03 - Resource and Energy - BREEAM Knowledge Base

Energy consumption and carbon emissions of untreated spaces - KBCN00049

Where the assessment contains a mix of treated and untreated spaces, untreated spaces can be excluded and the performance based on the treated spaces only. Where the entire assessment is untreated, the whole of the structure(s) must be assessed on the basis that this issue is critical for certification. BREEAM is primarily designed to assess permanent, treated and occupied structures. Untreated structures are unlikely to gain many credits when being assessed.

Excluding excavation waste from ‘Diversion of resources from landfill’ - KBCN0226

Excavation waste should not be included and assessed against the requirements under ‘Diversion of resources from landfill’. This also applies to BREEAM Communities RE05 - 3rd/4th credits.

Exemptions from hard landscaping and boundary protection - KBCN00062

Where a third party, such as the local authority, enforces strict constraints on the materials that can be used by the project for hard landscaping or boundary protection, and these materials do not achieve a Green Guide rating of A/A+, it is possible to exempt these materials from the assessment of this issue, on the condition that robust evidence confirming this is given. In this instance the developer does not have control over the materials specified, therefore it is not appropriate to include them in the assessment.

Internationally approved Ene 01 calculation software - KBCN1177

The following calculation software are approved internationally and can be used, provided local weather files are available in the country of the assessment. Please make sure the approved version, in brackets, is used. If you wish to use a different one, please submit a technical query to BREEAM@bregroup.com providing details of the changes.

IES VE (all versions from 2014 onwards).
Design Builder (version 4 onwards).
TRNSYS (version 17 onwards).
eQUEST (versions 3.63b and 3.64 onwards).
Energy Plus (version 3 and version 6 onwards).
EDSL Tas (v9.5.0 onwards).
IDA ICE (Version 5.1 onwards) 2
TRACE 700 (Version 6.3.5 onwards)

Any software that has been approved on the ASWL for a particular country can be used in other countries, provided relevant weather files are available.

27-Apr-2026- TRACE 700 Software added
03-Apr-2025 - IDA ICE Software added.
26-Mar-2024 - Scheme applicability updated.
08-Aug-2022 - Applicability to BREEAM Communities 2012 confirmed.
30-Jun-2023 - Added note relating to software approved for a particular country.

Pre-demolition audit/(pre-refurbishment) on other structures and hard surfaces - KBCN00045

A pre-demolition/(pre-refurbishment) audit is required where any existing buildings, structures or hard surfaces are present on a development site. The intent of the pre-demolition/(pre-refurbishment) audit is to ensure that any potentially useful materials are considered for re-use or diversion from landfill, not just materials resulting from buildings.

22.11.17 Reference added to the pre-refurbishment audit for RFO assessments.

Solid concrete washout - KBCN00063

Solid concrete washout waste should be included in the waste resource efficiency benchmarks.

Using BRE SMARTWaste tool - KBCN0236

BRE SMARTWaste may be helpful in demonstrating the construction waste benchmarks; however its use is not compulsory to achieve the credits. Reference to the SMARTWaste tool has been included in the issue as an example of a tool that can be used to manage and monitor waste generated during construction.

Communities / 2012 /