OPINION: REGULATIONS
CAST ASIDE
Hywel Davies explains how the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is changing what’s required from the built environment
The good news is that the original 2007 Energy Performance of
Buildings Regulations and the nine different sets of amendments, together with the changes made by the government to implement the alterations required by the 2010 recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), have all been consolidated into one set of regulations1
Changes have been made
to DECs required for public buildings, such as the Royal Courts of Justice in London
.
These were published on 19 December 2012 and came into force on 9 January 2013. However, given that the recast was adopted shortly after the coalition government came to power in 2010, the publication of these regulations was left late, leaving those who must implement them little time to do so. The four main changes are that:
• Property advertisements must include details of the Energy
• Display Energy Certificates (DECs) are required in public buildings more
Performance Certificate (EPC) rating where available
than 500 m2
• Private sector buildings larger than 500 m2
for buildings under 1,000 m2 valid for 10 years, instead of one
• The EPC should include a list of energy efficiency improvements
are visited by the public, must now display that EPC
that could be carried out as part of a major refurbishment, and signpost consumers to more detailed information about carrying them out
In addition, government has taken the opportunity to remove what it calls ‘gold plating’ of the original implementation, by extending the list of exemptions to mirror precisely all the categories in the Directive that member states are permitted to exempt. This is despite the fact that these exemptions relate to when energy efficiency improvement work might adversely affect the character or appearance of these buildings – something an EPC alone cannot do.
20 CIBSE Journal February 2013
in size. But now DECs are
that already have an EPC, and
They have also removed the requirement – introduced by this government – for estate agents to attach EPCs to written property particulars. They argue that as the property advertisement must include the EPC rating, attaching the certificate is unnecessary. But, since it has to be produced, the cost of a few photocopies and staples to attach them is hardly a huge regulatory burden. The notes that accompany the regulations state that a number of gold plated provisions have been retained, including the EPC registers, accreditation schemes and assessor accreditation, as well as the requirement for estate agents to ensure that an EPC has been commissioned – but not to ensure it is carried out! The justification for retaining these measures is that they support the Green Deal or other government policies. One measure that is gold plated
has been retained, pending further consultation about removing it. This is the annual update of DECs for public buildings that are more than 1,000 m2
will be responding, and members with views are welcome to send them in early. One specific requirement of the Directive – which the government has not implemented (although it claims that it has) – is to consult stakeholders. It consulted on the draft Directive in 2009. It claims that the clear majority of the 75 respondents ‘supported the government’s preferred position’. And so it would have been a terrible burden to consult on the implementation of the actual adopted Directive. CIBSE argued in its response to the
The manner of the
execution, at the last minute, with no effort to consult anyone with expertise, is a wasted opportunity to deliver lasting value to the property sector
review of the Building Regulations – conducted by Andrew Stunnell in 2010 – that the way to reduce the burden of handling the EPBD, and of the planned 2013 consultation on changes to the Building Regulations, was to run the two exercises in parallel, and to implement the EPBD through the Building Regulations, and not in a separate set of regulations. That fell on deaf ears. For example, it lost the chance to hear
how the present arrangements for DECs on campuses could be rationalised; how information on DECs could be improved and made more useful; and how the cost to the public sector could be cut, all in one simple measure. Plus, it ignored calls to adopt DECs in the private sector. The consolidation of these regulations
helps to bring all the requirements into one place. But the manner of the implementation, at the last minute, with no effort to consult anyone with expertise, is a wasted opportunity to deliver lasting value to the property sector, and a wasted chance to make our buildings more energy efficient.
References 1
,
and we await the consultation – due ‘in the new year’ – with interest. CIBSE
The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, SI 3118, December 2012.
l HYWEL DAVIES is technical director of CIBSE
www.cibse.org
www.cibsejournal.com
PATRICK WANG / SHUTTERSTOCK
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