DECs and EPCs

Public sector buildings must display energy certificates showing the actual energy usage of the building, and staff dealing with visitors and the public need to know where the building’s Display Energy Certificate (DEC) is and what it means.

With small improvements to energy performance the UK could save up to 40 million tonnes of carbon by 2020. Estimates also show that organisations could make significant savings of as much as 20 per cent on their energy bills.

By knowing more about the DEC and where it is displayed, staff can help visitors and colleagues find out more about how their building uses energy and what is being done to improve the energy efficiency of the building.

This special info4local page links to information on Display Energy Certificates, including a desk aid for people to keep on their desk or reception counter as a quick reference for any DEC-related questions. It also brings together comprehensive information on display energy certificates and other measures designed to improve the energy efficiency of buildings – Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and air-conditioning inspections.

The page, originally published in September 2008, has been reorganised by topic to make the information easier to find. You can find new items, including the desk aid, an article about Birmingham City Council’s experience with DECs and three videos, under the publications section.

All links open in a new window.

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Publications

 

Display Energy Certificates

• Display Energy Certificates Desk Aid (PDF 240 Kb) (Communities and Local Government)
  This desk aid is designed to help frontline staff, such as receptionists, understand what and where a building's display energy certificate is.
• Birmingham City Council Building Achieves a ‘C’ for Its Display Energy Certificate (PDF 267 Kb) (Communities and Local Government)
  This article describes Birmingham City Council's experience with display energy certificates.
• Display Energy Certificate Video (Communities and Local Government)
  This video provides practical information on having a building's energy assessed.
• Getting Ready for Display Energy Certificates (Communities and Local Government)
  This booklet gives advice on producing a display energy certificate, which will be required for most large public buildings by 1 October 2008.
• A Guide to Display Energy Certificates and Advisory Reports for Public Buildings (Communities and Local Government)
  This guide provides an introduction to the regulations for display energy certificates in large buildings. It describes the scope and requirements of the regulations and gives guidance on how they should be applied.
• Display Energy Certificates and Advisory Reports: Transitional arrangements for buildings on a site or campus (Communities and Local Government)
  This document describes the approach underlying the transitional arrangements that have been introduced for buildings on a site or campus. These arrangements are designed to help organisations with many buildings on a site or campus comply with Energy Performance of Buildings Directive regulations.

Energy Performance Certificates

• Building Assessments Video (Communities and Local Government)
  This video provides practical information on having a building's energy assessed.
• A Guide to Energy Performance Certificates for the Construction, Sale and Let of Non-dwellings: Second edition - July 2008 (Communities and Local Government)
  This guide provides an introduction to energy performance certificates for non-dwellings. It describes the scope and requirements of the Regulations that apply on construction, sale or let and provides guidance on how these are applied in practice.
• Energy Performance Certificates and Non-dwellings: A guide for building owners, landlords and tenants (Communities and Local Government)
  This leaflet gives advice on the energy performance certificate requirements for commercial buildings, including key roll out dates.
• Energy Performance Certificates for Dwellings in the Social and Private Rented Sectors: A guide for landlords (Communities and Local Government)
  This publication provides guidance to landlords in the social and private rented sectors to help them understand their responsibility for making energy performance certificates available when renting a property.
• A Guide to Generating Energy Performance Certificates for Similar Dwellings Owned by the Same Landlord (Communities and Local Government)
  The guidance will help landlords with multiple properties understand how to produce energy performance certificates for similar dwellings within their portfolio.
• Energy Performance Certificates and Renting Homes: A tenant's guide (Communities and Local Government)
  This booklet gives advice to tenants on energy performance certificates.
• Energy Performance Certificates and Renting Homes: A landlord's guide (Communities and Local Government)
  This booklet gives advice to landlords on energy performance certificates, which will be required if renting to a new tenant from 1 October 2008. 

Air-conditioning Inspections

• Air-conditioning Inspections Video (Communities and Local Government)
  This video provides practical information on having a building's energy assessed.
• Improving the Energy Efficiency of Our Buildings: A guide to air-conditioning inspections for buildings (Communities and Local Government)
  This guide is intended to help air-conditioning managers understand how the directive and regulations work in practice, how to apply the regulations, what their responsibilities are and when air conditioning inspections are required.
• Improving the Energy Efficiency of Our Homes and Buildings: Energy certificates and air-conditioning inspections for buildings (Communities and Local Government)
  This booklet gives advice on the range of initiatives being introduced by January 2009 to help improve the energy efficiency of buildings and meet the UK's carbon emissions targets.
• Local Weights and Measures Guidance for Energy Certificates and Air-conditioning Inspections for Buildings (Communities and Local Government)
  This manual describes the requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive on energy performance certificates and air-conditioning inspections. It is intended for local enforcement agencies, particularly weights and measures authorities.

Related links

• Energy Performance of Buildings (Communities and Local Government)
  These pages provide information on measures being introduced in England and Wales to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. They include introducing energy performance certificates for properties, requiring public buildings to display energy certificates, requiring inspections for air conditioning systems and giving advice and guidance for boiler users.
• Display Energy Certificates (Communities and Local Government)
  Display energy certificates show the actual energy usage of a building, the operational rating, and help the public see the energy efficiency of a building. This gives more information.
• Energy Performance Certificates (Communities and Local Government)
  This page gives information on energy performance certificates, which will be required for all homes whenever built, rented or sold. The certificate records how energy efficient a property is as a building and provides A-G ratings. These are similar to the labels now provided with domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines.
• Home Information Packs website (Directgov and Business Link)
  This website is designed to give those in the industry more information on the home information packs that are designed to improve the process of buying and selling a home.
• Energy Saving Trust (Guest contributor)
  This website provides practical energy efficiency advice for homes.
• Carbon Trust (Guest contributor)
  This website provides practical energy advice for businesses.

Archived information

• Evaluation of the Energy Performance Certificate Pilot for Social Housing: Final summary report (Communities and Local Government)
  This publication evaluates the pilot scheme developed to support the roll-out of energy performance certificates to rented properties, in particular social housing.
• Requirements for Energy Performance Certificates When Marketing Commercial (Non-domestic) Properties for Sale or Let (Communities and Local Government)
  This guide describes the scope and requirements of the regulations applying to energy performance certificates when non-domestic properties are being sold or let and provides guidance on how these should be applied.
• National Calculation Methodology Modelling Guide (for Buildings Other than Dwellings in England and Wales) (Communities and Local Government)
  This publication gives guidance on the use of the simplified building energy model and other approved software when preparing energy performance certificates.
• Display Energy Certificate Software Specification (Communities and Local Government)
  This manual describes the software specification for producing display energy certificates.
• Specification for Software to Generate the Advisory Report Using the Database of Measures and Payback Periods (Communities and Local Government)
  This manual describes the software specification for producing advisory reports for display energy certificates.
• Impact Assessment: The next steps - Energy performance certificates and the establishment of the Green Homes Service (Communities and Local Government)
  This document looks at the impact of measures to widen access to energy performance certificate registers.  
• Regulatory Impact Assessment: Energy Performance of Buildings Directive - Articles 7-10 (Communities and Local Government)
  This regulatory impact assessment considers the potential impact of the implementation of articles 7 to 10 of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. There are links to spreadsheets containing estimating calculations supporting the assessment for domestic and non-domestic energy performance certificates, display energy certificates in public buildings, domestic and non-domestic boiler advice and air-conditioning inspections.

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