Energy Performance Certificates / Display Energy Certificates and advisory reports for public & commercial buildings.

EPCs:

From 6th April 2008 all non-domestic properties with a gross internal floor area greater than 10,000 m2 being constructed, marketed for sale or rent were required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). From 1st July 2008 this was increased to include all non-domestic properties with a floor area over 2,500 m2 and the application to all such properties remaining came into force from 1st October 2008. There are some exemptions to the EPC scheme;

Places of worship;
Temporary buildings with a planned time of use
less than 2 years;
Stand alone buildings with a total useful floor area of less than 50m2 that are not dwellings;
Industrial sites, workshops and non residential agricultural buildings with low energy demand (no heating, cooling, etc.).

Each EPC must be specifically for the space you are selling or letting. If you are letting part of a building which has its own separate heating system it will require its own EPC and the common parts connecting to it will require a separate EPC. If however the services are common to the whole building an EPC for the whole will be required whether you are selling or letting the whole or a part thereof.

The seller or Landlord is responsible for making sure that the accommodation being sold or let (including sub-lettings) has a valid EPC available. When a building is being constructed it is the responsibility of the person carrying out the construction. Transactions that do not require and EPC are as follows:

Lease renewals or extensions to existing tenants
Compulsory purchase orders
Lease surrenders

Each EPC is valid for 10 years or until a new EPC is produced. By law an EPC must be carried out by an accredited Energy Assessor.

A landlord is required to make the EPC available to the prospective tenant free of charge however a landlord may organise an EPC for the whole building and may be able to recover the cost of producing a certificate via the service charge dependent upon the drafting of the lease.

The penalty for not having an EPC available to a potential buyer or tenant when one is required is fixed. In most cases a fine of 12.5% of the rateable value of the building, subject to a minimum of £500.00 and a maximum of £5000.00 will be levied.

Inspection of Air Conditioning Systems

From the 4th January 2009 all existing air-conditioning systems over 250 kW must have had a first inspection carried out.

The purpose is to ensure that such systems are carefully managed and maintained in order that they do not consume too much energy. The inspection will include an assessment of the efficiency of the system with advice on improvements or replacements, as well as alternative solutions.

The first inspection of all remaining air-conditioning systems over 12kW must have taken place by 4th January 2011

Air-conditioning systems must be inspected at intervals of not more than 5 years and where a system has been put into service on or after 1st January 2008 must have a first inspection within 5 years of it first being put into service.

DECs:

From 1st October 2008 all buildings, or parts of buildings that have been designed or altered to be used separately, over 1,000m2, that are occupied by public authorities and institutions providing service to a large number of people and which are frequently visited by the public must display a Display Energy Certificate (DEC). A DEC is valid for one year and must be updated annually.

Private organisations, including those that may share a building with a relevant institution, do not need to display a DEC but may elect to do so, on a voluntary basis. An institution providing a public service is one that provides services that are traditionally provided by local or national government, or are traditionally funded by the taxpayer. The buildings they occupy must be frequently visited by the public to require a DEC.

The DEC must be displayed in a place clearly visible to the public and the organisation must be in possession or control of a valid advisory report.

A DEC is different from an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) in that it shows the energy performance based on recorded, actual energy consumption. The accompanying advisory report contains recommendations for improving the energy performance of the building and is valid for seven years. The advice provided in the report is intended to be for information only.

The Government have introduced transitional arrangements for buildings on a site or campus to permit a site based, as opposed to building based, DEC. Under these arrangements a single advisory report may be produced for the site or campus that is covered by a single DEC but there is a recommendation that such report is replaced by one for each qualifying building after the first year.

Inspection of Air Conditioning systems

From 4th January 2009 all existing air-conditioning systems over 250 kW must have had a first inspection carried out.

The purpose is to ensure that such systems are carefully managed and maintained in order that they do not consume too much energy. The inspection will include an assessment of the efficiency of the system with advice on improvements or replacements, as well as alternative solutions.

The first inspection of all remaining air-conditioning systems over 12kW must have taken place
by 4th January 2011

Air-conditioning systems must be inspected at intervals of not more than 5 years and where a system has been put into service on or after 1st January 2008 must have a first inspection within 5 years of it first being put into service.

 

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Registered office: Orchard House, 78 High Street, Ingatestone, Essex CM4 9DW.
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