Refurbishment and Fit Out / UK / 2014 / 03 - Energy /

ENE 01 - Reduction of Energy Use and Carbon Emissions

Information correct as of 28thMarch 2024. Please see kb.breeam.com for the latest compliance information.

Accredited energy assessors – directories - KBCN1465

The directory of accredited energy assessors has moved. For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, accredited energy assessors can be found here: https://getting-new-energy-certificate.digital.communities.gov.uk/ For Scotland, accredited energy assessors can be found here: https://www.scottishepcregister.org.uk This will be updated in future manual re-issues.
24 Aug 2022 - Applicability to UKNC V6 confirmed

Calculating U-values for buildings with extension(s) - KBCN1000

In line with CN ‘Extensions to existing buildings and newly constructed thermal elements’, the performance of the baseline for new thermal elements should be based upon compliance with the appropriate local or national Building Regulations for new thermal elements. When completing the Elemental level energy model, the existing building U-values for the thermal elements should be calculated as the area-weighted average of the relevant thermal element (e.g, external wall, roof, glazing or ground floor area), excluding any area that is removed to accommodate the extension, and that of the extension, built to meet the local minimum building performance standards. The U-values for thermal elements of the refurbished building should be calculated as the area-weighted average of the relevant thermal element for refurbished building, including the extension. This applies when assessing against the 'Elemental level energy model' option.  

Definition of Accredited Energy Assessor - KBCN0706

BREEAM recognise that CIBSE Low Carbon Design and Simulation consultants are qualified to confirm compliance with Part L Building Regulations and are therefore qualified to produce BRUKL reports demonstrating compliance with Ene 01.
Technical manual to be updated accordingly in next re-issue.

Elemental U-values for assessments against Parts 2 and 3 - KBCN1011

Where Part 1 is not being assessed, improvements to the performance building fabric cannot be recognised, whether these be designed or consequential. In order to fully recognise the services efficiency improvements, however, where changes to the building fabric have been made, the post-refurbishment elemental U-values should be used for both pre-and post-refurbishment. Where a project seeks recognition of improvements to the performance of the building fabric, this must be assessed against Part 1.

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.
24/08/2022 - Applicability to UKNC V6 confirmed

Energy modelling a change of use project - KBCN0574

The energy model for the existing building in a change of use project should include the physical characteristics of the existing building but with the use class of the proposed refurbished building to enable a comparison to be made between the performances of the two buildings. Moreover, the existing building energy model needs to include the existing services as they were before the refurbishment. Where a particular system to be installed in the refurbished building is not present in the existing building, then the baseline system needs to meet the minimum requirements required to pass building regulations for it.
22/02/2017 Added content clarifying building services

Energy modelling not required for Building Regulations compliance - KBCN0487

For the purposes of demonstrating BREEAM compliance, it is still necessary to undertake energy modelling to generate the required performance data.
24/08/2022 Applicability to UKNC V6 confirmed
 

Energy modelling software - KBCN0679

To generate the required EPC files for the pre and post refurbishment building, the same software and software version should be used. In cases where there is an existing EPC using a different software or a different software version, it would therefore be necessary to generate a new EPC for the existing building, using the same software that is being used to model the refurbished building performance. In addition, to maintain consistency, where possible the energy modelling should be carried out by the same energy assessor. This is to avoid differences in performance resulting from changes to the calculation software, rather than changes to the building or other inconsistency.

Energy performance assessment for part of a whole building - KBCN0596

If the assessment is only covering part of a whole building, the energy performance assessment must be representative of the part of the building being assessed. Simply taking the energy performance assessment of the whole building would not therefore comply, especially if the non-assessed parts of the building were of a different use. A separate energy assessment of the part of the building is likely to be required. The energy performance assessment must be representative of the parts of the building being assessed. This also applies to the predicted energy performance and all energy modelling for the prediction of operation energy consumption. 
24/08/2022 - Applicability to UKNC V6 confirmed
Amended 01/09/2020 to cover UKNC2018 - Prediction of operational energy consumption

External wall area – inclusion of doors - KBCN00088

21/12/17  Previous guidance removed. Please refer to the relevant building energy modelling software guidance.
 

GN21 BREEAM UK Refurbishment and Fit-out Ene 01 Methodology - KBCN0718

The purpose of this guidance note is to provide further information on the BREEAM UK Refurbishment and Fit-out (BREEAM RFO) Ene 01 methodology. This note should be read in conjunction with the guidance provided in the UK Refurbishment and Fit-out technical manual View full Guidance Note (licensed assessors only) View all Guidance Notes (licensed assessors only)

Historic buildings – maximum credits available - KBCN1353

The number of additional credits for historic buildings that can be awarded is capped by the number of energy performance credits available for the assessment, as determined by the Ene 01 assessment option and, for Option 2, the Parts that are being assessed. For example, for a Part 1&2 assessment using Option 2, the number of credits available for energy performance might be 8, so if it scores 7 energy performance credits, it can only benefit from 1 additional credit by meeting the historic buildings criteria The additional credits are intended to recognise cases where the building's performance against the Ene 01 criteria is limited by its historic building status.
17 01 22 Wording updated to clarify

LZC technologies – energy centre or other LZCs connected at a later stage - KBCN0267

