Do we need to save money?

Text messaging, satellite TV, cameras on phones – you don’t need any of those things either. Yet we come to rely on them, unnecessary or not. Of course there are advantages that smart businesses are fast discovering, not only does energy efficiency add something to the bottom line, it can improve the way we feel about working in a building. A comfortable indoor climate, natural lighting or ventilation makes us feel better - for instance, efficiently designed lighting systems are known to improve productivity.

Well designed and efficient buildings stand alongside our country’s historic structures in many towns and cities. Both have their merits. Surprisingly, its not fully acknowledged that both new and old alike can improve efficiency – savings are often missed in newer buildings because it’s assumed that the efficiency is somehow inherent within its structure rather than being a result of the way the building is used and businesses occupying older buildings often  don’t bother – “its too old, right”?

What ever the type of space a business occupies there are usually savings that an energy audit can uncover. A modest saving on a weekly basis may be considerable when viewed on a yearly basis or over the period of a lease.

We may think that energy efficiency is an add on extra  – the trouble is though, exactly like text messaging, satellite TV, cameras on phones,  once you’ve achieved better efficiency its difficult to imagine how you can live without it!

Click here to get a quote for an energy audit on your building

Finding savings - London Underground’s AC

Since that time, considerable savings have been found, often by implementing ‘no cost’ improvement measures. AC systems vary considerably and we deal with all types and size systems across London – however few organizations spread themselves as broadly across town as London Underground.

What a fascination few months it was towards the end of last year inspecting London underground’s AC systems within a range of buildings of all ages that support the operation of the tube. 

From training centres, canteens and comms rooms to staff accommodation, simulators and offices!

To deliver on time, large projects need extra care. Aside from our usual inspection and reporting, it’s important to understand the individual requirements of a company – its procedures and processes. For instance, tube sites present their own collection of risks to mitigate and careful evaluation is needed from the outset.

But once everything is in place, delivering on time is easily achievable. So too is finding the hidden savings lurking within annual energy costs which are known to be considerable in the case of air conditioning systems.

If you or your client have a project that needs careful consideration, why not click here to ask us a question – we’d be happy to take a look and discuss the potential for the reduction in running costs that a system might have  - whether that be above or below ground!

*Air Conditioning systems over 12 kw need to have an TM44 report in place by a 4th January 2011 and then re-inspect every 5 years.  

This is required by Part 5 of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) Regulations 2007, which implements Article 9 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Find hidden savings for your business

That was Greg Barker, The Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change’s message at the launch of Green Deal Skills Alliance. I liked his keynote speech, it was positive and confirmed what we already know – energy efficiency is a must and can have big results.

He said it was estimated that 5% of profits every year in UK companies may be lost through inefficient use of resources. And for me this is important. Most businesses make a real effort to raise profits by 5% and there, all the time, waiting to be picked, was the low hanging fruit from the energy efficiency tree.

How come large numbers of UK businesses have been slow to get this rather obvious message? Well that makes me think that government must have kept it a secret.

Has the Government shown business the way forward?  

Well, there are some genuine examples out there, the only problem is that they don’t seem to have always had their heart in it. For example, lots of local authority and Government buildings haven’t complied with the EPBD requirement to inspect and report on air conditioning efficiency, a report known to uncover some pretty big wins. And the government chose not to sort out the non-compliance in Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in a way that could have raised awareness and led to a reduction in waste – and not to mention the Display Energy Certificates on their own buildings that often have pretty poor ratings. These mixed messages have delayed leading the way in making savings.

It wasn’t until I thought really much harder though before I began to reflect on what could have changed things. They’ve missed something important. If only they’d instructed ‘Survey and Test’ to energy audit more of their buildings, then they could have picked the low hanging fruit years ago!   

Wondering where your business’s 5% extra profit might be hiding?

No problem – just make contact and we’ll tell you how our energy audit service will help you find it!

I watched a stand up routine yesterday by Sean Lock. He joked that some people would gladly fly to the shops if Easy Jet brought out a ‘fly to the shops’ deal. He said that they would love that…..it would give them a chance to bring back more patio heaters!

He was joking of course, but I think his message was right. Lots of people are pretty unimpressed by the need to reduce carbon emissions. Change is often unpopular – I can see that.

What seems tougher to believe though, is that folks have a similar view about paying less to run their buildings. ‘Survey and Test’ deal with businesses all the time that know reducing carbon emissions means paying lower energy bills.

In fact, I can’t remember an energy audit that didn’t uncover savings. For a business, anything that’s saved by reducing energy costs goes straight onto the bottom line and savvy businesses know that.

There will always be folks that would fly to the shops to bring back more patio heaters – but more and more, there are those who would rather take a greener route and spend the cash they’ve saved on something else.

And for those businesses, we’re here to help. Just drop us a line to hear how we could find your hidden savings!

Why should this matter?

Well, despite the high standards originally planned for the industry, many accreditation schemes and consequently some of their assessors were found to be working to different standards. From the outset some were not even qualified and worked as data collectors, having their surveys signed off remotely by assessors who were unlikely to be able to verify the true quality of the work.

Many of the loopholes holes that allowed this have since been closed and new audit requirements keep intermittent checks on assessors. However, this hasn’t been enough to guarantee that the assessors with poor knowledge or little experience of building construction (possibly numbering thousands of assessors) have improved their skills.

The government has identified the areas which pose the greatest problems to EPC standards and have introduced a new mandatory qualification that all assessors will need to pass before April 2012. This will include a better overall knowledge of the principles of building structure, elements and fabric, as well as a better understanding of how the building fabric and its services interact.

What will the new EPC contain?

A clearer layout and advice will be the most noticeable changes. The reader of the EPC will also be pointed in the direction of green deal funding – the government funding mechanism that will provide funds for home efficiency improvements.

Behind the scenes the software model that calculates the EPC is also being improved. This all adds up to a better product, produced by better skilled people. The end result will be good advice about lowering home energy costs on a permanent basis – a subject that is particularly in fashion right now.

The new EPC will be introduced in April 2012.

The long awaited changes to commercial EPCs look like being finally on the way. BRE has announced to its members that the changes will come into effect on the 6th April 2012.

No doubt there will be lots of comment from those involved in the EPC industry in between now and then! 

The changes that were announced are as follows:

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS (CERTIFICATES AND INSPECTIONS) (ENGLAND AND WALES) REGULATIONS 2007 (THE EPB REGULATIONS)