Transforming our building stock

Working together, Energy Performance Certificates and Display Energy Certificates will help drive a market in low carbon procurement and transform our building stock says David Vincent, Director of Projects at the Carbon Trust

Until this year, there was no mass market interest in the carbon footprint and energy efficiency performance of buildings. However, in today’s business climate of rising energy prices and concern about climate change, the energy and carbon performance of a building is rising up the procurement agenda. Those who want to make sensible procurement decisions about the buildings they will own or occupy want to have reliable information to help them make the right decisions. The EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, and in particular the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) and Display Energy Certificates (DEC), will provide key information about a building’s energy use. Over time, this should stimulate demand for more efficient buildings and lead to the transformation of the UK’s building stock. As the commercial buildings sector alone is responsible for around 90 MtCO2 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year equivalent to over 16 percent of the UK’s total carbon footprint, this step is vital in reducing long term carbon emissions.

What are DECs?
DECs will provide, for the first time, an independent, visible assessment of the energy and carbon performance of buildings based on actual energy consumption year on year. From October 1, 2008 all public buildings deemed by the UK Government to be within scope of the directive will now have to have a DEC.

Under the legislation, it is the responsibility of every occupier of a building affected by these regulations to display a valid DEC in a prominent place clearly visible to the public at all times and have in their possession or control a valid advisory report which provides recommendations to improve the building’s energy performance.

This must be done for each of the buildings affected, that is, those with a total useful floor area over 1,000m2 occupied by public authorities and by institutions providing public services to large numbers of people such as local authority buildings, hospitals, universities and schools.

The public display of building energy performance raises awareness of how good, or how poor, a building’s energy and carbon performance actually is. Good performance is a clear recognition of the efforts made by the building management team to cut out energy waste and keep carbon emissions as close to the initial design performance as possible. Conversely, poor performance may be indicative of inadequate attention to building energy management or of inherently energy inefficient design - or both. If the former is true, then it would be well worth those responsible looking at the indicative recommendations for improvement which accompany the DEC (and EPC). These will point the way to reducing the carbon footprint of the building and cutting out energy waste.

Typically, a DEC will cost anything between £1,000 and £5,000, depending on the complexity of the building in question and this will have to be borne by the building owner. However, this cost will be small in comparison with the potential for energy, carbon and cost savings which the DECs (and EPCs) will almost certainly identify. Typically, 20 percent of energy consumption could be saved through cost-effective energy efficiency measures such as improved lighting, boiler efficiency improvements, building management controls, and an occupancy awareness programme to encourage responsible attitudes towards switching off equipment when not in use.

At the moment, DECs are only required by those responsible for public buildings within scope. However, that does not stop anyone from taking voluntary measures to carry out a DECs style assessment of the actual performance of buildings in use. These DECs would provide useful information on performance and how to improve it. Looking forward, the Communities and Local Government Department have said they intend to consult on broadening the scope of DECs to the private sector.

What do DECs and EPCs hope to achieve?
Supported by the right policy framework, including positive public procurement, EPCs and DECs help prospective owners and occupiers take the carbon footprint and energy performance into account when comparing buildings for purchase or rent. Knowing which buildings are low carbon, which buildings could be made lower carbon relatively easily, and which buildings are, by virtue of their design, going to be hard to improve is the first step to making low carbon investment and procurement decisions.

DECs give an indication of how the building is actually performing from an energy and carbon footprint standpoint. They tell it the way it is now, with the particular occupants, the particular building management systems, and the building services, controls in place. Combined with information from the EPC, DECs can signal whether a building is being operated as well as the intrinsic design allows or whether there is room for improvement. That is why the wider use of DECs, alongside EPCs, will be valuable.

For the first, time, all of us who make decisions about which buildings to buy or occupy can take the buildings’ energy and carbon performance into account. We will be able to align our purchasing and procurement decisions to our organisation’s position on climate change and reducing carbon emissions. EPCs and DECs will provide valuable, hitherto unavailable information on the energy performance and carbon footprint of the buildings they occupy - and the buildings they propose to short-list for occupation in the future. Better performing buildings will, under these developing considerations, be more attractive to those organisations committed to positive action on climate change. If energy and carbon performance becomes a significant market driver, greater consideration will be given by the current owners of those buildings to improving energy efficiency, reducing the carbon footprint and thereby making those buildings more commercially attractive. Dropping energy efficiency and low carbon technologies from the building management and/or the refurbishment specifications will no longer make business sense.

Sources of further information and help

To check whether a particular building has to have a DEC, visit the CLG Department website and consult one of the growing number of accredited EPC/DEC assessors. A list of accreditation bodies is given on the CLG website.
www.communities.gov.uk/epbd.

You can contact the Department by e-mail: help@epbduk.info or by telephone on their Helpline: 0845 365 2468.

For information and help to improve the energy and carbon performance of buildings, please contact the Carbon Trust. Visit www.carbontrust.co.uk or the Advice Line on 0800 085 2005.