WITH energy bills set to remain high and new environmental and energy standards in place from 1 February across Scotland, businesses looking to make their premises more energy efficient and comply with upcoming regulatory changes can search for qualified energy professionals in their area using a new, free-to-use tool.
‘Find an assessor’, from Elmhurst Energy – the UK’s leading accreditation scheme for energy assessors – allows anyone to plug in their location, type of property and professional they are looking for who can check their building’s energy performance and give advice on what measures they can take to lower energy bills.
This arrives alongside The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 new energy and environmental standards, in place today (1 February 2023) and designed to deliver new standards for energy efficiency, heat conservation, ventilation, overheating and sustainability. It will apply to any business building new premises or significantly extending their current one.
Stuart Fairlie, Elmhurst Energy managing director, said:
“The soaring cost of energy bills means business owners have never been more attuned to what they can do to make their premises or rental properties more energy efficient.
“For an untrained eye, it can be difficult to know what measures to take to improve energy efficiency – and taking a scattergun approach can mean pouring money down the drain. When considering alterations, it’s best to get the advice of a qualified expert who can determine what changes will work best together to save money on energy bills, make sure you’re compliant and support your business to reaching carbon net zero.
“And for any business with significant building plans, energy efficiency is now also a legal requirement with The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 energy and environmental standards in place from February. So we’d encourage anyone to check with their architect and builder that they are getting it right up front rather than having to make costly alterations further down the line.”
Using the tool, businesses can find trained commercial energy experts qualified to deliver non-domestic EPCs for public and commercial buildings, and air conditioning inspections for new and existing commercial buildings.
They can source non-domestic energy assessors (NDEA) at levels 3, 4 and 5, who assess properties and determine the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating. The level of NDEA required will depend on the commercial assessment of a building needed. NDEAs can assess the energy performance of a small shop, large office building or even a skyscraper, depending on the diploma they hold.
The tool also signposts to display energy certificate assessors (DEC), who measure the actual energy performance of public buildings, Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) assessors, who audit and measure corporate compliance with the mandatory Environment Agency ESOS scheme, as well as overheating risk assessors.
Stuart Fairlie added:
“Our ‘Find an Assessor’ support service gives businesses access to qualified professionals we train and accredit, bringing peace of mind that the expertise is trusted and of a high standard. The tool only recommends accredited members who are regularly audited, have access to up-to-date software and the latest know-how, comply with government regulations and standards and are fully insured to protect businesses from accidental damage.”
The list of professionals businesses can search for using ‘Find an Assessor’ is:
- Non-domestic energy assessor level 3, 4 and 5 (NDEA)
- Display energy certificate assessor (DEC)
- ESOS lead assessor
- Overheating risk assessor
Elmhurst’s tool also supports landlords in the residential and commercial private rented sector, including landlords of domestic private rented properties in Scotland who need to check their property conforms to the Climate Change Act Scotland 2009 (Section 63) or The Assessment of Energy Performance in Non-Domestic Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2016, in order to let their building legally.
For more information on energy efficiency for businesses, visit https://www.elmhurstenergy.co.uk/information-for-businesses.
Find an assessor at https://www.elmhurstenergy.co.uk/find-an-assessor.
The ‘Find an Assessor’ tool is launched as part of Elmhurst Energy’s new website, available at www.elmhurstenergy.co.uk.
