Sterling Accreditation

The Building Regulations Minister Andrew Stunell announced today the launch of the 2012 consultation on changes to the Building Regulations.
The consultation builds upon ideas and suggestions provided by our external partners as part of a review which began in 2010, to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses and ensure that Building Regulations remain proportionate and fit-for-purpose.
The consultation outlines changes from deregulatory proposals, to provisions to further improve the energy efficiency and safety aspects of the technical Building Regulations. In addition to this it also explores a number of changes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the building control system.
The consultation is presented in four sections:
• Section one: outline of the 2012 consultation approach and proposals to change various technical aspects of the regulations.
• Section two: proposals to increase the energy efficiency of buildings
• Section three: proposals in relation to electrical safety in homes
• Section four: proposals to the building control system
The consultation will remain open until 27 April 2012, although responses on aspects that link to the Green Deal proposals in Section two are requested by 27 March 2012.
Full details are available on the CLG website

Landmark will be carrying out a release to the England & Wales Non-Domestic Register LIVE environment on Sunday 18th December 2011 starting at approximately 07:00.

The LIVE environment will be unavailable between approximately 07:00 and 15:00 while this release is carried out.

• Peter has joined the Sterling Technical Support team, bringing with him a wealth of technical experience from previous roles as a trainer, quality auditor and technical consultant for commercial energy assessments. His key role will be to provide energy assessors with technical support and advice.
• Richard has joined the Sterling Sales and Marketing team drawing on his considerable experience from previous sales and marketing roles within the sustainability and environmental industry.  His key role will be to develop new accounts on a UK basis and manage key relationships.

Comment from Simon Barnes
“Our aim is to continuously improve the services we provide to our members.  Peter and Richard will bring added value to the existing team with their wealth of experience, highlighting Sterling’s commitment to their members.  We wish both Richard and Peter all the best in their new roles “

The following document and direct web link provide details of the changes that are coming to force on 6th April 2012.
http://www.sterlingaccreditation.com/docs/uksi_20112452_en.pdf

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/2452/contents/made

Copy of the PDF issued to all Sterling Accredited Members

ORCalc v3.6.1 users – the patch to ORGen is available to assessors on the England and Wales Non Domestic Register.
https://www.ndepcregister.com/ – Click Authorised users and then Software, enter your Sterling Accreditation Number (STER******) in the top box and Click Download.

The UK Green Building Council has issued a report calling for the mandatory display of an A to G rating for the energy efficiency of all non-residential buildings as early as 2012, in a move which could see an upsurge of growth in the energy assessment industry.

The organisation said the measure, to drive efficiency, cut costs and encourage refurbishment, should be introduced as part of the Energy Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.

‘Display Energy Certificates provide both an ‘at-a-glance indicator’ and detailed technical information on the energy performance of buildings’, said UK-GBC, which was set up by the last government in 2007 to provide direction for sustainability and carbon reduction in the building sector.

Recommendations in the report, launched at an event on 29 March with the Communities and Local Government Minister Andrew Stunell MP, include detailed proposals to implement a practical roll-out, and are the result of an in depth consultation with a cross-section of UK-GBC members. 

Key recommendations include:

• Display Energy Certificates (DECs) should become mandatory for all non-domestic building occupiers, with a phased roll out starting in 2012.
• Landlords should also be required to display certificates showing the energy efficiency of the services they provide.  Landlords must pass data to occupiers; this should be based on the Landlord’s Energy Statement (LES) which has been developed by the private sector.
• DECs should be used to produce a range of publicly accessible league tables based on occupiers, landlords, sectors, buildings types and uses. This could replace the current Carbon Reduction Commitment league table for those organisations in the buildings sector.

Full article – Energy Assessor Magazine

http://energyassessormagazine.com/DECsforallbuildingsby2012.aspx

As of 11^th April new versions of iSBEM and DesignBuilder will be released.

ISBEM version 4.1.c can be downloaded using this link http://www.2010ncm.bre.co.uk/ click on Downloads. In line with the changes made with SBEM a new version of DesignBuilder has also been released version 2.4.2 this can be downloaded direct from the DesignBuilder website http://www.designbuilder.co.uk/.

 The current version of ORCalc v.3.5.1 is only available for use until 14^th April 2011 when a new version that doesn’t permit the use of Defaults will be implemented v.3.6.1, this can be downloaded from http://www.ukreg-accreditation.org/ND-GovORCalc.php

Tough new rules on commercial EPC compliance are to be introduced within three months and could lead to a bonanza of work for assessors.

