Energy
Assessment of New Build Property - EPC
Current new laws
now define the requirements for Energy Assessors for New
Build Homes & Dwellings
SAP - or Standard
Assessment Procedure is the current method used to obtain
energy rating for new build homes or dwellings. The
procedure is used to determine heat losses and thermal
characteristics of the property by examining the
building's plans, the construction materials used in the
build and additional factors including space and water
heating.
SAP ratings are
scored on a scale from 1 to 100 where 1 is the worst and
100 will indicate no heating/hot water cost. It is
therefore based on the annual energy costs for space and
water heating.
Target Emission
Rate
A Target Carbon
Dioxide Emission Rate (TER) has to be calculated within
the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP). The Carbon Index
is on a scale of 0.0 to 10.0, based on the annual CO2
emissions associated with space and water heating. SAP
Ratings are used to demonstrate compliance with building
regulations for dwellings - Part L (England and Wales).
To produce the required energy rating you will need to
appoint a qualified SAP Assessor. SAP is based on a
notional dwelling built to the 2002 standards with a
target reduction of 20%. The actual Dwelling Carbon
Dioxide Emission Rate (DER) must then be no worse than
the TER. The new SAP 2005 incorporates all these
calculations.
Communities
& Local Govenment (CLG)
The CLG authority
has stated the following:
From the 6 April
2008 all new homes will require an EPC and Recommendation
Report when physically complete.
The EPC will be
based on the SAP rating which is currently required to
comply with Building Regulations. This demonstrates that
new homes meet the targets for energy performance that
are part of the Building Regulations.
The EPC must be
produced by an Energy Assessor who is accredited for
On Construction Energy Assessment. The EPC
is based on SAP rather than RdSAP which is used for
existing homes.
When the home is
physically complete, an EPC should be produced and given
to the owner of the home. Building Control will not
issue a completion certificate until they are sure this
has been done.
How does this
affect you...
If you are
marketing a home off-plan, you will need to have a PEA
(Predicted Energy Assessment) in the HIP to provide to
potential buyers. Once the home is physically complete
the PEA in the HIP should be replaced with an EPC and
Recommendation Report.
PEAs should be
based on the predicted SAP rating for the home. This will
be available from calculations done at the design stage
and is a number between 1 and 100. A spreadsheet template
is available to be able to represent the rating in a
graphical form for potential buyers.
Each building
within a development will require its own EPC (although
reports can be cloned for identical dwellings and will
not need to be inspected individually).
An On
Construction Energy Assessor will not need to
visit the property to produce an EPC. The EPC will be the
result of the As Built check which is an extension of the
SAP calculation needed for Building Control.
Find Out
More...
MDEA are able to
offer an off-plan service Nationwide and are also able to
assess dwellings under slightly differing regulations in
Northern Ireland and Scotland.To find out more about how
MDEA can help you to obtain all neccessary On
Construction Building Energy Performance Certification,
anywhere within the UK, please go through to our
Contact
page.
