SAP or SBEM: Which Calculation Do You Need?

SAP or SBEM: Which Calculation Do You Need?

Both prove a new building meets Part L of the Building Regulations, and both produce the EPC at the end. The difference is the building type. SAP is for homes. SBEM is for everything else: offices, shops, warehouses, schools, hotels and other non-domestic buildings.

The short answer

• SAP for new houses and flats, conversions that create homes, and extensions where the glazing is more than 25% of the extension's floor area. From £100+VAT per home.
• SBEM for new commercial buildings, larger commercial extensions, shell and core developments and the first fit-out, and changes of use or refurbishments where building control asks for one. From £400+VAT.
• Both for mixed-use schemes: SAP for the homes and SBEM for the commercial space.

What SAP checks

Under Part L 2021 a new home has to beat three targets: carbon emissions, primary energy and fabric energy efficiency. It also has to meet minimum standards for insulation, heating and airtightness.

You get the design SAP and the Part L compliance report for building control, a Predicted Energy Assessment to market the homes off plan, and the as-built SAP and EPC at completion.

What SBEM checks

The building has to beat target emission and primary energy rates and meet minimum standards for fabric, lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation.

You get an SBEM model and design BRUKL report before work starts, then an as-built BRUKL report and the EPC once the air test is done.

Side by side

• Building type. SAP: homes. SBEM: non-domestic buildings.
• Compliance document. SAP: Part L compliance report. SBEM: BRUKL report.
• Price. SAP: from £100+VAT per home. SBEM: from £400+VAT.
• Turnaround. SAP: 3 working days. SBEM: 3 working days for small commercial buildings, 5 for larger ones.

Rules changing in 2027

Homes. The Future Homes Standard comes into force on 24 March 2027. New homes built to it need low-carbon heating, in most cases a heat pump, and solar panels.

Commercial buildings. A new edition of Part L comes into force on 24 March 2027, or 24 September 2027 for higher-risk buildings, with a 12-month transition. It tightens fabric and lighting standards and expects low-carbon heating and solar panels on most new buildings.

Both have transition rules based on when building control was notified and when work starts. Send us your dates and we will confirm which rules apply.

Questions we get asked

Our scheme has flats over a shop. What do we need? SAP for each flat and SBEM for the shop. We do both from the same drawings, so the figures line up.

Is a commercial EPC done in SBEM? Yes. For a new building the EPC comes from the as-built SBEM model. For an existing building being sold or let, we survey it and produce the EPC in SBEM too.

The design fails. What now? We model the options and tell you which costs least. For homes that is usually better windows, more insulation, solar panels or a different heating system. For commercial buildings it is lighting and controls, more efficient plant, better fabric or solar panels.

More: SAP calculations and EPCs, SBEM calculations and BRUKL reports, commercial EPCs, how much SAP calculations cost

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