Following lobbying on behalf of Energy Assessor Magazine, the government has said that new EPB regulations, to be introduced in April, will give commercial property agents the same responsibility for enforcing EPC compliance that domestic estate agents have always had.

The move could lead to a major improvement in the workload of commercial assessors, since most business properties currently being marketed do not have EPCs, and many are sold or let without a certificate, with owners opting to ‘take a chance’ in view of the lax enforcement regime.

The new regulations have been promised by Department of Communities and Local Government junior minister Andrew Stunell (left), a former architect, who has responsibility for building regulations.

The minister has not revealed exactly when the new regulations will take effect, and there could be a lapse of some months before they do.

In an approach to government last year, Editor Terry Wardle put forward evidence that commercial EPC compliance is at levels that the minister admitted are ‘poor’, and that Trading Standards – the responsible enforcement authority – are refusing to do anything about it.

The minister said the regulations will also include a reduction in the time that building owners are allowed to obtain an EPC, if marketing of a commercial property commences without one, and clarification of the rules governing the provision of the EPC to potential buyers.

The minister pointed that only domestic property agents have a duty to satisfy themselves that an EPC has been commissioned before marketing commences.

Referring to our proposal that commercial property agents should have the same duty, the minister said: ‘ I am pleased to say that we intend to make this change as part of a package of changes to the EPB Regulations that we aim to bring into force in April 2011.

‘These changes are designed to improve compliance and make the detection of non-compliance easier for enforcement authorities’.

EAM Editor Terry Wardle said: ‘All commercial assessors are going to welcome this news.  The last government actually refused to take this action, so it is good to see the Coalition doing it.

‘I am fortunate to work with some very good commercial agents, who clearly do their best to ensure that their clients do get EPCs, but this should make it easier for all agents to ensure compliance.

‘And very importantly, it should allow commercial assessors to get some much-needed security, and have the opportunity to plan for the future by looking at additional qualifications and skills, to improve services to their clients.  And that has to be good for the industry and the country.’

Source: http://energyassessormagazine.com/

Issues raised by energy industry professionals on the perceived lack of quality checks on EPCs have meant that CLG are considering greater controls on the way Accreditation Schemes operate.

CLG are proposing changes to Accreditation Schemes operational procedures to improve the quality checking on all work completed by commercial energy assessors, which is likely to be far greater than the existing requirement of a 2% random sample for Quality Assurance checks.

The consultation document recently raised by CLG (EPBD Scheme Operating Requirements Associated with Energy Assessors and the Production of Energy Performance Certificates for Non Dwellings) also proposes changes in this area that could be implemented as soon as October this year.

The ramifications of new minimum QA requirements will undoubtedly create tighter controls between the relevant scheme and the assessor. The prescribed higher frequency of random and targeted checks will mean that recommended improvements to process and quality will have to be embraced by all schemes.

Sterling Accreditation’s standards means that our members already exceed the new proposed standards and we have found that providing feedback on our QA to the assessor and the client has lead to a closer working relationship that provides greater benefits for all concerned.

Sterling’s application, membership and lodgement fees mean that we are able to sustain a quality service to our members; we operate under the CLG mandate of an accreditation scheme and believe in supporting our member’s quality.

If you are an Energy professional working within this field, and wish to see enhanced quality, contact Sterling Accreditation today for full details of how our Scheme operates.

Sterling shine in their first year at the Property Professional Expo. Simon Barnes MD fielded a number of queries on why there was another accreditation scheme in the market. A good question: Simon was clear that he felt there was plenty of room for a scheme that concentrated on quality. By providing its members with a high level of support Sterling will differentiate itself in the market.

Feedback from Energy Assessors who attended the Sterling stand confirmed that they felt accreditation bodies could provide more support to their members and an accreditation body that was willing to lead the market to drive quality would be well received.

Jay Parmar at Personal Touch Surveying confirmed that they were extremely happy with the higher level of quality audits that Sterling were providing- “we have been providing our energy compliance services for over two years and quality has always been at the heart of our service proposition. Working with Sterling Accreditation is therefore a natural fit with our own values and supplements our ISO14001 Quality Management System accreditation.”

Barry Hudson Commercial Sales Director at Sterling, commented that hosting the stand at the expo was a great opportunity for Sterling to formally introduce ourselves to the market and a great platform to communicate our message of quality.  The number of positive enquiries we received over the two day event made it an extremely valuable exercise, one that Sterling undoubtedly would repeat again next year.