SBEM: Simplified Building Energy Model
SBEM is a software tool developed by BRE that provides an analysis of a building’s energy consumption.
SBEM is used for non domestic buildings in support of the National Calculation Methodology (NCM), the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Green Deal.
The tool is currently used to determine CO2 emission rates for new buildings in compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations (England and Wales) and equivalent Regulations in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Jersey. It is also used to generate Energy Performance Certificates for non-domestic buildings on construction and at the point of sale or rent.
SBEM was developed by BRE for the Department for Communities and Local Government. The latest version of the SBEM tool and its accompanying user interface, iSBEM, can be downloaded free of charge from the dedicated National Calculation Methodology website at https://www.ncm.bre.co.uk/ (opens in a new window). A special version – cSBEM – was created to accompany the recent consultation on the 2013 revision of Part L of the Building Regulations in England and can be accessed at https://www.2013ncm.bre.co.uk
Variants of the SBEM tool are now in use in Cyprus,Gibraltar and Mauritius and developments are underway for other countries, initially in Europe.
Green Deal
Another variant of SBEM will be used to assess non-domestic buildings for suitability for Green Deal loans when the policy is launched by DECC in October 2012. This version allows users to tailor the usage of the building to match its actual operation, to take account of actual metered energy consumption and to estimate the savings from packages of improvement measures. A pilot version can be downloaded from www.gdtool.bre.co.uk.
Use the contacts on the right for further information.
BRE also offers training and competent persons assessment for those involved with energy rating assessments: training calendar