Commercial EPCs – Reading The Recommendations Report (Part 2)

In this briefing we will look at the Recommendations for improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon footprint and energy costs contained in the Recommendations Report attached to the EPC.

The recommendations listed are ways of improving the energy performance of the building. By energy performance we mean energy efficiency and carbon footprint. Energy efficiency is the amount of energy required to ‘condition’ (heat up, cool, ventilate) and light the internal space, and how quickly that energy needs to be replaced through loss from the building fabric. Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide produced by the energy used, and hence the increase in global warming resulting from the building’s use. It’s very easy to see an EPC as simply a bureaucratic exercise, but the bottom line is that its part of the efforts to pass on the planet in a habitable state to our children.

The recommendations are divided up into sections according to how quickly the cost of carrying out the measures can be recouped through savings in energy costs. These are changing continuously as energy costs rise. SHORT PAYBACK is classed as less than 3 years and will most often include ways of reducing the loss of heat, such as insulating the roof and the hot water tank and the installation of secondary glazing or window shading. It may also cover improvements to controls on the building’s heating and lighting systems so that energy is not wasted and is directed only where and when it is needed. Within the Payback sections the POTENTIAL IMPACT of each recommendation is listed as HIGH, MEDIUM or LOW depending on the reduction in carbon emissions gained by adopting it.

MEDIUM PAYBACK covers recommendations that may take from 3 to 7 years to recover investment, such as installing multiple glazing or replacing an old boiler with a new condensing boiler.

LONG PAYBACK covers improvements requiring a high initial capital investment which may take more than 7 years to recoup the outlay. In this section you may find items such as solar water heating to reduce the energy required to heat domestic hot water, or photovoltaic systems (PVS) to generate electricity from sunlight. Because of the high initial outlay, this is an area where Government schemes to encourage the investment may be directed.

You may also find OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS which have been added by the Energy Assessor where he/she feels potential improvements not generated by the software may be made. For instance the assessor may notice that your air conditioning is in dire need of servicing which could result in significant savings in running costs. Although recommendations are generated by the SBEM protocols in the software the assessor will always review them to ensure that they are appropriate to the building. For instance, you shouldn’t find a recommendation to install uPVC double glazing or a wind turbine on your beautiful Grade 1 listed hotel!

Whilst the recommendations in the RR are not (yet!) required to be adopted, they are well worth considering. For instance, in many commercial premises the energy used by lighting can be significantly greater as a proportion of total energy costs than in your home. Simply replacing dozens of tungsten or halogen lamps with low-energy compact fluorescents can have a significant and immediate impact of your very next energy bill. As a commercial landlord trying to let a building (often not easy in the current economic climate) the RR will indicate ways you can make the building more attractive to cost-conscious prospective tenants. As a prospective tenant, always ask to see a copy of the RR as it can form the basis of negotiations on improvements before you enter into a long-term commitment.

If as a landlord you decide to make improvements to the building after reviewing the RR, it is always worth approaching the original energy assessor to commission a new report incorporating the improvements, as you shouldn’t have to pay them anything like the original fee to have the building re-inspected and a new EPC lodged – and if you do, don’t forget to make sure your agent updates the sales details.

Written by Simon Burton, a Level 4 Commercial Energy Assessor with Burtons.