Non Domestic EPC Recommendations

Updated guidance has been issued to Accreditation Schemes by DLUCH via the Conventions Group relating to the recommendations on Non-Domestic EPCs. Accreditation Schemes have been requested to pass this information on to their assessors.

Once an assessment has been completed and the building rating has been obtained, the recommendations produced by the software for the report MUST be edited. Only recommendations relevant to the building being assessed must be included in the published report. Recommendations that are technically not feasible must be removed. However, recommendations must not be excluded on cost grounds alone as stakeholders must be enabled to make any decisions regarding these options for themselves. In determining the technically feasibility, consideration must also be given to changing legislative requirements. For example, products banned by UK law cannot be considered technically feasible and any recommendations suggesting these must be removed or updated.

Additionally, assessors are encouraged to make their own recommendations where they identify opportunities for energy efficiency improvements within the building during their site visits. This is particularly relevant where upgrades to systems and/or controls are not included in the standard recommendations. Commonly occurring examples may include opportunities to upgrade lighting controls and/or to switch to modern high efficiency LED lighting.

As with Display Energy Certificates(DECs) where this has been common practice for some time, care must be taken to word any added recommendation appropriately. All recommendations must be worded to encourage further investigation by the stake holder and not as any instruction to carry out works. For example, phrases like "Consult with experts to identify improvements to ..... ", "Consider ....."and "It is recommended that ....." are encouraged. Care should be employed to ensure an appropriate level of profession language is used together with accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar.

When editing recommendations, the comments box must be used to explain the reasoning for adding, removing or editing any recommendation where this is carried out. The explanation should provide sufficient information for any future audit as to why the amendment has been made. Please note that these comments are included in the supplementary reports produced by the software and therefore are potentially available to external stake holders.