Energy certificates spur “swathe of energy improvements”
A growing number of property professionals realise that energy certificates are more than just an inconvenient legal requirement, according to new research. Many now recognise that the process of preparing the certificate is an opportunity to make beneficial improvements to their building services and overall energy consumption.
A survey carried out by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) shows that, while most property managers still opt for the cheapest possible route to compliance, an increasing number are “asking for full surveys with the intention of implementing some or all of the accompanying recommendations”.
Almost 30 per cent of clients questioned said they commissioned detailed surveys from their Energy Assessors, 25 per cent asked for costings of recommendations and 21 per cent said they would go on to ask for implementation of recommendations.
John Field, a CIBSE Low Carbon Energy Assessor and Director of Power Efficiency Ltd, explained: “At this stage of Energy Performance Certification roll-out, if more than 20 per cent of property professionals have progressed EPC and DEC improvement measures I would say that is extremely positive: effectively spurring a large swathe of energy improvements.
“Granted one would hope for a higher percentage eventually, but the emphasis has understandably been on compliance and I believe there will be a gradual increase in focus on the rating and grade achieved and on ways to improve this. You have to measure before you can manage effectively.”
Very important
When questioned on the importance of energy certificates, over 50 per cent of property professionals rated them as ‘very’ important, while almost 40 per cent of Energy Assessors said that 50-75 per cent of their clients were aware of commercial Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).
However, the survey did show that 82 per cent of clients questioned still only commission a standard certificate and 31 per cent of Energy Assessors feel that at least 75 per cent of their clients are only interested in getting the lowest possible cost for a certificate without other considerations.
Jacqueline Balian, managing director of CIBSE Services, added: “The most valuable element of an energy performance certificate is the recommendations report. And it is the only way we have any hope of really reducing actual carbon emissions from buildings.
“CIBSE is therefore calling upon the Government to make implementation of the highest impact recommendations a requirement for any building which receives an F or G grade.”
The surveys also revealed that the gathering of accurate energy data is a major issue for both sides - 44 per cent of clients said that collating the required information was the most difficult part of getting the certificate produced, while Energy Assessors rated obtaining correct energy data as one of the biggest challenges to producing both EPCs and DECs.
Cost confusion
There is a tremendous amout of confusion about how much it costs to get a certificate. When asked what they initially expected the certificate to cost, client responses ranged from £50 to £10,000.
Equally, in answer to the question ‘what is the average cost for producing an EPC for a client’, the answers from the Energy Assessor revealed that costs for small buildings (under 2,500m2) ranged from £300 – £5,000. For medium buildings (2,500 – 10,000m2) it was £750 – £10,000, and for large buildings (over 10,000m2) £900 – £10,000.
In terms of timings, 36 per cent of property professionals said the process of hiring an assessor to the production of the certificate took 2-4 weeks, with 30 per cent taking 1-2 weeks, 27 per cent over a month and 7 % less than a week.
And what advice would Energy Assessors give to potential clients to make the process run as smoothly as possible? Top of the list was to start collecting all energy data, floor plans and building information as far in advance as possible and to clarify just what they would like to get out of the process.
There is growing concern about levels of awareness about air conditioning Inspections. According to CIBSE, 30 per cent of Energy Assessors believe that just 0-10 per cent of their clients are aware of the legal requirement that all systems over 250kW must now be regularly inspected.
Posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 11:53 am under News articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
