On Tuesday 15th August 2023 the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced the launch of a new opem consultation to seek views on proposed amendments to legislation so that both the Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) scheme and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) schemes use the latest versions of the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) and Reduced Data SAP (RdSAP).

The consultation sets out proposals for mid-scheme amendments to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) schemes:

• ECO4
• the Great British Insulation Scheme

Both schemes run until March 2026.

DESNZ are proposing amendments to legislation so that both schemes use the latest versions of the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) and Reduced Data SAP (RdSAP). We would like your views on the transitional arrangements needed to make this change.

They are inviting feedback and opinions from a wide range of stakeholders, including:

• energy suppliers
• energy efficiency installers
• other scheme participants with views on the proposals

The consultation covers ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme for the period spring 2024 to March 2026.

Any SWIGA member involved in the installation of ECO funded retrofit works is encouraged to participate in this open consultation and have their say.

The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 11 September 2023. Responses can either be submitted online of by email to: gbinsulation@beis.gov.uk 

Full details are available on the Government website itself: www.gov.uk
 

Background Information

Quoted from the open consultation: 
 

RdSAP assessments are used in both the GB Insulation Scheme and ECO4 to evidence the starting and finishing SAP ratings of a property. SAP assessments and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), which are also underpinned by SAP, may also be used in ECO4 for evidencing (in certain circumstances). Under the current legislation for ECO4 the version used to determine the starting rating of a property matches the version used to determine its finishing rating – this enables a direct comparison for evidencing the retrofit’s energy efficiency improvement.

SAP10.2 is the current version used in England from June 2022 and in Wales from November 20222. Even though SAP10.2 is already live, it has not created issues with a previous version of SAP, SAP2012, currently required for ECO4 evidencing because arrangements are in place which enable SAP2012 to continue to be used across the industry. We propose that the version of SAP required for evidencing in the ECO4 Order3 should be updated from SAP2012 to SAP10.2 in March 2024 for consistency with wider industry arrangements for use of SAP10.2.

RdSAP2012, the current version used to assess energy performance in existing dwellings4, is due to be updated to RdSAP10.2 in March 2024. We propose that the version of RdSAP required in both schemes for evidencing should be updated in legislation from RdSAP2012 to RdSAP10.2. We anticipate that updated ECO4 and GB Insulation Scheme legislation will precede the RdSAP version change, enabling ECO4 and GB Insulation Scheme retrofit assessments to move smoothly from using RdSAP2012 to RdSAP10.2 when the industry changeover occurs. Proposals for transition arrangements for retrofits that straddle the period between the two RdSAP versions – where retrofits have a starting SAP rating assessment before RdSAP 10.2 goes live, but a finishing SAP rating assessment afterwards – are set out in this consultation. These proposals will also address potential issues associated with property eligibility that may arise due to the version change.

Beyond evidencing, the scoring methodologies for ECO4 and the GB Insulation Scheme were created based on SAP2012 and RdSAP2012. These scores are used to determine how much a given retrofit contributes to the overall scheme obligation and are based in notional annual bill savings. We are consulting on proposals related to the scoring methodologies for both schemes, where applicable.

Consultation Document >