It is a matter of public record which publicly-funded bodies have complied with the Energy Performance in Buildings Regulations by having a current Display Energy Certificate (DEC) on display.
The record shows that a significant number of NHS Trusts allowed their Certificates to lapse in 2009 or early 2010. If your DEC has lapsed, you are in breach of your statutory duty, and your Trust is failing to take advantage of simple energy-saving measures which could save a significant proportion of your running costs. Your Trust will have been provided with a site-based DEC by the Department of Health in 2008. Since then the transitional arrangements which allowed for site-based DECs have expired, and DECs must now be provided for every building over 1,000 m2. These building DECs must be accompanied by an advisory report which, if provided by a competent DEC energy assessor, will provide a ranked list of appropriate suggestions as to how you can improve the energy efficiency of the building in question. Under the current austerity measures, can you afford to risk legal action and throw away the chance to save significant sums of taxpayers’ money by not complying with the law? The risks and opportunities are real. An air conditioning report recently provided by a CIBSE inspector identified annual savings of over £32,000 in a single government office, achieved with a one-off expenditure of just £8,000. Many NHS Trust employees have taken the time and trouble to become accredited as Low Carbon Energy Assessors through their industry body. However our feedback suggests they are not getting the opportunity to produce DECs for their buildings because this work is not seen as a priority. In coming months CIBSE will be writing to every NHS Trust manager in breach of the law, reminding them of their legal obligations, and of the value achievable via compliance. If you do not have an accredited DEC Low Carbon Energy Assessor on your staff, you can choose a competent, experienced Assessor from the list available at www.cibseenergycentre.co.uk If you have any questions we would be happy to help. I suggest you first contact CIBSE Certification on 0208 772 3656.
Stephen Matthews Chief executive, CIBSE
