Guidance

Notice of approval of the methodologies of calculation of the energy performance of new buildings to demonstrate compliance with the Building Regulations 2010 in England (24 March 2026)

Published 24 March 2026

Applies to England and Wales

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/methodologies-for-expressing-the-energy-performance-of-buildings-in-england-and-wales-notice-of-approval-24-march-2026/notice-of-approval-of-the-methodologies-of-calculation-of-the-energy-performance-of-new-buildings-to-demonstrate-compliance-with-the-building-regulati

1. Introduction

This notice of approval sets out the approved calculation methodologies for calculating the energy performance of new buildings in England for the purposes of regulations 24 and 25 of the Building Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/2214).

This Notice supersedes the Notice of approval of the methodologies of calculation of the energy performance of new buildings to demonstrate compliance with the Building Regulations 2010 in England dated 17 March 2025.

This updated notice of approval has been issued to reflect the revision of SAP, the approved methodology for calculating the energy performance of new dwellings to demonstrate compliance with the Building Regulations 2010 in England, which has now been updated from version 10.2 to version 10.3. This document does not apply to national calculation methodologies in Northern Ireland and Scotland and Wales, which are subject to separate regulatory requirements.

The notice of approval for calculating the energy performance of buildings as required by the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 is issued as a separate document (PDF, 118 KB).

2. Notice of Approval

Take notice that the Secretary of State, under regulation 24 of the Building Regulations 2010, hereby approves the methodologies listed below for the calculation of the energy performance of new buildings for the purposes of regulation 25 (Minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings) of the Building Regulations 2010. This approval applies to building work carried out in England.

This approval takes effect on 24 March 2026 and continues in effect until withdrawn by the Secretary of State or superseded.

This approval does not apply in relation to building work on a particular building, where a building notice or an initial notice has been given to, or full plans have been deposited with, a local authority, in respect of that building, before 24 March 2027, provided that the building work on that building is started before 24 March 2028. (“Building notice”, “initial notice” and “full plans” have the meanings given in regulation 2(1) of the Building Regulations.) In such cases, the earlier versions of the methodologies may continue to be used.

For higher-risk buildings (HRB), alternative transitional arrangements apply: to use the earlier versions of the methodologies, a valid Gateway 2 application must be submitted before 24 September 2027 and ultimately be successful. Developers are required to begin work within three years of Gateway 2 submission under Section 32 of the Building Act 1984.

The approved methodologies are:

Approved by authority of the Secretary of State

Keeran Jugdoyal
An Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

24 March 2026

3. Notes on the approved methodologies

This notice of approval sets out the ways of expressing the energy performance of new buildings, as calculated in accordance with the methodology approved by the Secretary of State under regulation 24 for the purposes of regulation 25 (Minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings) of the Buildings Regulations 2010.

4. Software packages and interfaces

Software packages and interfaces relating to them are approved for use with the approved methodologies.

The list of currently approved software packages and interfaces for new domestic buildings are available at:

And for non-domestic buildings at:

Please note that from time to time the lists at these links are revised to include new software applications or new versions of existing ones.

5. Calculating the energy performance of new dwellings

For the purposes of compliance with regulations 25, 26, 26A, 26C, 27, 27A and 27C of the Buildings Regulations 2010, the SAP 10.3 calculation methodology this notice approves shall be used to calculate for the dwelling as designed and constructed:

  • the target CO2 emission rate
  • target fabric energy efficiency rate
  • target primary energy rate
  • calculated CO2 emission rate
  • calculated fabric energy efficiency rate and
  • the calculated primary energy rate

6. Calculating the energy performance of new buildings other than dwellings

For the purposes of regulations 25, 26, 26C, 27 and 27C of the Building Regulations the target CO2 emission rate, target primary energy rate, the calculated CO2 emission rate and the calculated primary energy rate for a building other than a dwelling as designed and constructed shall be calculated using an approved implementation of the National Calculation Methodology for buildings other than dwellings, i.e. SBEM or an approved DSM.

7. Approval of commercial software calculation tools

Applications may be made for approval of software packages to which carry out  the methodology for the calculation of the energy performance of buildings, such as:

  • software applications of SAP
  • software interfaces for SBEM
  • Dynamic Simulation Models (DSMs)
  • software applications of the method for calculating the Operational Rating for buildings

To be approved, the software tool must be validated against a set of published criteria to ensure it operates in a manner and to a standard consistent with the approved methodologies.

The criteria for approval, and the procedures for applying for approval for software interfaces for SBEM and for DSMs, may be obtained from:

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
New Build Standards and Performance Division
2 Marsham St
London
SW1P 4DF

Email: buildingassurance@communities.gov.uk

The criteria for approval, and the procedures for applying for approval for software applications of SAP, may be obtained from:

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Energy Performance and Standards Team
55 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2HP
United Kingdom

Email: homeenergymodel@energysecurity.gov.uk

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