Legislation/Technical Updates
Changes to Deadlines for Energy Performance Certificates (as of November 2007)
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive was introduced in the UK from January 2006 and will be fully implemented in January 2009 after various delays. It is a government strategy to meet climate change targets agreed under the Kyoto Protocol and to achieve a more sustainable environment.
These regulations implement articles 7, 9 and 10 of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (articles 4, 5 and 6 were implemented via Part L 2006).
• Article 7 requires the production of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s), recommendation and advisory reports when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out and the display of Energy Certificates (DEC’s) in large buildings occupied by public authorities and certain public institutions.
• Article 9 require regular inspection and reporting on energy performance of air conditioning systems
• Article 10 requires the use of qualified and/or accredited energy assessors to undertake this work independently.
THE DEADLINES FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF EPC'S HAVE NOW SLIGHTLY CHANGED:
Instead of all buildings over 500m2 requiring an EPC by April 2008, the deadlines have now been staggered according to the floor area of the building. The new deadlines are as follows:
6TH APRIL 2008
EPC’s required on construction for all dwellings
EPC’s required for the construction, sale or rent of buildings other than dwellings with a floor area over 10,000 m2
1 JULY 2008
EPC’s required for the construction, sale or rent of buildings other than dwellings with a floor area over 2,500 m2
1 OCTOBER 2008
EPC’s required on the sale or rent of all remaining dwellings
EPC’s required on the construction, sale or rent of all remaining buildings other than dwellings
Display certificates required for all public buildings >1,000 m2
4 JANUARY 2008
First inspection of all existing air-conditioning systems over 250kW must have occurred by this date
4 JANUARY 2011
First inspection of all existing air-conditioning systems over 12kW must have occurred by this date
ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES (EPC’s)
An EPC provides information on the energy performance of a building.
A building is defined as "a roofed construction having walls, for which energy is used to condition the indoor climate; a building may refer to the building as a whole or parts thereof that have been designed or altered to be used separately".
• All EPC’s must have an asset rating. This takes into account the energy performance of the building’s fabric and its services but assumes standardised energy usage patterns. This enables comparison of the intrinsic energy performance of different buildings.
• The asset rating is calculated using approved software, e.g. the Simplified Building Energy Method (SBEM) or accredited simulation software, which is also used for Part L of the Building Regulations.
• The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) will give the building a grading ranging from A to G (A being very energy efficient while G is inefficient). It must be accompanied by an advisory report giving recommendations for cost-effective actions to improve the rating.
• For commercial lettings an EPC is valid for 10 years and is only required for newly leased property. There is no need to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate for an existing tenancy. If a valid EPC exists when changing tenants then no new certificate is required.
• Landlords and property managers are responsible for obtaining the EPC.
DISPLAY ENERGY CERTIFICATES
Display Energy Certificates (DEC’s) will be required for public buildings over 1000m2.
• Public buildings at present means: public authority buildings and institutions providing a public service with a floor area over 1000m2 to include, council offices, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and any other publicly owned buildings accessed by the public. The government may well extend this requirement to all large publicly owned buildings at a later date.
• Display Energy Certificates will require an operational rating. This is based on actual energy usage over a 3 year period (if available). The certificate gives an operational rating for the building and additionally assesses and gives advice (valid for 7 years) on the building’s operational performance based on actual energy consumption. The certificate must be displayed publicly within the building and is renewable every year. This certificate is required in addition to the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) should the building be constructed, sold or rented from April 2008.
• Both EPC’s and DEC’s must be accompanied with a report that provides recommendations on how the energy performance of the building can be improved. There are two categories of recommendations:
1. Cost-effective alterations to the building that would improve energy performance
2. Further capital measures including renewable energy systems that could be adopted to improve the buildings energy performance
EPC ASSESSORS
Only accredited Energy Performance Certificate Assessors will be able to carry out assessments to produce an Energy Performance Certificate.
It is expected there will be 3 levels of assessor:
• Basic – qualified to survey simple properties up to 500m2
• Intermediate – qualified to survey all buildings using SBEM methodology
• Advanced – qualified to survey all buildings using dynamic simulation models
• Only accredited Display Energy Assessors will be able to carry out assessment to produce a DEC.
STAKEHOLDERS
The main stakeholders that will be impacted in the non-domestic market are:
• Property owners
• Occupiers
• Managers and their agents
• Prospective purchasers and tenants
ENFORCEMENT
The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England & Wales) Regulations 2007 impose responsibility for the enforcement of the new requirements on the local weights and measures authorities, except EPC’s on new buildings, which are dealt with by the building control bodies.
The penalty for breaches of duties relating to the sale or renting of a commercial building is variable depending up on the rateable value of the property, subject to minimum and maximum penalties of £500 and £5,000.
The penalty for failing to display a DEC is £500, and for failing to obtain an advisory report is £1,000.
The penalty for failing to have an air-conditioning system inspected has been fixed at £300.
COST IMPLICATIONS
New Buildings
The EPC could be produced by the design team using approved software for Part L compliance, keeping the costs to a minimum.
Existing Buildings
It has been estimated the typical costs will range from £260 for a small retail unit through to £480 for a small commercial building to £1,790 for a large commercial building. John Packer Associates believe this may be an underestimate by the government and costs are likely to be higher, potentially £4,000 for a large commercial building.
BENEFITS
The EPC will enable prospective purchasers/tenants to decide which building to occupy and, by using the same EPC for new build and existing buildings will create a uniform market. It is likely that buildings with better energy ratings will attract higher rents and hence property values will increase. Therefore landlords should see a return on investment of energy efficiency measures.
Potentially EPC's could become another indicator of Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR). This is likely to impact the top-end of the market.
