Energy Efficiency Best Practice in Housing

The Energy Efficiency Best Practice in Housing programme (EEBPH) encourages the installation of high-standard energy-efficiency measures in homes.  Many  documents provide standards guidance on energy efficiency during repair or refurbishment programmes.

The EEBPH traditionally promoted independent energy efficiency standards above the minimum regulatory requirements.  Recent changes to the Building Regulations in England mean that many current Best Practice standards were close to, or in some cases exceeded by, the minimum standards of the Building Regulations.

As a result of this, the standards for existing housing have been improved.

Energy efficiency standards for existing homes are set out in Good Practice Guide 155. 

The independent sets of energy-efficiency standards are useful for:

• support organisations that wish to design, build or refurbish homes to a better standard than the minimum required by the Building Regulations
• providing a carefully developed and integrated package of energy measures.  They represent a good balance of fabric measures, ventilation, heating and hot-water systems.  Owners, designers and builders can adopt the standards without the worry of specifying measures that do not represent a good balance of options.

What are the standards?

Setting a target for energy improvement is more difficult for existing properties than for new.  Although the Housing Corporation no longer set an energy rating, the EEBPH sets a minimum of SAP 75, and to be exceeded wherever possible.  As the model packages for each house type show, the new requirements of SDS should result in exceeding SAP 75.  For more information see Models by house type.

The standard for existing housing uses established recommendations from the EEBPH publication Good Practice Guide 155 - Energy Efficient Refurbishment of Existing Homes as follows:

• Walls:
  Cavity: cavity-wall insulation
  Solid: insulated dry lining to achieve a U-value of 0.45 W/m2K
  External-wall insulation to achieve a U-value of 0.35 W/m2K
• Pitched roofs: 250 mm insulation to achieve a U-value of 0.16 W/m2K 
• Ground floor:  insulation to achieve a U-value of 0.20-0.25 W/m2K
• Windows:  double- or triple-glazed windows to achieve a U-value of 2.0 W/m2K 
• All doors and windows should be draught-stripped
• Gas central heating (where available):  CheSS HR4 or HC4
• Primary hot-water pipework to be fully insulated
• Controlled ventilation to prevent condensation
• Where electrical appliances are being supplied, they should be ?A? rated
• Lighting:  Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) should be fitted in high-usage areas such as living rooms, study bedrooms, halls, landings and for communal and security lighting.  New fittings designed specifically for CFLs should be used when old fittings are replaced.

Prescribing a single package of measures that would apply to all existing homes would be impossible; but it is important to understand that the energy efficiency of an existing home can be improved without waiting for a full refurbishment package.  Invariably it will be more cost effective to implement a combination of the measures listed above, in preference to installing them separately.

The most suitable and cost-effective insulation options depend  largely on the opportunities arising from the proposed general improvements and the form of construction.  Ideally, you should upgrade insulation and draught-stripping before replacing boilers and heating systems.  The reduced heating demand will enable you to select the heating plant accordingly, thus cutting capital cost and improving energy efficiency.

For more information on Energy see also
Energy opportunities matrix, Carbon and Models