S-RR3 - Modelling tools for assessing carbon performance of dwellings

As the global consensus on climate change grows ever stronger, the need to reduce carbon emissions and fossil fuel use is now imperative. Emissions from housing in Scotland are responsible for 22% of Scotland’s total emissions1, and therefore housing has a significant role to play in successfully meeting Scotland’s carbon emission targets; namely, to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 42% by 2020, and 80% by 2050, compared to 1990 base levels.

In 2006, the EU adopted Directive 2002/91/EC, the European Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), now recast as Directive 2010/31/EU. It requires a common methodology of energy assessment and implementation of energy certification of domestic and non-domestic dwellings across all Member States (MS). Each MS has different housing qualities, standards, expectations, and construction methods and materials, therefore while each MS requires energy assessments using a common methodology, there are slight variations in the detail used and calculation of energy assessment in each MS.