If a project specifies LZCs that have been proposed in the feasibility report which reduce emissions, and/or will be connected to a site-wide energy centre operational at a later stage of the phased development, after the Post Construction Stage review has been submitted, the Energy and Pollution issues can be assessed as follows: In a phased development where the primary heating system will be upgraded at a later stage than the building being assessed, a commitment to install the new heating source must be made in the General Contract Specification (as per the BREEAM requirements). BREEAM does not specify a particular time for phasing as it is difficult to set parameters, however as a rule building users should have to wait the least time possible before they can use the upgraded heating source. For the quality audit, two Energy model outputs/EPCs must be produced at the final stage - one with the actual interim system installed for building control, and one for the BREEAM assessment which can include the predicted energy from the proposed energy centre.  Additionally, the legally binding general contract specification for the new heating source must be submitted with details of the timescales proposed for the completion of the second phase of work. Where this approach is to be followed BREEAM must be consulted in each case to ensure that the arrangements are sufficiently robust to award the credits. BREEAM seeks to recognise the environmental impacts of a building's energy use throughout its life, therefore temporary arrangements can be accommodated, provided there is robust evidence on future connection to the permanent systems.
24/08/2022 - Applicability to UKNC V6 confirmed

No existing systems to determine building performance - KBCN0607

For both Options 1 and 2 where a particular system is to be installed in the refurbished building, but no existing system is present, the following performance levels should be assumed for the existing building; For Option 2 you may enter a performance value for the existing building that either just meet or is poorer performing than the relevant minimum performance levels. For heating, cooling, ventilation and hot water systems in the existing building, the same system types as the refurbished building should be assumed.
24/08/17 KBCN amended to include KBCN0761 'first fit-out of a shell and core development'.
CN amended to add clarification on performance values for existing services.
 

On-site LZC – whole site shared connection - KBCN1424

To be recognised in BREEAM, the on-site Low and Zero Carbon (LZC) technology must have a direct physical connection to the assessed asset. OR Where the LZC technology is; It is acceptable to allocate the renewable energy generated proportionally as a calculation of the asset's predicted energy consumption compared to the total energy consumption of the whole site. To allocate renewable electricity by proportional consumption: Where consumption data is missing, renewable electricity must not be allocated to the assessed asset. In this case, it is assumed that all electricity consumed is sourced from the grid.
17-Jan-2024 - Applicability BIU V6 Ene 13 removed, as this approach is not applicable to assessing the area of PV fitted.
21-Dec-2022 - Applicability to In-Use V6 confirmed.
24-Aug-2022 - Applicability to UKNC V6 confirmed.

Option 1 – Building Regulations compliance (CN5) - KBCN1619

CN5 states that it is a minimum requirement to be compliant with the relevant Building Regulations. This only applies to the parts included in the assessment.  Where the BRUKL document shows that the building has not passed the relevant Building Regulations this will be raised as a non-conformance by QA. In this case, additional evidence must be provided to demonstrate that the building regulation requirements have been complied with by Building Control for the scope of the assessment.

Option 1 for Scotland - KBCN0940

The Option 1: Whole Building Energy Model methodology is only compatible with English and Welsh EPCs. As the Scottish EPC methodology differs, projects in Scotland will need to generate an English EPC file to upload to the system.
This will be clarified in the next re-issue of the manual.
 

Part L 2021 EPC files – UK RFO 2014 - KBCN1525

EPC files that have been generated using software versions designed to show compliance with Part L 2021 build regulations for England can be used for the current UK RFO 2014 scheme and in the RFO 2014 assessment tool on BREEAM Projects. The manual technical will be updated to reflect this in the next reissue.

Parts of the building not subject to national thermal regulations - KBCN0534

Where you have parts of the assessed building which are not subject to national thermal regulations then these should be omitted from the EPR calculation.
24/08/2022 - Applicability to UKNC V6 confirmed

Services efficiency improvements in assessments against Part 1 only - KBCN1144

Where Parts 2 or 3 are not being assessed, improvements to the performance of the building services cannot be recognised, whether these be designed or consequential. In order to fully recognise the fabric efficiency improvements, however, where changes to the building services have been made, the post-refurbishment services performance values should be used for both pre-and post-refurbishment. Where a project seeks recognition of improvements to the performance of the building services, this must be assessed against Part 2 or 3.

Statutory requirements for energy modelling differ from BREEAM - KBCN0127

For the purposes of BREEAM, Issue Ene 01 should be assessed using a BRUKL output based on the prevalent UK country Building regulations applicable to that scheme. This applies even when the building does not need to undertake energy modelling to comply with Building Regulations.

Where a different analysis is required for statutory compliance, due to the location of the project or registration to an earlier or later version of Part L, a different output must be produced for this purpose.

Alternatively, where applicable, the BREEAM registration could be updated to the latest version, so the same energy model output can be used for both purposes. To maintain consistency and comparability for all assessments registered to a scheme.
24/08/2022 Applicability to UKNC V6 confirmed

Total area of ground floor - KBCN00087

When determining the 'total area of ground floor (m2)', the Gross Floor Area (GFA) should be used, which includes the thickness of the external walls. This is to align with Construction industry understanding.

Use of as-designed BRUKL output for post-construction submission - KBCN0889

Where it is not possible to produce an as-built BRUKL output for the post-construction assessment, it is acceptable to produce an updated as-designed BRUKL output that accurately reflects the constructed building as evidence for the post-construction submission. A justification should be issued to QA clarifying why an as-designed BRUKL was submitted, along with confirmation from the relevant specialist that the model is an accurate representation of the final, as-built specification of the building.
24/08/2022 Applicability to UKNC V6 confirmed

Information correct as of 28thMarch 2024. Please see kb.breeam.com for the latest compliance information.