ABSTRACT
Planning policy in England and Wales has long been concerned with the quality of the environment, and it has historically responded to pollutants by requiring noxious activities to be located away from heavily populated areas. In recent years, planning policy has also tried to influence the environmental performance of individual developments, a task traditionally dealt with by building regulations. Compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations and the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) and the data for Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are fully dependent on the outputs from approved energymodelling software packages. Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) is a calculating engine to check compliance with Part L for non-domestic buildings. The accompanying documentation stresses that it is 'not a design tool'. It, in turn, works to the National Calculation Methodology (NCM). EPCs are required when a building is constructed, including significant extensions, rented to a new tenant or sold.
