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Energy Performance Certificates: When will you need one?

The Government has changed the goal posts, conflicting reports provide confusing messages and the media hype has gone into overdrive. It is no wonder that many organisations are not prepared for tackling energy issues. With the announcement of accredited schemes for non-domestic property, the time has come to look at Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and Display Energy Certificates (DECs) in more detail.

Driving the initiative

The EU directive came in to force in January 2003 requiring member countries to “promote the improvement of the energy performance of buildings”. This is to be implemented as The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Act 2007.

Timescales and type of building affected

At the moment, the proposed timescale for implementation is as follows:

From 6 April 2008 all commercial building over 10,000 m² (circa 100,000 sq ft) constructed, sold or let will require an EPC.
From 1 July 2008 all commercial buildings over 2,500 m² (circa 25,000 sq ft) constructed, sold or let will require an EPC.
From 1 October 2008 all remaining commercial building will require an EPC when constructed, sold or let, and public buildings over 1,000 m² (circa 10,000 sq ft) will have to have a Display Energy Certificate.
From 1 January 2009 air conditioning inspections will be required for plants over 250kW, with all remaining plants requiring inspections from 1 January 2011.

Accredited Assessors

The lack of Energy Assessors and the shortage of information required for an EPC have meant that many organisations are, understandably, still in the dark.

The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) has recently (10 January 2008) been approved by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) to run an accredited energy assessor scheme. Another 11 accredited schemes have been approved by the CLG although, unlike CIBSE, not all can offer the full range of energy services. The relevant consultants are now enrolling on to courses and a list of trained, approved EPC Assessors will begin to evolve.

What is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)?

An EPC is a certificate which summarises the energy performance of a building, produced from detailed information and criteria which is coordinated and reviewed by an Accredited Energy Assessor using approved software. An EPC will be required when new buildings are completed or when sales or letting transactions take place.

What is a Display Energy Certificate (DEC)?

A DEC shows the energy performance of a building based upon actual energy consumption, as recorded annually over periods of up to three years. The 1 October 2008 deadline means that most public buildings with a total useful floor area greater than 1,000 m² (circa 10,000 sq ft) are required to act now if they are to gather data required for their DEC.

The DEC must be displayed in a prominent place clearly visible to the public. The Accredited Energy Assessor will also produce an Advisory Report with recommendations to improve energy performance.

Penalties for non-compliance

The legislation falls under civil law and will be enforced by Weights and Measures Authorities (Trading Standards).

Failure to have an EPC may result in a penalty of up to £5,000. The penalty fine is based upon a sliding scale and is dependent on ratable value of the property. In addition, the construction, sale or rental of a property may be at risk as clients will be unlikely to complete a transaction without an EPC.

Penalties will range from £500 for failing to display a DEC to £1,000 for failing to have a valid Advisory Report.

Next steps

The provision of EPCs and DECs is part of an ongoing strategy for TAP and we have set up a Joint Venture company with APS (Chartered Surveyors and Project Managers) to combine the skills and training of both organisations and to obtain accreditation from both CIBSE and the RICS. We aim to provide not only a comprehensive assessment process for buildings, but also advise on the ongoing management of energy and the training of landlords and occupiers on the effective introduction of economic, low carbon property solutions.

Our intention is to provide a thorough, 'best in class' solution to energy management and property-related matters. We will provide an extended range of statutory compliance assessments including EPCs, DECs, DDA Access Audits and Health and Safety Risk Assessments.

For more details on the energy performance of buildings and property-related matters, please contact Andrew Battersby, The Anslow Partnership LLP. Email abattersby@anslowconsulting.co.uk Tel 020 7553 2050.

Engineering a better business with Windows Vista and the Office 2007 system

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TAP were one of 4 customers that Microsoft chose to profile at the Small Business Launch of Windows Vista and Office 2007 at the British Library.

"IT is the driver of our business. Our migration to SharePoint has been a tremendous step forward." David Anslow, Founding Partner, The Anslow Partnership.

Building on Microsoft

The Anslow Partnership is a firm of building services engineers. If you have 20,000 - 100,000+ square feet of office space, they will tell you exactly how to cable, heat, light, plumb and cool it. David Anslow started the business in 2004 and it has grown to 22 people in London, with another three in their sister company in Dublin.

The company started with the most basic IT platform imaginable - a couple of laptops. However, as it grew, Anslow realised that IT was fundamental to the business. It helps them communicate with their clients, gives them access to specialist engineering software and helps them organise and tap into their vast knowledge base of engineering solutions.

Sharing the knowledge

The company uses Microsoft Office SharePoint Server to store the records of the hundreds of projects that the company has completed. These files are available on the intranet, which gives every member of staff access to all the tools they need to do their work. As it is consistent across the business, it helps ensure quality control.

"Everything that we do is, as far as possible, template-based," says Anslow. Standardised documents give fee-earning engineers easy access to standard solutions for a lot of their work. Reducing the margin of error also benefits clients and saves everyone money. They save even more money because they don't need to rent extra office space to store paper records.

The engineering approach

Working with EJCIT, a Microsoft Partner, Anslow took a very pragmatic approach to deploying Windows Vista and the Office 2007 system. They started with three volunteers, one in each department of the business. These guinea pigs quickly became champions of the new products. At the time of writing, they are migrating Windows Vista and the Office 2007 system across the whole business.

They are particularly keen on one feature of Windows Vista. With much of their work being on site with clients, they use a lot of laptops. 35,000 laptops are stolen each year in the UK and only a handful of them are ever returned. Anslow's machines contain lots of sensitive project information. This makes Windows Vista's BitLocker feature very attractive because it encrypts all this data. If a laptop were stolen, the company's reputation wouldn't disappear with it.

According to David Anslow, the company has moved seamlessly from an old technology platform to the very latest one. It gives them a leading edge in their industry. "Our clients will take comfort from that," he says. "It shows the world that we are leading from the front rather than reacting to the market."

EJCIT as "one of the UK's leading SME IT Consultancies" and "EJCIT focuses on delivering "enterprise quality" technology solutions and management services" www.ejc.it