Source: www.communities.gov
« Back
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive was introduced in the UK from January 2006 and will be fully implemented in January 2009 after various delays. It is a government strategy to meet climate change targets agreed under the Kyoto Protocol and to achieve a more sustainable environment.
These regulations implement articles 7, 9 and 10 of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (articles 4, 5 and 6 were implemented via Part L 2006).
• Article 7 requires the production of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s), recommendation and advisory reports when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out and the display of Energy Certificates (DEC’s) in large buildings occupied by public authorities and certain public institutions.
• Article 9 require regular inspection and reporting on energy performance of air conditioning systems
• Article 10 requires the use of qualified and/or accredited energy assessors to undertake this work independently.
THE DEADLINES FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF EPC'S HAVE NOW SLIGHTLY CHANGED:
Instead of all buildings over 500m2 requiring an EPC by April 2008, the deadlines have now been staggered according to the floor area of the building. The new deadlines are as follows:
6TH APRIL 2008
EPC’s required on construction for all dwellings
EPC’s required for the construction, sale or rent of buildings other than dwellings with a floor area over 10,000 m2
1 JULY 2008
EPC’s required for the construction, sale or rent of buildings other than dwellings with a floor area over 2,500 m2
1 OCTOBER 2008
EPC’s required on the sale or rent of all remaining dwellings
EPC’s required on the construction, sale or rent of all remaining buildings other than dwellings
Display certificates required for all public buildings >1,000 m2
4 JANUARY 2008
First inspection of all existing air-conditioning systems over 250kW must have occurred by this date
4 JANUARY 2011
First inspection of all existing air-conditioning systems over 12kW must have occurred by this date
ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES (EPC’s)
An EPC provides information on the energy performance of a building.
A building is defined as "a roofed construction having walls, for which energy is used to condition the indoor climate; a building may refer to the building as a whole or parts thereof that have been designed or altered to be used separately".
• All EPC’s must have an asset rating. This takes into account the energy performance of the building’s fabric and its services but assumes standardised energy usage patterns. This enables comparison of the intrinsic energy performance of different buildings.
• The asset rating is calculated using approved software, e.g. the Simplified Building Energy Method (SBEM) or accredited simulation software, which is also used for Part L of the Building Regulations.
• The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) will give the building a grading ranging from A to G (A being very energy efficient while G is inefficient). It must be accompanied by an advisory report giving recommendations for cost-effective actions to improve the rating.
• For commercial lettings an EPC is valid for 10 years and is only required for newly leased property. There is no need to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate for an existing tenancy. If a valid EPC exists when changing tenants then no new certificate is required.
• Landlords and property managers are responsible for obtaining the EPC.
DISPLAY ENERGY CERTIFICATES
Display Energy Certificates (DEC’s) will be required for public buildings over 1000m2.
• Public buildings at present means: public authority buildings and institutions providing a public service with a floor area over 1000m2 to include, council offices, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and any other publicly owned buildings accessed by the public. The government may well extend this requirement to all large publicly owned buildings at a later date.
• Display Energy Certificates will require an operational rating. This is based on actual energy usage over a 3 year period (if available). The certificate gives an operational rating for the building and additionally assesses and gives advice (valid for 7 years) on the building’s operational performance based on actual energy consumption. The certificate must be displayed publicly within the building and is renewable every year. This certificate is required in addition to the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) should the building be constructed, sold or rented from April 2008.
• Both EPC’s and DEC’s must be accompanied with a report that provides recommendations on how the energy performance of the building can be improved. There are two categories of recommendations:
1. Cost-effective alterations to the building that would improve energy performance
2. Further capital measures including renewable energy systems that could be adopted to improve the buildings energy performance
EPC ASSESSORS
Only accredited Energy Performance Certificate Assessors will be able to carry out assessments to produce an Energy Performance Certificate.
It is expected there will be 3 levels of assessor:
• Basic – qualified to survey simple properties up to 500m2
• Intermediate – qualified to survey all buildings using SBEM methodology
• Advanced – qualified to survey all buildings using dynamic simulation models
• Only accredited Display Energy Assessors will be able to carry out assessment to produce a DEC.
STAKEHOLDERS
The main stakeholders that will be impacted in the non-domestic market are:
• Property owners
• Occupiers
• Managers and their agents
• Prospective purchasers and tenants
ENFORCEMENT
The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England & Wales) Regulations 2007 impose responsibility for the enforcement of the new requirements on the local weights and measures authorities, except EPC’s on new buildings, which are dealt with by the building control bodies.
The penalty for breaches of duties relating to the sale or renting of a commercial building is variable depending up on the rateable value of the property, subject to minimum and maximum penalties of £500 and £5,000.
The penalty for failing to display a DEC is £500, and for failing to obtain an advisory report is £1,000.
The penalty for failing to have an air-conditioning system inspected has been fixed at £300.
COST IMPLICATIONS
New Buildings
The EPC could be produced by the design team using approved software for Part L compliance, keeping the costs to a minimum.
Existing Buildings
It has been estimated the typical costs will range from £260 for a small retail unit through to £480 for a small commercial building to £1,790 for a large commercial building. John Packer Associates believe this may be an underestimate by the government and costs are likely to be higher, potentially £4,000 for a large commercial building.
BENEFITS
The EPC will enable prospective purchasers/tenants to decide which building to occupy and, by using the same EPC for new build and existing buildings will create a uniform market. It is likely that buildings with better energy ratings will attract higher rents and hence property values will increase. Therefore landlords should see a return on investment of energy efficiency measures.
Potentially EPC's could become another indicator of Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR). This is likely to impact the top-end of the market.
Source: www.communities.gov
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