AUDIT OF ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS DIRECTIVE (EPBD) ACCREDITATION SCHEMES

The requirement includes both a regular planned programme of audits of all Accreditation Schemes that have been approved by the Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the facility for bespoke audits either on an ad-hoc basis or on the basis of intelligence about the way that particular Accreditation Schemes are conducting their business. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) became part of legislation across all EU member states in December 2002. The purpose of the EPBD is to promote improvements in the energy performance of buildings throughout the European Union (EU) via a series of measures around the measurement and reporting of building energy performance, and the efficient maintenance of energy intensive Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning plant. In England and Wales, the implementation of the EPBD is managed by the Building Regulations and Energy Performance Division of DCLG, and has been implemented into law via the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2013/3118), as amended.

Some aspects of the EPBD require work to be carried out by accredited independent assessors. To enable this, a range of Accreditation Schemes (Schemes) have been approved by DCLG. These schemes offer training and accreditation of energy assessors to produce Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and Air Conditioning Inspection Reports (ACIRs).

The purpose of the Schemes is to ensure that consumers, and others who rely on energy certificates, have confidence in the quality, accuracy and consistency of assessment and their accompanying recommendations for cost-effective improvement.