Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) – New Builds

The Standard Assessment Procedure is adopted by government as the UK methodology for calculating the energy performance of dwellings.

CPL can provide design SAP and as built SAP calculations. Our energy assessors are fully accredited through Elmhurst Energy Systems.

What is SAP?

SAP is the Governments 'Standard Assessment Procedure' for energy rating of dwellings. SAP, was designed to be included in the 1995 Building Regulations and it is now a compulsory component in Part L of the Regulations. Every new house has to have a SAP rating. 'SAP' can be defined as follows:

• SAP provides a simple means of reliably estimating the energy efficiency performance of dwellings. SAP ratings are expressed on a scale of 1 to 100 the higher the number the better the rating. Thus SAP is similar to the fuel consumption of a car under standard driving conditions.

  SAP is calculated by a procedure contained in the Building Regulations, which predicts heating, and hot water costs. These depend on the insulation and air tightness of the house and the efficiency and control of the heating system. The calculation uses the Building Research Establishment's Domestic Energy Model (BREDEM).

• The procedure for calculating SAP is defined by the published SAP worksheet - though in practice most people calculating SAP use one of the approved SAP calculation programs. These are computer programs, which are approved by the Building Research Establishment (BRE).

• SAP programs are used to enter data on the size of the house, its insulation levels, its ventilation system and its heating and hot water systems. SAP rating can then submitted for Building Regulations approval and is checked by the local Building Control department.