Find Out if You're Energy Efficient!

Are You Compliant with the Regulations?

For investigation and analysis of your energy requirements, Paul Winstanley offers a service which will help your business, technology or system become more energy efficient. This will save you money, and make your property more attractive to future occupants or buyers.

To identify aspects of the building’s existing set-up and provide guidance on improvements to sustainable technologies, Paul Winstanley’s expertise covers:

Commercial Energy Performance Certificate (EPCs)
Display Energy Certificates (DECs)
HVAC Inspeciations

Commercial EPCs

From April 2007 a directive was finalised to by the “Energy Performance of Building directive (Certificates and Inspections) Regulations 2007” which enforced certain legal requirements on commercial buildings:

Since October 2008 a landlord of any building has had to produce an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when the building is constructed, sold or rented. Prior to that, the directive had been phased in so that buildings greater than 10,000m² had to produce an EPC since April 2008, and those greater than 2,500m² since July 2008.

Anyone holding a stake in the property market can expect the EPC implementation to impact on the value of a property during sale or rental and particularly in situations whereby large corporations are attempting to improve their environmental credentials and demonstrate that they are “green” by having an A-Rated building as opposed to a G-Rated one.

Whilst there are other factors to consider in this area, the EPC will certainly give a potential tenant or purchaser a reasonable idea of their possible energy bills.

Paul Winstanley is an experienced, qualified surveyor and building engineer who has the skills and knowledge to deal with complex structures and provide a national non-residential EPC survey.

Display Energy Certificates

Any Public Authority structure with ground-space greater than 1,000m² must provide a Display Energy Certificate from October 2008 and it must be renewed every year. These types of certificate are geared to examine the way energy is consumed or managed, and are therefore based on a metered reading of energy usage.

Paul Winstanley offers a DEC service that covers the whole country and is experienced in providing EPCs in Social Housing also.

HVAC Inspections

HVAC stands for Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning and inspections of these systems are necessary to ensure that they are operating correctly and efficiently.

Inspections are required for Commercial or Industrial Buildings including:

Commercial Air Conditioning Units, or Air Handling Units (AHU’s)
Commercial Boiler Systems – Mains Gas or Oil Fired
Heating Control Systems
Air Conditioning Control Systems

Requirements for Display Energy Certificates for Public Buildings include:

January 2008, and systems over 250 kW must be inspected by January 2009.
Systems over 12 kW must be inspected by January 2011.
Thereafter inspections must be repeated within a five years timeframe.

EPBD Article 9 Air Conditioning Systems Inspections determines the full requirements of the inspection.

A checklist will be provided to Asset owners upon completion of the inspection which will provide recommendations on how to improve the air conditioning within their commercial building. Ultimately this should help provide an improved energy rating for the whole building and therefore the property will be looked upon more favourably because the energy costs can be demonstrated to be lower and therefore rental or purchase of the building will be cheaper.

The most recently erected structures will have been built to the latest regulations, and therefore it will have a better energy efficiency rating than older air conditioning systems.

Enforcement

A maximum fine of £5000 for failure to have a certificate can be imposed via random checks which are carried out by Trading Standards. The other method of detection for certification is through the opportunity for a buyer or tenant, or a legal representative thereof, to report their landlord or seller for failing to failing to have one.

Paul Winstanley is an accredited energy assessor who works in Chester delivering services in the North West. Contact me for a quote on your domestic, commercial or public occupied property and get help and advice on EPCs, Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and Domestic EPCs