Musings on modelling performance and the impact of the Home Energy Model (HEM), with Baz Iyer (Vulcan) and Stephen Lloyd (Savills Earth)

Baz Iyer (Vulcan) and Stephen Lloyd (Savills Earth) join us to talk about the likely impact of the UK's long-awaited Future Homes Standard (FHS) and, perhaps more importantly, the Home Energy Model (HEM).

HEM is the new model that will inform the UK's Energy Performance Certification (EPC) rating system. It's much more detailed in terms of the information that it demands about the buildings it is being used to rate, and therefore much more demanding of the assessors.

But this means that it can be much more useful for modelling the energy performance of buildings because it will better reflect how the building will be experienced by its users.  It won't be perfect but the level of detail that it demands means that homeowners may be able to use EPCs to make meaningful decisions about how to improve the buildings in which they live. 

This also means that, in time, it is conceivable that HEM can become a design tool in the same way designers use PHPP to predict performance and calibrate design. That's certainly what Baz is planning and why he and Stephen have been interrogating the place HEM will occupy in the UK construction sector, the impact it might have on its culture, and the opportunity that its adoption will open up.

If anyone needs some help getting to grips with this I'd recommend they connect with Baz, he's very friendly and well-informed.

Notes from the show

• Baz Iyer on LinkedIn
• Stephen Lloyd on LinkedIn 
• The Vulcan website
• The Savills Earth website
• Vulcan on LinkedIn
• Old ZAP #1 - 'Incompetence still reigns supreme' in energy ratings: DPE certification, EPCs, BERs, and a little bit of ESG
• Old ZAP #2 - ZAP Shady business #1 – overheating, and Camden: we should think about solar gain all year round, with Zoe De Grussa (BBSA)

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