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ENERGY MANAGEMENT BSEE ACT NOW TO COMPLY WITH THE ENERGY ACT
An opportunity for installers to win new business The official word on the Act
MEPS, MEES, EPCs, EPBD – what are these and why should you care about them? Stuart Turner, National Sales Manager at Hamworthy Heating takes a look at the facts behind the acronyms and why the Energy Act could be an opportunity.
T
he Energy Act 2011 was implemented as another measure to help the Government meet their ambitious targets of all UK buildings to achieve ‘close to zero’ CO2 emissions by 2050. It was set out to tackle barriers to energy efficiency, enhance energy security and enable investment in low carbon energy supplies.
The Government recognised that commercial and residential leases can often be short term so tenants don’t always want to invest in improvements to a building they may not be occupying in a few years’ time. This meant putting the responsibility of efficiency improvements onto landlords and building owners.
The Act saw the introduction of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) or Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) as they’re also known. These are due to come into force in April 2018. They will tighten minimum energy efficiency requirements and limit the letting of properties with no Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating or buildings rated at F and G which have not undergone appropriate energy efficiency improvement measures.
The reality of the Act
From April 2018, it will be unlawful to rent business premises that do not meet the new minimum threshold. According to a report by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) 18% of non-domestic property stock would not meet the minimum criteria. But I believe this is likely to be a much higher percentage in practice. When EPCs were first introduced under the Energy Performance Building Directive (EPBD) in 2008/2009 there were not enough assessors to meet the demand in the short period, so in the rush many buildings were given a default rating. This means a building’s EPC rating may not even be correct, so as a starting point for many landlords they need to assess what is the true reflection of the building’s energy efficiency performance.
Knowledge of the Act
I talk about the Energy Act when delivering our Energy Saving CPD and it always sparks off a discussion, as most people have not heard about it. I see this as a real opportunity for our customers to gain new business from the commercial property sector.
Consultants can look at their existing customer database to see who rents out buildings and proactively contact them to make an assessment of their properties to see if their buildings conform.
Some of the organisations occupying these buildings will be required to undertake an energy audit as part of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) so they will also be looking at ways to reduce their energy consumption. This can mean the landlord and the tenants working together for mutual benefit, and new business for the building services sector.
Act early to avoid being left out of pocket
The design, tender and installation process for this type of building is likely to be at least three months. If we act now with plenty of time to carry out a full feasibility study it will
ensure the building owner introduces the most practical and financially viable measures to improve the energy ratings of their property. This could be changes to heating, lighting or building fabric.
If it is left until 2018 when the act is introduced or when something breaks down they will rush to fit whatever products they can to improve their efficiency, have to pay more and may even miss out on rent or have their occupants leave the building. For an office building in London with 10,000sq ft it could equate to £41,500 per month of lost income.
Plan for the Act
We find many customers like to standardise equipment across their sites to help with familiarity, maintenance and continuity of relationship with supplier. Therefore it is a good idea to look at a company’s entire building stock. This can enable them to plan and spread the cost of any changes – prioritising the high risk buildings first.
A thorough review of each building to assess current services such as heating, hot water and lighting as well as the bills for these services will help to show if there is room for improvement.
Taking the heat out of the Act
With heating accounting for 45% of our energy consumption and a third of all carbon emissions we see this as a key area to help the energy efficiency regime. We have a responsibility to help the Government reach their ambitious targets.
We produce energy savings calculations for heating equipment upgrades in buildings. This shows how much could be saved on gas bills by changing boilers and water heaters and how long it will take for the project to pay back. With Energy costs (in particular gas) accounting for 90-95% of the whole life costs of a boiler upgrade it is vital to look at the bigger picture.
We are all tasked with showing return on investment and reducing bills in the long term so this can be a powerful tool to gain approval for capital expenditure. After all, a landlord is not going to invest in something he cannot see a return from.
More efficient equipment such as condensing boilers and water heaters will help landlords to raise the EPC rating of their buildings to ensure they comply and can continue to lease out their building. And in the long term will result in lower fuel bills for the tenants, plus lower emissions – a win for everyone.
www.hamworthy-heating.com About the author
u Stuart Turner is National Sales Manager for Hamworthy Heating. He has been with the company for 28 years and spent his whole life working in the industry. He has an active involvement with the BESA and is a regular presenter of CIBSE-accredited CPD seminars.
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www.bsee.co.uk BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER MARCH 2017 35 ‘
From April 2018, it will be unlawful to rent business premises that do not meet the new minimum threshold. According to a report by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) 18% of non‐domestic property stock would not meet the minimum criteria. But I believe this is likely to be a much higher percentage in practice.
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uMore efficient equipment such as condensing boilers and water heaters will help landlords to raise the EPC rating of their buildings to ensure they comply.
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