Knowledge hub

What are the energy performance assessments for commercial properties?

Energy Performance Certificates

Non-domestic EPC’s are a requirement when buying, selling, or renting a commercial property. Legislation states that a property cannot be bought, sold, or rented where the EPC rating is less than an E grade.

The EPC can be used as needed, and is valid for 10 years. When there is a change of tenancy, or the property is sold, a new EPC is not required providing it is no more than 10 years old and there have been no modifications to the building. This includes provision or extension of fixed services for heating, air conditioning or mechanical ventilation.

The EPC will inform of the energy performance of a building and a recommendation report provided so energy efficiency measures may be considered as part of an investment or business decision to improve the energy efficiency performance of the building.

The certificate is created through modelling the building with fabric constructions, zonal activities and building services with the EPC rating derived from the calculated energy demands of the building and comparing the carbon emissions of the actual building with those of a reference building of the same size, shape and use designed to a specific standard.

Display Energy Certificates

Display Energy Certificates (DEC) are a requirement where buildings are larger than 250m2, occupied at least partially by a public authority (e.g. council, leisure centres, colleges, NHS trust), and frequently visited by the public. DECs were introduced to raise public awareness of energy use and to inform visitors to the public buildings about the energy use of a building. The DEC must be displayed, showing the operational rating, in a prominent place clearly visible to the public.

Alongside the DEC, the advisory report contains recommendations for improving the energy performance of the building. The report categorises the list of recommendations by short-term, medium-term and long-term payback periods to enable the occupier to identify what could be improved within designated timeframes.

The DEC is valid for 12 months for buildings with a total useful floor area of 1000m2. The advisory report that accompanies the DEC is valid for 7 years. For a building with a floor area of between 250m2 and 1000m2, both are valid for 10 years.

The certificate is created through approved software that considers the building’s actual energy consumption, activities and occupancy patterns. It will also show historical operational rating where applicable buildings are required to have an annual certificate.

TM44 Air Conditioning Inspections

TM44 Air Conditioning Inspection Reports (TM44/ACIRs) are a requirement where buildings have air conditioning systems with a total effective rated output of more than 12kW. This would mean several smaller units which total 12kW or more would fall under the scope of requiring an inspection. The inspection primarily covers air conditioning for the comfort of occupants though refrigeration provided solely for process applications, such as cold stores and pharmaceutical production can be inspected however the assessment is not intended to cover dedicated process cooling systems.

TM44 Air Conditioning Inspections are designed to review the operating efficiency of the air conditioning units, reduce the energy consumption, operating cost and carbon emission. It identifies how the existing air conditioning units currently operate, the adequacy of equipment maintenance and controls, what could be improved or opportunities to replace old or oversized units with energy efficient ones. The inspection report is required every 5 years from the date of the initial inspection.

Why do we need them?

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is responsible for the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations (England and Wales) 2012 (the regulations), which require that:

• all properties (homes and commercial), when constructed, sold or let, need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

• larger buildings over 250 square meters inhabited by a public authority where public frequently visit the property are required to display an energy certificate; in England and Wales this is a Display Energy Certificate (DEC)

• all air-conditioning systems over 12kW must be regularly inspected by an energy assessor and given an Air-Conditioning Inspections Report (ACIR)

This regulation enacts the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) that underpins the main legislation across the EU to promote the improvement of the energy performance of buildings.

To comply with the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations, the owner or landlord of a property for sale or let can be fined between £500 and £5,000 for failing to make an EPC available to a prospective buyer or tenant.

For Display Energy Certificates, these must be valid and be displayed in a prominent location, and the Recommendation Report be available to review upon request. All organisations who fail to adhere may be fined £1,500.

For Air Conditioning Inspection Reports, these must be valid and available upon request by Trading Standards Officers. Companies failing to have a valid report face a fine of £300 with a further penalty of £200 if failure to provide a Trading Standards Office with a copy of the air conditioning inspection report. When requested, companies have 7 days to provide this.

Outside of the legal requirement, conducting the energy assessments allow for a regular review of current operations and energy usage, as well as identifying areas of energy efficiency improvements. These efficiencies can improve the occupants’ comfort, reduce operational costs and improve the value of the property. It can also raise awareness on sustainability and energy and carbon matters to building users, managers and landlords.

What documentation is required?

To carry out a smooth assessment, it helps to understand what information may be required from the assessors as the information could take some time for your company to compile.

Energy Performance Certificates

• Floor Plans – to assist the measured survey

• Health & Safety issues – are there access issues?

• Boiler make/model – if not visually identifiable on site

• Heating system make/model - if not visually identifiable on site

• Hot Water make/model - if not visually identifiable on site

• Mechanical ventilation make/model - if not visually identifiable on site

• Renewable/low carbon technology – make/model/capacity generation

Display Energy Certificates

• Floor Plans – to assist the survey

• Health & Safety issues – are there access issues?

• 12 months of consumption data – e.g. gas, electricity,

• 12 months of consignment data – e.g. oil delivery dates/litre capacity, biomass delivery/litre capacity

• 12 months of renewable energy – solar electricity generation, wind electricity generation

Air Conditioning Inspections

• Floor Plans

• Health & Safety issues – are there access issues?

• Air Conditioning Asset Register – Identifying all indoor/outdoor units, refrigerant type, cooling capacity, age and location of equipment.

• Air Conditioning Schematics

• Operation & Maintenance Manuals (O&M)

Please feel free to give AES Sustainability a call on 01884 242050 or email us at info@aessc.co.uk where a member of our team will be happy to answer any questions and provide you a quote for your building assessment.