CIBSE supports proposals for mandatory lodgement of air-conditioning inspections
CIBSE has welcomed proposals for the mandatory lodgement of air-conditioning inspections following the CLG consultation ‘Making better use of Energy Performance Certificates and Data’. There are currently no legal requirements for air-conditioning reports to be lodged on a central register, although they must be lodged with the inspector’s accrediting body.
Until a mandatory requirement is in place, accreditation schemes can choose whether or not to lodge their inspectors’ report with Landmark. Clients are being encouraged to base the decision to use an energy assessor on lodgement preference, rather than the quality of service offered by the assessor.
Bryan Franklin, chairman of CIBSE’s low-carbon-consultants steering group says, ‘Air-conditioning inspections already have the lowest compliance rates, well below 5%. If these issues are not resolved, it is difficult to see how the industry can increase compliance and how the carbon emissions reductions expected from the introduction of air-conditioning inspections can be delivered.’
The purpose of air-conditioning inspections under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is to provide owners and operators of buildings with information on the performance of their air conditioning so improvements can be made if it is using too much energy. Lodgement in a central register would enable trading standards officers to know which buildings have not been inspected and be the single most effective enforcement so far.
The potential of air-conditioning to reduce energy consumption was highlighted by the recent CIBSE Low Carbon Performance Awards. Low carbon energy assessor Darren Jones carried out an air-conditioning inspection at Eland House in London, which had a cooling load of 250 kW, and identified savings that would have paid for the costs of the inspection and recommendations in less than five months.
