What are SBEMS?

SBEMs are calculations of the energy used, and greenhouse gas emitted, by the fixed building services in a commercial building.

SBEM stands for SIMPLIFIED BUILDING ENERGY MODEL, a computer program developed for the government by the Building Research Establishment in Watford.

SBEM is a freely available download from the Building Research Establishment website, and can be used for most small to medium sized buildings.

Why do we need SBEMS?

The government sets standards for new buildings and refurbishments as part of a goal of reducing the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.
For any new or refurbished building, SBEM calculates a target for the amount of carbon dioxide generated by the fixed building services, this is called the Target Emission Rate or TER

SBEM also calculates the actual amount of carbon dioxide generated, this is called the Building Emission Rate or TER

To obtain Building Regulations Approval, the local Authority or approved building inspector require that the BER must not exceed the TER

In many cases, the Planning authorities may also require that the BER is a certain percentage below the TER, or planning may be refused

How do we complete SBEMS

You need scaled architectural plans, construction details, full technical details of all the fixed building services, and information about the activities within the building

You also need an accredited Non-domestic Energy Assessor to process the data, enter it into SBEM and produce the final certificates