Carbon Credentials, energy savings

How efficient is your building? It is now the law that every commercial building upon sale or lease must have a building inspection and be rated on its energy efficiency. The same is true for all public buildings, as well as new build projects. How can we help with this?

Our buildings certification team can quickly produce any required compliance certificates, from EPCs for commercial buildings, to DECs for public buildings such as libraries, universities, leisure centres and local government offices, as well as SBEM calculations to ensure new build projects comply with the current energy regulations.

Some common questions:

What contributes to the energy performance of a building?

Energy rating a building is a complex calculation that is based on a combination of factors. The key factors are:

• the type of construction of the building (including walls, roofs, floors and glazing)
• whether parts (zones) of the building are used for different purposes e.g. office, factory etc, and the occupancy profile for each zone
• the heating, cooling, ventilation and hot water systems used, and what type of lighting is present.

Do I need a new EPC every time I let my building?

As long as a valid EPC exists for the building, you can provide this to prospective tenants. An EPC is valid for 10 years and during this period you can provide the same EPC to prospective tenants. This EPC will no longer be valid if a newer EPC has been obtained.

How long do DECs last for?

Many organisations supplied site-wide DECs for 2008/2009, which were valid for one year only. However, from this year building level certification is required. The DECs for these must be updated each year, but the associated advisory report (AR) is valid for 7 years.

When should I commission an SBEM for a new build project?

As soon as you have the drawings and materials finalised for the building fabric we recommend that we produce an SBEM for you to allow you to make sure the heating, cooling and lighting systems will together enable your proposed building to pass the new stringent energy regulations.

Carbon Credentials works to suit you. Whether this be project by project or under a full Energy Management Programme.

The first step is to complete our "How Much Can You Save?" questionnaire. This can be done by you online (right here right now) or by us when you speak with one of staff… Click for more