Brussels hints at abandoning display energy certificates
The possibility that the requirement for buildings to have display energy certificates (DECs) in the next edition of the ‘Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD 2)’ has been raised by BSRIA.
EPBD 2 is currently in draught form and, according to BSRIA, ‘appears to concentrate solely on a building’s predicted energy performance’. BSRIA says that the latest draft of EPBD 2 makes no mention of measured ratings, but offers the option of calculated energy consumption — effectively an energy performance certificate.
David Bleicher, BSRIA’s head of training who provides instruction on the EPBD to building-services engineers, believes that abandoning display energy certificates would be a retrograde step. He says, ‘The UK Government must not backtrack on display energy certificates. Energy reporting must be based on actual measurements, not theoretical values — as there is often a big difference between the two.
