Legislation and Compliance
• ADEC provides an operational rating based on actual energy used
• Transitional arrangements allowing a site-based DEC were applied for one year from their introduction; this arrangement formally ended on 11 November 2009
• Individual building-basedDECs are now mandatory. A site-based DEC where there are multiple buildings on the same site is however voluntary
• Itmust be displayed inA3 format in a prominent place
• The previous two years ratings can also be recorded showing a history of the buildings energy usage.
Air Conditioning Inspections
Air conditioning inspections are designed to give essential information regarding the energy efficiency of a building’s Heating, Ventilation and Cooling system (HVAC) and are undertaken by qualified assessors. • From4 January 2009, all existing air- conditioning systems over 250 kW must have been officially inspected by an accredited energy assessor
• By 4 January 2011, inspections of all remaining air-conditioning systems over 12 kW must have occurred by this date
• Newsystems over 12 kW,which are installed after January 2008,must be inspected within five years of being put into service
• Inspection reports remain valid for a five year period.
Facilities managers should also be aware of Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which is a mandatory climate change and energy saving scheme for large public and private sector organisations. The government scheme, administered by the Environment Agency (EA), started in April 2010 and legislates on
CO2 emissions not already covered by Climate Change Agreements and the EU Emissions Trading System. • If your organisation has at least one half hourly meter (HHM) and consumesmore than 6,000MWh of electricity (equivalent of an annual electricity bill of approximately £500,000). This initial phase affects approximately 3000 - 4000 organisations
Facilities UK - Handbook 2010 -11
• Organisationswhichmeet this initial criteria must register as a Full Participant by 30 September 2010
• The FootprintYear and compliance year is April 2010 to March 2011
• Organisationsmust submit their Carbon Footprint Report by July 2011.
Enforcement penalties
As with any regulations, non- compliance may result in your business facing financial penalties. These include: • Failure tomake a commercial EPC available to any prospective purchaser or tenant when selling or letting non-dwellings is fixed at 12.5% of the rateable value. The value is available by visiting www.
voa.gov.uk or by contacting your local authority. The penalties range from a minimum of £500 and are capped at a maximum of £5,000, with a default penalty of £750 where the above formula is unable to be applied
• Failure to display a validDEC results in a £500 penalty. Failure to possess an advisory report equates to a £1,000 fine.
• Failure to have an air-conditioning inspection results in a £300 penalty.
• Failure to produce any of the above documents to an authorised officer when required to do so results in an immediate fine of £200.
• Failure for any eligible organisation to register for the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme before 30 September 2010 will result in a fixed penalty of £5,000, plus £500 for each working day late, up to a maximumof 80 dayswhich could be up to amaximumof £45,000.
Summary
A number of helpful websites are available to support the energy compliance process. The Directive ImplementationAdvisoryGroup provides access to some useful downloadable guides that offer an insight into how energy efficiency can be assessed, while also reducing energy usage and carbon emissions. QuestCommercial provides a free portal that connects property
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professionals to accredited commercial energy assessors in order to provide various energy reports. Carbon Counter provides a simple solution which aids companies in setting up their organisation structure to deliver their EA registration and manage ongoing CRC compliance. While initial registration is at the
front of most professionals minds there is a need to plan for the future requirements and management of energy compliance. Ultimately, the environmental impact
of commercial and public buildings will continue to increase in importance over the coming years, from both a financial and a legislative perspective as new rules come into force. Therefore, I would strongly
recommend that you put a definitive energy compliance plan in place now to ensure you are monitoring your organisation’s energy outputs, reducing costs and helping achieve emission reduction targets set in the Government's Climate ChangeAct.
Useful Links
•
www.questcommercial.co.uk •
www.carboncounter.co.uk •
bit.ly/CLGEPBD •
bit.ly/energybusinessguide •
bit.ly/nondwellingsEPCs •
www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy
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