Why Invest in Energy Efficiency in the Economic Downturn?
January 6th 2009

With the economic downturn having such a critical impact on businesses the marriage of energy saving and cost reduction has never been more relevant. This is even more important with the genuine fear that prices for energy are likely to significantly increase in the future.

The European Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has certainly given rise to many energy reports such as the Energy Performance Certificates and Display Energy Certificates but can it help businesses reduce their running costs or are the costs of reports another unwelcome drain on resources? What the EPBD also requires is that the Energy

Performance Certificates for commercial buildings are accompanied by a Recommendations Report and this report lists a number of ways of reducing the carbon emissions and running costs. While the Recommendations Report is tailored to the particular building, it is for the assessor to really add the value to it by using their knowledge and experience to improve it and add their own recommendations. These recommendations are listed as having a short, medium or long term payback period. This means the period it takes to pay off the initial cost of making the improvements. Short is 0 – 3 years, medium is 3 – 7 years and long is over 7 years.

Commercial Energy Assessors should also be able to provide the client with further information in a client report and if requested continue to work with the client to implement some of the cost effective recommendations. For example, the assessor should be able to advise the client of the key improvements that would have a payback period of less than 2 years and therefore be well worth investing in to save costs. In addition, they may be able to provide advice on grants available for making these changes. It may well be worth paying slightly more for a weightier report and implementation guide if this ensures the business is able to save considerable costs. If you have to pay for an energy assessor to visit your building and produce a report make sure you get your money’s worth out of them. It may be worth considering asking them to inspect other buildings to give advice if not to produce reports.

Investment in energy saving measures may seem a low priority when expenditure of any kind is fiercely resisted, but a longer term view must be taken if the true benefits are to be enjoyed. Sensible energy improvement measures now can result in huge savings and will hopefully stop energy costs dictating business expenditure in the future.

There are a number of grants available for installing renewable energy technologies as well as making other improvements. Renewable technologies can present a very sound business investment that increases the real value of a property to the current and future user; a value that is over and above that of the bricks and mortar or location. These technologies are also critical to reducing carbon emissions and are a visible symbol of a company’s environmental credentials.

Douglas Philp MRICS is an accredited Non Domestic Energy Assessor and Public Building Energy Assessor with Needham Haddrell Chartered Surveyors. For more information on Domestic and Non Domestic Energy Assessment visit http://www.needhamhaddrell.com