Making a virtue out of a necessity
August 1st 2005

ESTA’s free seminars at Energy 2005 will cover the upcoming Energy Performance in Buildings Directive along with the fundamentals of energy management. Alan Aldridge, executive director of ESTA explains the essentials uch has been written about the costs of implementing the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) but too little attention has been paid to the cost savings and benefits it can deliver to business.

Those opportunities will become increasingly apparent as the implementation of the Directive gets under way from January 2006, but energy managers should be planning for them now if they want to take maximum advantage.

The immediate benefits are reduced energy costs, of course,and these are particularly relevant given the energy price hikes over the last year.However, one of the results of the Directive should be to achieve a ‘market transformation’.The use of energy labelling on white goods has enabled consumers to choose between goods with different energy ratings.The result has been a steady increase in sales of high efficiency fridges, freezers and cookers.

It is expected that the EPBD will have a similar effect on buildings:we will see A, B, C rated buildings having a higher asset and rental value than E, F, G buildings. In addition, larger organisations with Corporate Social Responsibility policies will be concerned about energy efficiency in their estates.

In order to help energy and facilities managers prepare for the new Directive, ESTA will be providing free seminars at Energy 2005 in September. These will focus on two major themes: a) What does the directive require and how can these requirements be met in new and existing buildings? (The focus will be on industrial, commercial and public sectors, not domestic) b) Energy management techniques and approaches that can help to raise the energy certification rating.

The sessions will focus more on the monitoring, control and management aspects of the Directive rather than the building fabric.

Changes brought in by the EPBD include: • Revised Part L building regulations for new buildings based on a carbon target • Refurbished buildings over 1000m2 must consider the installation of all energy efficiency measures within set financial criteria.

• Regular inspections of boilers/heating systems and airconditioning.

• An Energy Asset rating when buildings are constructed, sold or let.

• The display of Operational Energy certificates in many public buildings (and potentially a number in the business sector as well).

The ESTA seminars will cover the methodology for calculating the energy performance ratings required on the certificates, as well as the means to improve the energy ratings.

The role of on-site renewable energy will expand with a benchmark allowance of 10% for on-site generation. This is not mandatory as long as the design meets the carbon requirement. However, our view is that most sites will need to use onsite renewables to meet the overall carbon requirement and in many instances may extend beyond 10%.

There are also sessions covering the Fundamentals of Energy Management. These will review basic techniques and provide a starting point for those wishing to develop policies and action plans for implementation.

These seminars will provide a basis for improving the performance of your buildings and hence a better energy rating. They will be suitable for all those engaged in building and building services design, all those with an energy related responsibility (estates, purchasing, maintenance) as well as those who are responsible for environmental and CSR issues. Please visit www.esta.org.uk for full details.All the ESTA seminars are free to attend.

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