A local authority can issue a penalty charge notice of £500 for failing to display a DEC at all times in a prominent place clearly visible to the public, and £1,000 for failing to possess or have in their control a valid advisory report. In addition to these penalties, it will still be necessary to commission the documents otherwise further offences will be committed.
Display Energy Certificates and the accompanying Advisory Reports are a legal requirement in England, Wales and throughout Ireland. From September 2016, in Scotland, DEC’s can be used to defer having to implement the new Section 63 Action Plans. Public service organizations (except Scotland) must have a DEC for their building if all of the following are true: - It’s at least partially occupied by a public service organization (e.g. council, leisure Centre, university, NHS, prison, etc.) - This occupied area has a total useful floor area of over 250 square metres - It’s frequently visited by the public (this can mean small numbers of the public are visiting the building weekly) Public service can include private organizations that are providing services that can be, or have been provided, planned or funded by local or central government. Why the importance? Because energy efficiency matters. Only by measuring the actual energy consumption of a building can we acknowledging how energy efficient or inefficient our public buildings really are. Steps can then be taken to improve things.
Public authorities must display their DEC in a prominent place clearly visible to the public, eg near the building’s entrance.
DEC Energy Certificates calculate an Operational Rating (OR) for a building on a coloured graph scale. This is based on the actual energy bills of the building compared with a typical benchmark building of the same type. Each DEC has an accompanying advisory report highlighting the ways in which energy performance can be improved. Each certificate shows the current and previous two years energy rating and carbon emissions for comparison purposes. An advisory report (AR) based on a site survey accompanies the first DEC, and then is renewed every seven years thereafter (every ten years for buildings of 1000 m2 or less). The AR lists cost effective measures to improve the rating of the building. Green Zone Surveys has been providing DEC’s throughout the UK and Ireland since their introduction.
It depends on the size of your building.
Whether it’s one building, or a regional or national portfolio, Karl’s team will systematically visit and survey each building in order to produce informative Advisory Reports and accurate certificates. We can co-ordinate our visits with your building / facilities managers to ensure maximum access at minimum inconvenience, for example, visiting schools during school holidays. We’ve already helped hundreds of buildings comply with government legislation and at the same time helping them reduce energy usage and costs.
A Display Energy Certificate (DEC) assesses the actual energy efficiency of those who manage and use the building. An EPC provides indication of the potential for energy efficiency and carbon emissions.
We visit and survey every building we prepare a DEC for. Whether it’s one building, or a regional or national portfolio, Karl’s team will systematically visit and survey each building in order to produce informative Advisory Reports and accurate certificates.
Drawing upon our extensive Energy Consultancy & Compliance expertise, we take great pride in our constructive relationships with our clients. We do our utmost to deliver the DEC Assessments you need when you need them, and our fully-inclusive service includes:
