Commercial EPCs

To prioritise the effective reduction of energy usage and CO2 emissions of a building it is first necessary to assess how well the existing building is utilising that energy, and then put forward recommendations for improvements.

     As from 1st October 2008:
     * ALL commercial buildings require a Commercial EPC.
     * ALL public buildings over 1000m2 require a Display Energy Certificate.

Will the building need an EPC?
HM Government has recently issued guidance documents for "Non Dwellings". To download a copy of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and Non-dwellings: A guide for building owners, landlords and tenants and/or A guide to energy performance certificates for the construction, sale and let of non-dwellings (2nd edition July 2008) from the Communities and Local Government website, click here

It must be stressed that the diverse nature of heating, ventilating, air conditioning, domestic hot water and lighting systems will be a limiting factor to the Energy Assessment being carried out correctly. There will be few people with the necessary level of previous experience to identify the equipment correctly. The role is ideally suited to someone with experience of installation and operation of commercial scale building services. It is debatable, for instance, whether many prospective Commercial Assessors will have the necessary knowledge of building services to identity whether a ventilation system is constant volume or variable air volume, whether a steam boiler as big as a single decker bus has an economiser fitted (or other forms of heat recovery), what the power factor of a site is, and whether power factor correction modules are in place.

Keith Hodgson, the main driving force and Inspector/Assessor for APP Inspections & Energy Services has a background of building services design and project engineering gained whilst working as Design and Projects Engineer for a local NHS Trust over a period of 18 years. This was a perfect grounding for the experience and exposure to complex building services that a Commercial Energy Assessor will require to effectively carry out assessments and produce the NDEPC.

Examples of previous experience particularly relevent to Energy Assessment are:
     Installation of 90kw Combined Heat and Power unit at Bierley Hall Hospital.
     Installation of 10,000lb steam boiler at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
     Installation of 3 no. domestic hot water calorifiers at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
     Installation of packaged domestic hot water Plate Heat Exchanger set at St Lukes Hospital.
     Installation of steam condensate recovery vessel and pipework system.
     Installation of variable refrigerant flow system with reversible heat pump to provide heating and
     cooling.
     Installation of many split and multi split comfort cooling units.
     Installation of special purpose ventilation systems for Operating Theatres.
     Installation of ventilation system incorporating chilled water cooling system.
     Installation of many diverse lighting schemes serving operating theatres, offices, display lighting,        fridge and freezer rooms, file stores, plant areas etc.

The commercial EPC or DEC encompasses many diverse building types such as small and large retail and manufacturing units, local authority, nhs and private buildings with public access, small and large office blocks and everything in between.
There are Level 3, 4, and 5 qualifications in relation to Commercial Energy Assessors to cater for the differing complexities.
A level 3 qualification relates to simpler,naturally ventilated commercial buildings with boilers less than 100kW and comfort cooling less than 12 kW in size.
Level 4 qualification relates to more complex commercial buildings with mechanical ventilation and air conditioning, and boilers in excess of 100kW. It also allows the assessor to carry out new build assessments (the level 3 assessor cannot).
Assessors with either qualification are eminently practical people requiring information gathering and survey skills on site, as well as the proven ability to input and correlate this information using iSBEM or other approved software.
The Level 5 qualification relates mainly to highly complex new build situations, andl utilises Dynamic Simulation Modelling software. APPI are NOT providing a Dynamic Simulation Modelling service direct, but are forming working relationships with other suitably qualified independents in order to be able to provide a solution to ALL your possible needs. We will be pleased to discuss your requirements for all new and existing commercial buildings in the North and West Yorkshire and East Lancashire areas. It is likely that APPI will be able to confirm to you during the introductory telephone call which level of commercial certificate you require (only level 4 and level 5 assessors will be qualified to carry out assessments on new build properties-irrespective of complexity level).
It is likely that new construction commercial buildings will arrive at the commercial agent complete with a Commercial EPC, as it will become part of the design process (the software in use is a variation of that used to gain Part L compliance with the UK's Building Regulations). Should this not be the case, APPI will be pleased to quote for the EPC.

                       *APPI will now be servicing the whole of England and Wales,*
      (either directly, or via the National Commercial Energy Assessor's Network).

The Commercial (or Non Domestic) Energy Performance Certificate has a 10 year lifespan, and is required prior to marketing for sale or lease. It includes a Recommendation Report consisting of short term, medium term and long term payback energy reduction measures. There is currently no obligation to instigate these measures (but watch this space for future Government "initiatives" and encouragement!).

The Display Energy Certificate (which is particularly for local authority and institutions providing public services to large numbers of people) relates to buildings of over 1,000m² with public access), is an annual assessment. The initial assessment also includes an Advisory Report, which has a lifespan of 7 years. It is based on the volume and usage of the building, and the previous three years energy bills. For more information about DECs please visit the Government's website here.

It is expected that commercial organisations wishing to portray an environmentally responsible image to the public will embrace the DEC voluntarily in the medium term.

The Cost:
Due to the individual nature of each and every Commercial EPC assessment, it is generally not possible to give an estimate of cost without a site visit, in most cases. Larger enquiries will be quoted after a meeting on site to establish size, complexity and information available.
                                     Please contact us for an enquiry form.
Information which will be necessary for the correct assessment process and subsequent Commercial EPC or DEC to be generated includes the following:
     Energy usage data (bills and breakdowns, metering and sub meters)
     Site information (plans etc)
     Plant records and drawings (operations and maintenance manuals etc)
     Dates of building construction changes and U values of construction materials/composite
     assemblies
     More modern buildings with complex ventilation systems should have information regarding:
     Fan efficiencies
     Chiller performance
     Lighting performance
     Air pressure performance of entire building
     Air pressure performance of air conditioning ductwork

Lack of the any of the above will inevitably lead to a greater information gathering comittment for the energy assessor or team of assessors, and will increase the cost.
Conversely, where multiple EPCs are required at one property (ie sub units), economies of scale can be negotiated where a single or reduced number of visits is applicable.
NOTE. Where this information is not available, or cannot be obtained, the Assessor will be forced to use default ratings, which will result in a pessimistic assessment result.
APPI have now created a fee structure which can only be treated as indicative, and can only address the AVERAGE situation. If you would like to be aware of our fee structure, please contact us by email in the first instance with your full contact details including company address and phone number and we will despatch the document.