BREEAM energy credits and the condition that secures them
A condition requiring a certified rating is really a condition requiring the low carbon specification to survive value engineering. How to set it up so it does.
A BREEAM energy credits planning condition ties your scheme to a modelled outcome you have to prove twice: once at design stage and again after construction. The energy category is the largest single block of credits in the scheme and the one most exposed to value engineering, so a condition requiring a certified rating is in practice a condition requiring that the photovoltaic array, the heat pump and the fabric specification survive the cost plan. On a scheme where they do not, the post construction certificate cannot be issued and the condition is breached, two years after anyone was thinking about it.
The fix is not complicated, but it has to be set up before the condition is drafted rather than after.
What the energy category measures
The energy category rewards two different things: the modelled performance of the building, and a set of discrete design and specification measures.
The performance credits are driven by the energy model, assessed against demand, primary energy consumption and carbon emissions. They are calculated from the same model that produces the Part L compliance output, which is why they move whenever the specification moves.
The specification credits cover items that are easier to control and easier to lose: energy sub-metering by end use and by tenancy, external lighting efficiency and controls, passive design and low carbon technology analysis carried out early enough to influence the design, efficient lifts and escalators, efficient refrigeration or laboratory systems where present, and drying space in residential schemes.
Issue numbering and credit weightings have changed between scheme versions, and the most recent version restructured the energy category substantially around energy use intensity and space heating demand. So the first question on any scheme is which version the assessment is registered under. Never write "BREEAM Excellent" into a condition without the version, because the standard behind those words shifts.
Where the energy statement and the assessment meet
Both documents run off one model, and the most common inconsistency in a major application is that they do not.
| Output | Energy statement uses it for | Assessment uses it for |
|---|---|---|
| Regulated carbon emissions | Percentage improvement against the notional building | Performance credits in the energy category |
| Primary energy consumption | Policy compliance where the plan requires it | Performance credits |
| Energy demand before supply | The lean stage of the energy hierarchy | Performance credits |
| Renewable generation capacity | The green stage of the hierarchy | Performance credits and low carbon design |
| Unregulated energy | Reporting where the plan requires it | Efficient equipment credits |
Run one model, produced by one person, and have the assessor and the energy consultant sign off the same input schedule. Where they are different firms, put the input schedule in the appointment as a deliverable. The Energy Statement and the BREEAM Pre-Assessment submitted with the application should be traceable to the same specification, with the same U-values, the same system efficiencies and the same array size.
Refrigerants are worth separate attention, because the assessment awards credits for refrigerant leakage detection and for low global warming potential selection, and the planning case for the plant may rest on the same choice. The points set out under refrigerant choice and global warming potential feed both documents.
The condition wording authorities use
Most English authorities use a two-stage condition, and the drafting varies more than you would expect.
A typical version requires that no development begins until a design stage assessment and interim certificate demonstrating a stated minimum rating has been submitted to and approved in writing, and that within a stated period after first occupation a post construction certificate confirming the rating has been submitted. Some authorities add a requirement that the development be carried out in accordance with the approved assessment.
Four drafting points are worth raising with the case officer while the condition is still a draft.
- Name the scheme version. A condition that floats between versions is imprecise, and precision is one of the six tests a condition has to meet.
- Make the first trigger realistic. A pre-commencement requirement for a full design stage certificate is awkward on a scheme where the contractor is appointed after enabling works, and a trigger tied to superstructure or to the relevant phase is more deliverable.
- State the period for the post construction certificate, and make it long enough for certification to be completed rather than merely for the building to be finished.
- Deal with phasing. On a multi-phase scheme, a single certificate requirement for the whole development creates a dependency between phases that nobody wants.
Design stage and post construction evidence
The two certificates ask different questions, and the second one is where schemes fail.
The design stage certificate is based on design intent: specifications, drawings, calculations and commitments. It is relatively easy to achieve because it reflects what the design team intends to do.
The post construction certificate is based on what was built, and it requires evidence: as-built drawings, commissioning records, product data for what was actually installed, the final energy model, and in some issues on-site verification. A credit claimed at design stage and not evidenced at post construction stage is lost.
