SBEM Ratings

The new Part L2 Conservation of Fuel and Power in new buildings other than dwellings Building Regulations came into force April 2006.  To fall in line with the EU Energy Performance in Buildings Directive the new L2, Part F (Northern Ireland) and Section 6 (Scotland) documents requires a major change in the way buildings are to be assessed for compliance with energy efficiency and carbon emission standards. 

Part L2 divides into five separate criteria to be met, noting that some of the criteria are interdependent with each other:

Criterion 1 – Achieving an Acceptable Building CO₂ Emission Rate
Criterion 2 – Limits on Design Flexibility
Criterion 3 – Limiting the Effects of Solar Gains in summer
Criterion 4 – Quality of Construction and Commissioning
Criterion 5 – Providing Information (for the building operator)

Criterion one requires the proposed building to be modelled and simulated using an accredited software tool to evaluate the carbon emission from a “notional building”, of the same geometry and function as the actual building (using the National Calculation Method Database).  An improvement factor is then applied to establish a target emission rate (TER) against which the actual design Building Emission Rate (BER) must equal or better.  This requirement may be fulfilled utilising the iSBEM tool from the BRE.  Assessments are carried out by consultants who are registered as “competent persons” under BRE Certification Limited.


SBEM - Required Information Check Sheet (PDF Download)