A proposed new method for assessing the energy performance of buildings is set to be more transparent and adaptable than the current one.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) opened a consultation on a new Home Energy Model this week, alongside its consultation on the new Future Homes Standard for net-zero housing.
The Home Energy Model will initially be used to check compliance with the New Homes Standard before being extended to Energy Performance Certification.
It will also form the basis of future grant schemes and policy evaluations designed to support energy-efficiency improvements.
DLUHC’s consultation states that the model will be better at taking into account the effects of technology like heat pumps and storage technology than the existing standard assessment procedure (SAP), which has been used since 1993.
The SAP makes energy calculations using monthly criteria, whereas the new model will be able to simulate homes at a 30-minute time resolution.
Reforms are also proposed for the ‘Appendix Q’ process by which manufacturers can apply for their technology to be recognised in the assessments. These will make the process more transparent, quicker and cheaper, according to the consultation document.
The consultation also proposes that the Home Energy Model will be released on an open-source basis, to enable industry and researchers to apply and modify the methodology for different applications more easily than under the current SAP.
Design work for the new model has been carried out by a team including the Building Research Establishment (BRE), Aecom, the University of Strathclyde and Loughborough University.
BRE chief executive Gillian Charlesworth said: “As uptake of green technologies increases, an effective assessment methodology which accounts for these changes will be imperative as the government looks to secure buy-in from homeowners, housebuilders, and the retrofit industry on the net-zero transition and achieve its targets in this area.
“These changes to the SAP methodology will have wide-reaching impacts not only for government but across industry. I therefore urge all relevant stakeholders to take part in this consultation to ensure that the final design of the Home Energy Model is as well-informed as possible.”
The consultation runs until 6 March 2024.
Stuart Fairlie, managing director of Elmhurst Energy, a provider of energy assessment and property professional training, said the proposals are an “exciting step forward”.
He added: “It gives us a new assessment methodology that can underpin a wide range of future uses and which will provide a much more accurate estimate of the energy performance of homes.”
But he said it was frustrating that a consultation specifically on reform of Energy Performance Certification had not yet begun and so may not take place until after the next general election.
