Have your SAP done prior to building your property!
I have just done a test today for a gentleman who passed his air tightness test as far as the L1A regulations are concerned, he got below a 10 for his score. But, because the council didn't require him to have a SAP until after the build was completed, he has ended up not being able to get the DER below the TER. Trying to lower the DER after completion is VERY difficult. He is now faced with the possibility of having to install Solar Panels or an alternate fuel source! Now, this alternate heat source could be a wood burning stove, so we think that he may get away with it by spending approximately £1,000 getting this fitted. That's alot of money to be stumping up after completion for a property that he just wants to rent out for the short term while he rides out the economic storm.
I have a bit of investigation to do before I write another article on this topic, but I've been told by my guy who does SAPs and EPCs that if you just follow the letter of the law as a minimum for Part L1A as far as the U-values go, you will most probably fail ... I was shocked to hear this, but can see where it may be true. You have to understand that there are other factors at play here in the software used to produce the SAPs that sometimes don't make sense ... adding a wood burning stove creates a 9 inch hole in your property, but it benefits the environment because it is carbon neutral ... from my air tightness testing perspective, any extra holes in a house are a bad thing.
More to come on this.
For more information or to book a test, call me on 01484 686649 or visit my website on http://www.hometestingyorkshire.co.uk/
I hope this helps
Matt
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