With new EPC rules and regulations about to come into force, there's a big question for companies based in the UK :
Is your commercial building about to become unlettable?
Thousands of businesses, and almost one in twelve offices in London, could potentially make them unlettable from Saturday April 1st as new energy efficiency rules take effect. From 1st April, all tenanted commercial buildings in the UK – including shops, offices and warehouses – need to have an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of at least an E. If they don’t, landlords risk being named and shamed and hit with a fine of up to £150,000. While it’s important to take steps to improve building efficiency, critics are pointing out that the process of obtaining EPCs are flawed. The certifications are based on standard assumptions about occupancy and energy use, so they don’t accurately reflect the real-life energy consumption of a building, which is impacted by: 👷♂️ Improper building management 📈 Lack of data sharing 🥵 Heating and cooling systems fighting each other While ensuring compliance with the new EPC rules is an important tick box exercise for landlords, there’s also a huge need to start measuring actual usage and emissions, rather than just potential ones.
The EnviroLogik IoT Energy Monitoring service, not only enables main meters to be read remotely, but we can install heat meters into individual tenants occupied spaces, and we can also monitor individual assets, such as air conditioning, heating, pumps, Air handling equipment and display the live data in an easy to see customisable format. This then accurately shows exactly what is being consumed and when.
Occupancy is also playing an important part as businesses are looking at ways of linking energy use based on varying occupancy, and or occupancy counting module shows exactly whose in the building at any given time.
Equipment upgrades/replacement etc throwing up some challenges
A new survey by Workiva and PwC in the US, shows that US-based companies still face some major challenges when it comes to technology, resourcing and budget. These challenges also exist in the UK as we tend to follow almost identical patterns. 🧑💻 85% of executives are concerned their company ‘does not have the right technology in place’, despite 97% anticipating technology playing an important role in meeting potential new requirements. 💼 36% of leaders are not very confident their company is staffed appropriately. 💰 61% of business executives believe the rule will cost their company more than $750,000 (approx. £650,000 in the UK) in the first year of compliance. 🚫 39% of executives believe their companies are not fully prepared to meet new requirements 📈 70% of business leaders report their companies will ‘proceed with compliance’ regardless of when the rule becomes law
We can certainly help when it comes to monitoring occupancy and energy consumption, which is a major component of ESG compliance. Get in contact if you want to discuss how we can help
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