals within its steering group, who will either support the development of the method directly or be involved in the reviewing and validating process. This includes Sustenic, Loughborough University, Kiwa, University of Strathclyde’s Energy Systems Research Unit, AECOM and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), as well as Chris Martin and John Tebbit, two leading individuals in field trial design and product performance, respectively.

John Henderson, project director at BRE, said: “As the UK begins to escalate its net zero initiatives, SAP 11 will be instrumental in the effort to decarbonise the nation’s existing housing stock and ensure the use of low-carbon heating in new homes. As the new methodology will improve EPC accuracy, energy efficiency measurements will be more reliable than ever. Effective assessment of energy performance is going to be absolutely central to our progress towards net zero.”