Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) have been in place since 2008, however with no government requirement to act upon the assessment's recommendations, landlords have had no impetus to change their building's energy performance - that is until now.
Peter Leggett, acarbon and energy consultant, has warned that the new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) which comes into place in 2018, requires rented property, or premises to have an Energy Performance rating of at least E, so buildings with an F or G rating will have to upgrade their energy system if they are to comply.
“A typical building rated F or G could be a 1950s office block. These buildings usually have a boiler room in the basement, air-handling equipment on the roof and fluorescent tubes for lighting. In these cases, often the energy system hasn’t been upgraded since the building was built, however small changes, such as LED lighting or localised heating controls, could make significant improvements to the building’s EPC.”
Leggett says that, while many of these improvements are simple, they do require time to implement.
“Often building owners or managers leave it to the very last minute to comply with changes in legislation. The Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme (ESOS) is an example of this coming into place this year, and as activity has been low so far, pressure will build towards the compliance date of 5 December 2018.
“Often building owners or managers leave it to the very last minute to comply with changes in legislation. The Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme (ESOS) is an example of this coming into place this year, and as activity has been low so far, pressure will build towards the compliance date of 5 December 2018.
"We hope that by raising awareness of MEES now, well ahead of 2018, property managers and landlords will approach their energy systems with a more long-term strategy. After all the sooner you start improving energy performance the sooner the energy bill cost reduces for landlords and their tenants. For property managers they must give consideration to the scale of penalties for non- compliance, which under MEES could rise to 20% of rateable value.
“By thinking about the ‘bigger picture’ managing energy information and upgrading systems, landlords would be able to vastly improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. And so, as well as complying with the energy legislation for buildings, landlords will also have the opportunity to attract clients willing to pay for a better quality of working environment," added Leggett.
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