Change EPC's to measure cost, consumption and carbon
Energy Performance Certificates (EPC's) must change if they are to properly support the journey to net zero, help tackle fuel poverty and improve our buildings, according to analysis from an energy efficiency almanac published this month.
‘Turning the Dial’, from Elmhurst Energy, the UK’s largest accreditation scheme for energy assessors, calls on Government to adopt the ‘Three Cs’. This would give equal focus to energy cost, energy consumption and carbon emissions in EPC's.
Elmhurst says the change is needed as part of the EPC Action Plan, first published in 2020 and still to be implemented fully. Elmhurst Energy managing director Stuart Fairlie says:
“Against a backdrop of rising fuel poverty, environmental pressures and energy security concerns, EPC's are coming in for a lot of scrutiny and criticism. This is understandable, as the EPC as it exists now is over 15 years old. It was designed then simply as a cost metric, showing how expensive or cheap a home is to run. This is now too basic a measure for the challenges we face today. People care about cost, energy consumption and carbon emissions. The time is now right to update the EPC so that it can more easily communicate vital information about the predicted and actual energy use and carbon emissions of a building.”
As well as detailing energy efficiency legislative and regulatory developments over the last year, Elmhurst’s almanac features a list of future policy recommendations, including:
- Redesign the EPC – Change the EPC to include the ‘Three Cs’: energy consumption, energy cost and carbon emissions.
- Use the ‘Golden Triangle’ for EPCs – Provide the building’s asset rating – the predicted energy cost and consumption of a building based on average occupancy, its occupancy rating – the predicted energy consumption of a building based on the people using it) and its energy consumption – the energy the building actually uses to run).
- Ensure EPCs reflect the current state of a building – Reassess and reissue an EPC every time a building undergoes changes that would impact energy performance. No EPC should be older than three years.
- Make energy efficiency education a priority – Continue to prioritise consumer education around energy efficient living, using energy assessors to support this.
- Keep updating assessment methodologies – Continue to invest in updating SAP, SBEM and RdSAP methodologies to reflect the introduction of new technologies and innovation.
In addition, Elmhurst is calling for the increased use of qualified energy assessors to help advise homeowners and businesses to boost the uptake of available renewable technologies; rebalance the tax applied to fuels to favour low emission fuels instead of fossil fuels; use available technology to measure real-time building energy consumption and heat loss; and create a national standard for Net Zero buildings, including introducing an independent certification or competent persons scheme.
Stuart Fairlie added:
“This year Elmhurst turns 30 and we have already seen the announcement of a new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the launch of the new taskforce for energy efficiency in the last week. We hope the new department, faced with so many calls to update EPCs, will take head and help us deliver the energy efficiency improvements so desperately needed.”
A standard PDF of Elmhurst’s ‘Turning the Dial’ almanac is available here:
Now in its 30th year, Elmhurst is the UK’s largest EPC accreditation scheme. It supports a membership of more than 9,500 quality assured energy assessors and a growing body of retrofit assessors and coordinators. In 2021, Elmhurst members were responsible for completing more than 1.2 million EPC's in the UK.
This article was supplied via Press Release as "Cost, consumption, carbon – EPCs must change to measure all three to deliver truly energy efficient homes" dated March 1 2023.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Accredited energy assessor.
- Approved document L
- Building performance.
- Building performance metrics.
- Carbon ratings for buildings.
- Certificates in the construction industry.
- CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.
- Display energy certificate.
- Emission rates.
- Energy certificates for buildings.
- Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
- Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme.
- Energy performance certificate EPC.
- Energy certificates for buildings.
- EPC's to help improve EPC's ?.
- Home information pack HIP.
- Minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES).
- National Calculation Method.
- Passivhaus vs SAP.
- Performance gap.
- Reliance data in EPC Contracts.
- Simplified Building Energy Model.
- Standard Assessment Procedure SAP.
- Target emission rate TER.
- Two types of EPC.
- U-value conventions in practice: Worked examples using BR 443.
Featured articles and news
The continued ISG fall out, where to go?
Support for ISG contractors, companies and employees.
New HES national centre for traditional building retrofit
Announced as HES publishes survey results which reveal strong support for retrofit.
Retrofit of Buildings, a CIOB Technical Publication
Expected to become one of the largest activities in the global construction industry.
The ECA industry focus video channel
Keeping update with the industry session by session.
Over 25 recorded informations sessions freely available.
AT Awards 2024 ceremony East London October 25th.
Revisiting the AT community at the 2023 awards evening.
The Community Housing Fund and built affordable homes
CLTN reviews the impact of the Fund and calls for extension.
The grading system of the Regulator for Social Housing
A background, an explanation and ten recent enforcements.
Construction, repair and maintenance. Book review.
Putting new life into a city with a 1900 year history.
BSRIA Briefing 2024: Sustainable Futures speakers
Redefining Retrofit for Net Zero Living 22 Nov.
Wall of support for post-Grenfell regulation of electricians
Call for a shake-up of the construction industry highlighted on radio.
Digital sustainability through future AEC tools
Bringing together industry and academia to meet challenges.
Skills gap for net zero highlighted to Minister for Industry
ECA convenes roundtable discussion at Portcullis House.
Evidencing Net Zero with the new UK buildings standard
Pilot version with detailed excel proforma out now!
Scottish Building Safety Levy, in consultation
From direct remediation and the RPDT, to the costs and alternatives.
Waves of warmer homes grants for the rental sector
Boosting energy efficiency standards for all rented homes.
A refocus of the National Planning Policy Framework
Key terms described in brief, as the consultation closes the evening of the 24th.
Fortified farmhouses of the unruly 16th-and 17th-century borders.
Comments
[edit] To make a comment about this article, click 'Add a comment' above. Separate your comments from any existing comments by inserting a horizontal line.