A new demonstration website will allow the public sector to measure buildings’ energy performance and CO2 emissions for the first time.
All large public buildings in England and Wales must display an energy certificate from April 2008 to comply with new Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations.
The new website, designed by the EPLabel project, has been developed by leading experts from ten EU countries and is an easy-to-use robust system aimed at owners, occupiers and managers of public buildings.
In the UK the EPLabel project has been led by carbon management consultancy ESD with support from experts, Bill Bordass and John Field. This team is currently advising the Department for Communities and Local Government on how to implement Operational Ratings in England and Wales.
Robert Cohen, who led the project at ESD, said: “The launch of this EPLabel demonstration website is an important development for public authorities keen to reduce their carbon footprint. Energy labels based on actual energy use are definitely a tipping point for the radical improvement in the energy efficiency of existing public buildings.”
Labelling based on Operational Ratings will make building energy and CO2 performance visible. It is anticipated that the public display of building energy certificates will soon be extended to all buildings visited by the public.
Developed by a UK-led project, the website is an important step towards helping Member States to finalise their national legislation in fulfilment of an EU Directive. The software is in compliance with standards set by the Comité Européen de Normalisation (CEN).
