Display Energy Certificate.
Non-domestic buildings which are occupied by public authorities, institutions and publicly funded organisations visited by members of the public which are over 250m2 require a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) and Advisory Report (AR). Up Energy have undertaken DECs on all manner of public and institutional buildings including hospitals, doctors surgeries, primary schools, university campuses and leisure centres. Private sector businesses may also commission DECs on their buildings as way of encouraging energy efficiency year on year.
A Display Energy Certificate will provide the building with an A – G rating based upon its actual energy use. The energy rating is also based upon a comparison to other buildings of its type in the country e.g. a university building will be compared with other university buildings typical energy efficiency rating for a DEC. Where a building has had a DEC assessment over several years these previous ‘Operational Ratings’ can be displayed on the certificate to help illustrate and encourage energy savings over the years.
Non-domestic buildings which are occupied by public authorities, institutions and publicly funded organisations visited by members of the public which are over 250m2 require a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) and Advisory Report (AR).
Up Energy have undertaken DECs on all manner of public and institutional buildings including hospitals, doctors surgeries, primary schools, university campuses and leisure centres. Private sector businesses may also commission DECs on their buildings as way of encouraging energy efficiency year on year.
For more questions answered about Display Energy Certificates, see our FAQs below. There is also some information on the government page here.
Only a fully accredited DEC assessor can undertake and issue the legal certificate.
As well as an on-site inspection looking at heating, cooling, ventilation, controls, building envelope, on-site energy generation (such as solar photovoltaic panels), the assessor may require a discussion with the building manager regarding energy efficiency energy management, occupational hours, regular servicing of equipment etc. Crucial to the assessment will be a full 12 months of electricity and heating bills to calculate the operational rating. If the building has an EPC rating, that can also be incorporated within the report.
Display Energy Certificate.
As from 9th July 2015 buildings over 250 m2 that are occupied by public authorities and frequently visited by the public. Some of these can include schools, hospitals, doctors surgeries, council offices. Up Energy can undertake Display Energy Certificates on all buildings, including the new lower 250 m2 threshold.
For buildings over 1000 m2 the DEC is valid for 12 months and should be renewed every year For these buildings an Advisory report is valid for 7 years. For buildings between 250 m2 and 999 m2 the DEC and advisory report are valid for 10 years. Although, many organisations choose to renew their <1000 m2 DEC every 12 months so that they can track their year on year energy usage.
A DEC is designed to be displayed in a prominent place in the building and shows the energy rating of that building over the last 12 months using actual energy consumption. This is called the operational rating and is a numerical indicator in graph form of the carbon emissions of that building compared to other building of that type.
The DEC scale goes from A to G, A being better.
The advisory report accompanies a DEC and contains a range of improvement and cost effective measures that can help improve the energy performance of the building. Most public buildings over 1000 m2 would have had their first DEC and Advisory Report produce when the legislation was first introduced in 2008. As an Advisory Report is valid for 7 years this is an ideal time to instruct a DEC assessor from Up Energy to visit the site and renew the Advisory Report and DEC. We can also undertake Display Energy Certificates and Advisory Reports falling into the new 250 – 999 m2 threshold.
No a DEC cannot be used, you require an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) for a Feed in Tariff application. Up Energy can help with this, please click on our EPC link for how we can help with your EPC and FiT requirement.
A qualified DEC assessor must visit the property to collect data regarding heating, hot water, lighting, building fabric and room activities. Ideally scale plans should be provided to the assessor for this purpose. A full 12 months of accurate energy bills will also need to be provided.
It depends on the size and complexity of the building. Once a DEC and advisory report have been undertaken the follow up years DEC can often be undertaken without the assessor going back to site which can significantly reduce the cost thereafter. Contact Up Energy for a no obligation quote and advice. Now is a great time to renew your DEC and Advisory Report if your building was over 1000 m2, Up Energy can also undertake Display Energy Certificates on the smaller 250 m2 buildings at the same time, reducing site visits and costs to you.
“We have worked with Up Energy for several years now. They have always been extremely professional and accommodating, fitting in with our often tight timescales and bending over backwards to help us deliver our projects. Their customer service is excellent and we have no hesitation recommending them.”
