Minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES) requirements and the impact on the UK hotel buildings stock

In an attempt to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector, in 2018, the UK government introduced the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES). The regulation enforces a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E or above for commercial buildings before they can be sold or rented. Hotels - one of the most energy intensive building types - are among those affected by MEES. This research investigates the contribution of MEES requirements to effectively reducing CO2 emissions from the hotel sector in England and Wales. In this study, a quantitative research approach is employed to address the research questions. Dynamic simulation software tool, EDSL TAS, is used for running the EPC calculations for four different hotels. Through rounds of simulations, analysing both the simulation results and measured data for the hotels and the evidence from literature, the study finds potential sources of uncertainties within the current non-domestic EPC for hotels. Overestimation of domestic hot water (DHW) and underestimation of cooling energy use are among the main uncertainties, both of which stem from the standard assumptions imposed by National Calculation Methodology (NCM). The impact of these uncertainties goes beyond the cases in this work; all hotels applying for an EPC in the UK are affected. Combined with further findings such as the significant impact of the DHW systems' efficiency on the EPC rating of a hotel, a major risk is revealed: failing to receive the expected reductions in energy consumption and CO2 emissions by improving the EPC rating. This can be detrimental both to individual stakeholders and national goals for emissions reduction policies. In addition to practical implications for both hotel industry and the UK's energy policy makers, this study also contributes to the existing knowledge as the field of non-domestic EPCs has been under-researched. This thesis is a first attempt to achieve a clearer picture of the UK's non-domestic EPC as the main character in the MEES policy. The author is of the idea that the main contribution of this study is highlighting the fact that due to the shortcomings of the existing EPC framework, the effectiveness of MEES in reducing the CO2 emission from hotels is at risk. Unless these issues are rectified, actual contributions from MEES in the hotel sector may be considerably less than expected.