DEC assessors let down by CLG
Display Energy Certificates are only required for buildings with a total useful floor area over 1,000m2 that are occupied by a public authority and institution providing a public service to a large number of persons and therefore visited by those persons. They are valid for one year. The accompanying Advisory Report is valid for seven years.The requirement for Display Energy Certificates comes into effect from 1 October 2008.
With the deadline still looming and no publication of the number of DEC assessors in training, CLG dropped yet another bombshell relating to the rollout of the EPBD wih the watering down of the requirements of the DEC implementation.
It was understood that all public buildings were to be assessed, yet now the watering down states:
However, to make it easier for public authorities with multiple buildings on one site to comply with the legislation, a site-based approach for the first year is to be allowed where it is not possible to produce individual DECs. This means that only one DEC will need to be produced based on the total energy consumption of the buildings on the site. Public bodies most likely to be affected by this approach are NHS Trusts, universities and schools.
Not really the news that DEC assessors want to hear. Having invested money in training they will be looking for a reasonable return and once again, like their Domestic Energy Assessor cousins, will be concerned to see an artificial drop in workload introduced before the implementation date has been reached.
You can see a little more detail about measures to support the smooth introduction of Display Energy Certificates on the CLG website, but it is extremely disappointing that this information is published on a Friday afternoon and the climb-down is not given the appropriate level of publicity to ensure that those involved in DECs will be informed promptly about this. It doesn't appear in CLG News, and whilst CLG may regard this latest statement as nothing more than clarification, it will have a detrimental impact not only on those already accredited as DEC assessors, but also those still in training or who may be considering the option to train as a DEC assessor.
posted by Neil Kurz at
09:00
1 Comments:
Dear Neil,
Lodged a Freedom of Information Act request with DCLG seeking to know the number of Non Dom Assessors in Training, Qualified and Accredited. The response, received last Thursday, was and I quote "At this time, the harm that may be caused to the success of the project, which is in the public interest, outweighs the general public interest of disclosure." How its against the public interest to tell me something they say is in the public interest makes no sense to me.My best guess is that insufficient will be accredited and the October full launch will be delayed.
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