Future Homes and Buildings Standards and Home Energy Model: clarification note
Updated 4 March 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-homes-and-buildings-standards-2023-consultation/future-homes-and-buildings-standards-and-home-energy-model-clarification-note
The government is currently consulting on the Future Homes and Buildings Standards (FHBS), the new Home Energy Model (HEM), and the Home Energy Model: Future Homes Standard assessment (HEM:FHS). We are aware of certain aspects of these consultations which are causing confusion or concern.
This note provides clarification on how to respond to Questions 7 and 8 of the FHBS consultation, how HEM:FHS is expected to develop prior to its full implementation, and some actions that are being taken to help model FHS compliance in the HEM:FHS consultation tool.
FHBS – Consultation response to Questions 7 and 8
Question 7 of the FHBS consultation seeks views on which option for the dwelling notional building you prefer. If you would like to caveat your response to Question 7 then commentary can be provided in response to Question 8. If you do not wish to state a preference between the two options, Question 7 can be left blank and comments can still be provided in response to Question 8.
HEM:FHS – General
The consultation version of HEM:FHS is not yet the final production version. The consultation feedback will play a key role in helping to develop and refine the final version.
The HEM:FHS consultation tool is provided primarily to help inform responses to the consultation questions that relate to the tool itself rather than for other uses.
The HEM:FHS consultation tool does not have a production-ready user interface and the parameters of various aspects of the model are not final.
Any views on the complexity, volume or nature of input data required to complete a HEM:FHS model should be provided as part of the HEM:FHS consultation and will be taken into account in the way in which the final production version of HEM:FHS is shaped to support Part L compliance.
HEM:FHS – Heat pumps
We understand that the two heat pumps originally included in the HEM:FHS consultation tool were limiting the ability to model homes that comply. Additional heat pump variants at a range of capacities have now been added to the consultation tool. The two dummy heat pump models already present have been adjusted to allow them to modulate their output.