That makes the record-keeping obligation a construction-phase issue rather than a design-phase one. Put the evidence schedule into the contractor's information requirements, name the party responsible for each item, and have the assessor review the evidence pack at practical completion rather than six months later when the subcontractors have gone.
Sub-metering and commissioning records are the two items most often missing. Both cost very little at the time and are impossible to recreate afterwards.
When a credit disappears during value engineering
This is the scenario the condition was written for, and it arrives in the same form every time: the array shrinks, the heat pump becomes a boiler, the glazing specification drops, and the rating falls below the conditioned level.
Credits are fungible up to a point. The scheme is scored on a weighted total, so credits lost in the energy category can sometimes be replaced from elsewhere: water, materials, waste, land use and ecology, pollution, health and wellbeing, transport or management. A good assessor will keep a tracker showing the achieved total, the target, and the available headroom.
The limit is the minimum standards. At the higher ratings the scheme imposes mandatory minimum credits in specified issues, and the energy category is one of them. Below those minimums the rating cannot be awarded however many credits you accumulate elsewhere, so a scheme that strips out its low carbon strategy cannot buy its way back to the rating with cycle parking.
Where the energy strategy is the thing at risk, safeguarding a connection is sometimes the answer that holds the rating and the policy case together. Safeguarding a future heat network connection costs little at design stage and keeps an option open through the cost plan.
Varying the condition where the rating slips
If the rating cannot be achieved, deal with it before occupation rather than after the certificate fails.
An application under section 73 to vary the condition is the proper route. The authority will want three things: evidence of what was attempted, an explanation of why the original rating is not deliverable, and a proposal for what will be delivered instead. A section 73 application with no alternative offered usually gets refused.
Two further points. Where the original permission was supported by a planning obligation linked to sustainability, varying the condition may require the deed to be varied too. And where an authority asks for a financial contribution in place of the lost performance, that has to satisfy the statutory tests for obligations, being necessary to make the development acceptable, directly related to the development, and fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind. A round sum with no evidential basis does not.
Keeping the assessment and the application aligned
Six habits prevent almost all of the trouble.
- Register the assessment before the planning submission, and state the version in the pre-assessment document.
- Use one energy model and one input schedule across all sustainability documents.
- Submit the credit tracker with the application so the officer can see the headroom rather than only the target.
- Keep the assessor engaged through value engineering, with a standing instruction to price the credit consequence of each change.
- Write the evidence schedule into the contractor's obligations.
- Review the pack at practical completion.
Assessments of this kind must be carried out by a licensed assessor, and councils expect a suitably qualified author for the supporting energy work as well, so professional review before submission is strongly advised.
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Frequently asked questions
Why does a BREEAM condition need to name the scheme version?
Because the standard behind a rating changes between versions, and the most recent version restructured the energy category around energy use intensity and space heating demand. A condition requiring a rating without identifying the version is imprecise, and precision is one of the six tests a planning condition has to satisfy.
Can credits lost in the energy category be replaced from elsewhere?
Up to a point. The scheme is scored on a weighted total, so credits can often be found in water, materials, waste, ecology, pollution, health and wellbeing, transport or management. The limit is the mandatory minimum standards at higher ratings, which include the energy category, and those cannot be bought back.
What does the post construction certificate require that the design stage one does not?
Evidence of what was actually built: as-built drawings, commissioning records, product data for installed items, the final energy model and on-site verification in some issues. A credit claimed on design intent and not evidenced after construction is lost, which makes the evidence schedule a contractor obligation rather than a design task.
What if the rating cannot be achieved?
Apply under section 73 to vary the condition before occupation rather than letting the certificate fail. The authority will want evidence of what was attempted, why the original rating is not deliverable, and what will be delivered instead. A variation application that offers no alternative is usually refused.
How should the energy statement and the assessment relate?
They should run off one model with one input schedule, signed off by both the energy consultant and the assessor. Mismatched U-values, system efficiencies or array sizes between the two documents is the most common inconsistency in a major application, and it undermines the credibility of both.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.