ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Buildings account for around 40% of energy consumption in the EU and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) was introduced as a means of managing and reducing energy consumption and thereby assisting to achieve EU commitments for reductions in carbon emissions. The EPBD includes requirements for regular inspections of air conditioning systems and boilers, agreed common methods to assess energy performance in buildings and minimum performance requirements for all new and refurbished buildings.

Air Conditioning System Inspections

The deadline for inspecting air conditioning systems with cooling capacities greater than 12kW was 4th January 2011 and systems should have further inspections at least every five years. The only exceptions are systems installed on or after 1st January 2008, which must be inspected within five years of installation and systems used for process cooling eg comms rooms, cold stores etc which are not legally required to have inspections. More information .

Energy Performance Certificates and Display Energy Certificates

Requirements to assess energy performance are covered by Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in commercial buildings and Display Energy Certificates (DECs) in public buildings.

An EPC sets out the energy efficiency grade of a commercial building and are required when a commercial building over 500m2 is built, sold or rented. EPCs are valid for 10 years unless there is a major refurbishment. More information

A DEC is required annually for public buildings and those occupied by public authorities, which have a total useful area greater than 1000m2 (500m2 from July 2013) and provide a public service to a large number of people and are therefore frequently visited by those people. The DEC shows the actual energy usage of a building. More information