Commercial EPC Non Dwellings Existing Buildings

Existing Buildings including commercial premises (or non-dwellings) will be required to be inspected by a qualified energy assessor who has received specific training in this field. The National Occupational Standards have now been announced for this sector of energy inspection.

National Occupational Standards for the Production of Energy Performance Certificates, and Recommendation Reports has been finalised. The role of the energy assessor is as defined in the following key areas.

For existing non-dwellings, the approved software will utilise the following methodologies, either the SBEM (Simulated Building Energy Model) or for more complex buildings, an approved DSM (Dynamic Simulation Model) approach. If you own or control a public building then a display energy certificate or DEC is required.

It is anticipated that the following persons will seek training and accreditation in the energy assessment of existing buildings.

These may include but are not limited to: building surveyors, low carbon consultants, energy auditors, valuers/estate agents, letting agents, surveyors employed by utility companies, and those seeking a new career, or have already gained accreditation as a domestic energy assessor (DEA).

Requirements for Energy Assessors for non-dwellings

Many existing buildings can be assessed using SBEM methods and proprietary software to assess energy use for a wide variety of applications, however DSM methods will be employed in more complex cases.

For buildings in mixed use, Energy Assessors required to produce an EPCs in this case (eg studio or workshop apartments) should treat it as a single dwelling if the non-dwelling part can be converted back to dwelling use, and there is common access to the building. For other situations, the dwelling and non-dwelling
parts should be separately assessed using SAP or RDSAP for the dwelling part, and SBEM or DSM for the non-dwelling part of the building.

For energy assessments of such buildings, Energy Assessors must identify and disclose any financial and/or personal relationship/s with others involved in the transaction of the property being assessed, for example, where their employer is also the person commissioning the EPC. The energy assessor must declare this as a statement about such a relationship, this will appear on the printed EPC.

For further information for building owners and or managers, including new build property developers on what information you must provide to assessors please refer to:

SAP Assessment - for new build "on construction" dwellings.
SBEM Assessment - for existing commercial buildings

EPC Validity

For existing buildings (non-dwellings) EPCs are valid for 10 years

Scheme Operators will be expecting that 90 per cent of EPCs are within + or –5 per cent of the Buildings Emission Rating and that 100 per
cent of EPCs are within + or –10 per cent of the Buildings Emission Rating determined by the Scheme Operator’s Energy Assessor undertaking quality monitoring (Note – these figures will be reviewed following publication of the calculation procedure).

If you are considering undertaking a course in the production of EPC's using the above methods please refer to Energy Assessor Training.

As part of existing buildings energy assessment, assessors may encounter air conditioning systems, these systems will also require to be inspected See also: Air Conditioning Inspectors

Existing specialists for inspection, maintenance & repair of equipment can be found at: Commercial Air Conditioning Systems Inspectors.

Summary:

SBEM is software intended for use by Energy Assessors in producing energy assessments for existing non-dwellings where plans and other construction details are unavailable. Only approved versions of SBEM software may be used. It comprises the SBEM calculation engine with an input system (i-SBEM) that enters default data based on an energy assessor’s observation from a visual inspection, although data from other sources may be acceptable.
DSM is a software tool that models energy inputs and outputs for different types of building over time. In certain situations, SBEM, will not be sophisticated enough to provide an accurate assessment of a building’s energy efficiency. In these cases Government-approved proprietary dynamic simulation models may be used. Communities and Local Government will provide such an approval.
SAP is the national calculation methodology for determining energy use for heating, hot water and lighting for dwellings.

Commercial Energy Assessor Directory of SAP & SBEM Consultants - Commercial Property Energy Performance Certificates EPCs and providers of energy assessment will be required for all other properties in the future including energy certificates for Social Housing inspection and Rented Property sectors. An Energy Assessor Forum is available online, with discussion board with matters relating to energy certificates for commercial/industrial buildings.

Commercial Buildings EPC Energy Training - A guide for available courses and assessment centres for Energy ratings and calculations for non-residential dwellings.

Commercial Energy Performance Certificate DEC Provider, SAP Ratings Assessor, or SBEM Consultants? Surveyors - Please refer to contact page and send your details to us for inclusion in the directory.

Energy Assessors Non-Dwellings

Energy Assessment of Non-Dwellings (Existing Buildings) - EPC