SAP calculations: A guide to current and future regulations

architect plans with house shape constructed using pencils on top of plans
SAP calculations measure your home's energy efficiency and emissions (Image credit: Ezra Bailey/Getty Images)

SAP stands for ‘Standard Assessment Procedure’ and is a government defined method of assessing the energy efficiency of a home. 

It was first introduced in 1992 and is a rating used to inform a number of standards, including Building Regulations, Stamp Duty exemption for zero carbon homes as well as Energy Performance Certificates (EPC).

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EPCs require certain SAP rating results
EPC RATINGSAP RATING
A92 - 100
B81 - 91
C69 - 80
D55 - 68
E39 - 54
F21 - 38
G1 - 20
Tim Pullen

Tim is an expert in sustainable building methods and energy efficiency in residential homes and writes on the subject for magazines and national newspapers. He is the author of The Sustainable Building Bible, Simply Sustainable Homes and Anaerobic Digestion - Making Biogas - Making Energy: The Earthscan Expert Guide.


His interest in renewable energy and sustainability was first inspired by visits to the Royal Festival Hall heat pump and the Edmonton heat-from-waste projects. In 1979

this initial burst of enthusiasm lead to him trying (and failing) to build a biogas digester to convert pig manure into fuel, at a Kent oast-house, his first conversion project.


Moving in 2002 to a small-holding in South Wales, providing as it did access to a wider range of natural resources, fanned his enthusiasm for sustainability. He went on to install renewable technology at the property, including biomass boiler and wind turbine.


He formally ran energy efficiency consultancy WeatherWorks and was a speaker and expert at the Homebuilding & Renovating Shows across the country.