You should get most of what you need to know on the course, but an understanding of buildings, building technology and thermal performance is good.

You should download and read the PArt L1A building regulation and the Domestic Heating guide.
Time allowing Part F (ventilation)
All available from the planning portal.

Also //bre.co.uk/sap2005 for the SAP specification documents.

Essential to also get is BRE Conventions for U value calculations (2006)

In my view SAP assessments should not be done by anybody that has not studied these, as a minimum, so please do.
The NHER training is by far the most comprehensive but does lack enough depth on the above.

Also, when using SAP it may seem to give reasonalbe results - but it is full of errors and old assumptions about the thermal dynamics of buildings. It uses a simplification of steady state analysis of typical 1970/1980 builds. Lightweight (or very heavyweight) buildings will behave differently.

- It is important that SAP is only used to check compliance and not as a comprehensive design tool.

..would love to get my grubby mitts on a SAP xls spreadsheet... any chance Olly..?

J

For James Norton (or anyone else)
Have recently found that the insulation people Knauf have a free to use BRE approved SAP 2005 calculator on their website. They encourage printing the results and using it for Building Regulation applications. It is covered in their name though!

This is what makes me sick. i've been studying construction part-time for six years on onc/ hnc construction and hnd architectural design and technology course. then along come chumps with no idea attending half arsed short courses so their bosses can send them out to fill in forms the reason for which they have little idea other than it means they get an end of month pay cheque.
absolute farce. typical we have thousands of media degree students stacking shelves in sainsburys and where a real understanding and dedicated course attendance is needed we send tnuc's on a 2 day course.
will u-values and building regs be covered ? - oh yeah, about 20 minutes on each should cover it and you'll be out in time to miss the worst of the traffic !!
good luck agu, maybe you could fill us in on just how much of an understanding you have after your in depth training. and does that mean you can now go out and work up sap assessments and epc's ?

Gents, give the guy a break, we all have to start somewhere, I agree that a 3 day course on NHER doesn't give an automatic qualification to be a good SAP assessor but it's a start. I'm sure with the right guidance and two years down the line he'll make a good assessor, at the very least he's chosen to use the best software.
Stuart if you want some work and are not too proud to have an old git pointing you in the right direction contact me.

Ok, i'll play nice.
The nher course is actually five days. (63 less than an nvq3/onc construction), the job is assessing design drawings of properties to see if they comply, the company offers staff training.
Any criticism should be directed at the colleges for not teaching vocational skills. PaulT and the like will have to spend to become a cibse low carbon consultant in design then spend again to be lcc in bldng operations and plenty more to produce epc's.
Certainly makes you wonder why bother investing so much in academic study when three or four short courses and some bedtime reading and you're in £30-40k p.a territory.
So the point that needs to be pushed is if your getting sap, sbem, or simulation calcs, make sure its from an associate or member of Cibse or Ciat or both.

well i've been informed that cibse are producing a new website, or series of pages, specifically dealing with this so hopefully this should solve the professionalism issue and provide a structured and consistent training format. i only mentioned associate of ciat as it recognises academic achievement and professional standards - the course i'm doing is ciat accredited and we're doing ies ve simulation and sbem. if sap is mickey mouse then rdsap must be pluto - personally i think they're as much about generating economy activity as they are epbd compliance.

uwic - starting on ies next year. will be doing sbem calcs on one of the teaching blocks as part of environmental design assignment once i finish business plan on epc assessor training. that reminds me - does anyone have any idea what cost these non-domestic sbem generated epcs will be at level 3 ?

Thanks for the feedback. I too find it quite strange that I can take a 5 day course and then be an authorised assessor. I do worry that I don't yet know enough but am trying everyday to increase my knowledge and can't help but feel that regardless of any courses, no matter how long or by who only real experience will make me better. Now the problem with this is I need to be an authorised assessor to get the software, to be able to do the work etc so that's what I've done. I often sit on this forum and get lost with terms or specs but come back everyday to try and stick with it and make myself better qualified to do my job, and I'm not a chump I'm just trying to take a great opportunity that I've been given by a company and do something I enjoy. Peter A I would be gratful for any help and would have no problem with an old git being the one to give it.

Agu

Agu - you are clearly no chump by investing your time on here and my comments were not at you but the system of vocational training in general. the fact an individual could be a dell trotter market trader one month and a sap assessor the next to me (and i think others) seems to stink a little. There was a recent article about a graduate achieving the 1000th kef scholarship to set up a firm producing domestic epc's, loads of publicity about it and yet she did a degree in waste management. (the fact she's fat and ugly is more my problem with media coverage of people, that really should be kept indoors.) The business model for solely producing domestic epc's is poor, their value for hip's is now around £30-40 each. SAP calcs are misleading by a long way. Site training of construction details to achieve airtightness and properly fitted insulation is non-existent. Most developments have serious snagging problems after release to new owners; kitchens cant be fitted properly so what hope for proper detailing, especially with piece rate work. Hence the need for off-site construction methods, properly managed fabrication with quality standards, materials re-use, employee training investment, community feel good factor, sustainable communities, local jobs, skills development, apprenticeships for school leavers, respect for mentors, more respect for oneself and the community, less crime. And we achieve zero carbon targets/ aspirations/ dreamtime/ whatever you call it.

i would suggest the first step is to look at the requirements of the cibse low carbon consultant role. digest the three reading lists and attend the assessment. discuss career development with employers and get support either for day release or evening attendance of a suitable course. the problem is i dont think there is one at hnc/hnd/bsc level yet. so if you cant get one the msc advanced energy and env studies at cat then you commit to the nearest relevance course simply to give you the academic stepping stone you need.
the cat course is now proven and i feel the content should be incorporated with recent legislative change to produce a long term bsc level course that should be franchised out to more uni's to make the specialism more accessible.
it is a difficult one. having committed to the academic route as a part-time student i dont get sufficient time or money to attend the sap/sbem courses, but even if i carry on as planned to msc level then without the certification from these short courses the msc qualification doesnt provide the easy income generating role that five days on a sap course does. maybe pault can develop that part further as it seems that is the position he's in.
My Solution 1 is better integration of legislative change and generation of these new specialist roles with academic institutions rather than (or at least in conjunction with) independent training companies. Energy assessment is going to be a fast growth, uncharted horizon
if you complete level3dip in nondom energy ass. with nher you become a commercial energy assessor - do the same with cibse and you become a non-domestic energy assessor. there will be plenty confusion over level 3,4 and 5 competence the least we can do is agree on a job title.
There are to be 3 types of assessment - design, on completion and in-use. This is in both domestic and commercial/non-domestic. On top of this there are to be display energy certificates for public buildings over 1000m2 from October and the software for thats not finished yet.
My Solution 2 is subscription to modern building services magazine and a good read of the archive in the menu on the left.
My Solution 3 (and what many of us rely on) is for keith to bring some sense to this with a comprehensive article in gb mag.