BUILDING ENERGY PERFORMANCE
Envelope specification is a major factor in the energy performance of a building. The thermal performance of the building envelope plays a central role in determining how much heat is retained within the structure, along with the level of natural light and solar gain, while at the same time ensuring that the building does not overheat.
The UK government is committed to the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and their original approach was to target a series of enhancements to Part L to achieve “zero carbon buildings” by 2016 for dwellings and 2019 for buildings other than dwellings. This was put on hold in 2015, however the government is still obligated to “nearly zero energy buildings” by 2020.
With a lack of Building Regulation drive, London and a number of major cities are working to develop local planning policy for new and existing buildings to achieve net zero carbon by 2030.
Regulations and planning policy will also target existing buildings to make them net zero carbon by 2050. Net zero carbon buildings are buildings which reduce all energy use as far as technically possible, with remaining demand met through renewables.
The London plan specifically targets CO2 emissions
for new buildings, setting requirements well above Building Regulation requirements.
In April 2018, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) for rented commercial and industrial was introduced. This will effectively be phased in over 5 years and will require all rented property to have a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E. It is expected that this will impact at least 25% of current properties.
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Buildings which are designed or upgraded to achieve a performing building envelope, particularly aspects such as air-tightness are likely to achieve higher rentals and/or more consistent rental (with less unoccupied/no rent periods), increasing rental earnings.
In contrast, a short term approach that perhaps reduces costs in the envelope specification will almost always see those savings quickly wiped out. This is due to the fact that the building will often take longer to rent or sell, with potential occupiers becoming more aware of the longer term costs inherent in a building with a poor energy efficiency rating.
In addition, taking a ‘fabric first’ specification approach that prioritises a thermally efficient building envelope and that reduces current and future energy costs, will be significantly less expensive than a future fabric upgrade further down the line. There are also powerful demand- driven factors that underline the importance of building energy performance. The market in general, and potential investors or occupiers in particular, are much more aware of energy performance as a factor that merits serious consideration when choosing a building to rent or buy. While the demand for a domestic EPC scheme may still be unproven, for commercial real estate, obtaining a strong EPC is vital.
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