Simple simulation sensitivity tool

One of the key responses of the UK Government to the European Energy Performance Building Directive EPBD2002 has been the introduction and refinement of an energy efficiency compliance tool for domestic dwellings, the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP, 2009). A major disadvantage of the current assessment procedure is that a SAP model is generally confined to the final compliance stage of the design when it is used to certify energy performance once the design is concluded owing largely to the perceived complexity of the existing interfaces amongst architects (lowcarboncymru.org, 2012). However, SAP could potentially have a large influence over the design process of low energy buildings if a more intuitive interface was available. This paper introduces the SAP Sensitivity Tool 2009 (SST2009) that was developed as part of the A4B project: Delivering Low Carbon Buildings Cymru and describes its features as well as its possible applications and limitations. The tool, based on SAP2009, provides a simple interface for “what if” scenarios modelling of building performance. Limitations have been introduced in the variety of input data that the user can provide to the calculation engine, with the intent of preserving simplicity of use and communicability.