Independent Energy Assessors Ltd (IEA) announces the launch of a sister organisation called E Advantage Ltd.

E Advantage Ltd will be the new proposition to market for Energy Management Systems to the standard BS EN 16001 and Environmental Management Systems to the standard ISO 14001 from IEA.

Demand on IEA for these standards is growing and given the current market positioning which primarily focuses on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. (EPBD), means there is a need for a new offering and identity to the market for the provision of these services.

E Advantage is set to help businesses of all sizes with implementation and compliance to these standards, by providing a unique commercial approach to environmental issues, helping businesses to pull their environmental achievements through to their marketing and brand. Securing existing markets and discovering new business opportunities.

Visit E Advantage at www.e-advantage.co.uk for more information.

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IEA are able to procuce Energy Perfomance Certificates across Buckinghamshire and indeed for commercial properties we offer national coverage. We are able to provide free compliance advise to companies and individuals. We specialise in assessing the energy perfomance of all buildings, both commercial or residential properties. To take advantage and obtain free compliance advice and a quotation call us on 01280 812909.

IEA are now able to produce Land Registry compliant Lease Plans for our clients.

Lease plans are now required by Land Registry under Rule 24 LRR 2003. The plans must be drawn to specific rules laid down by Land Registry and submitted with the appropriate completed forms.

Let us know if you would like to know more about this service, we offer competitive rates and where we are instructed to produce an EPC at the same time discount those rates and produce your Lease Plan in one visit to the property.

Our environmental credentials extend well beyond producing EPCs. IEA can also produce environmental policies and environmental management systems (EMS). The aim of EMS is help a business manage their environmental impact through their trading activities and demonstrate this in accordance with ISO standard 14001. Once this is in place an functioning they can achieve this ISO accreditation. The benefits do not stop at achieving the accreditation, but implementing an EMS helps to reduce the running costs of the business through efficiencies made in almost every department and area. The system is managed using a web based software application that makes management reporting and accreditation easy.

Businesses are constantly striving to maintain their competitive advantage, holding their market share and keeping costs under control. EMS is a great additional tool in the box through which these things can be achieved.

If you are considering implementing an environmental policy or system then we can help. Call us to talk through the benefits to your business and the environment of having a robust easy to use system.

I have two buildings exactly the same why are the EPC ratings different?

This is a situation that crops up from time to time when we have assessed ‘sister’ industrial units with the same or very similar building design and layout.

One of the factors assessors take into consideration is the activities that occur within a building. When we model a building for an epc we assign specific activities, such as office, meeting room, toilet, industrial process area, workshops, warehouse ECT. Each activity has a different impact on the rating, so where two buildings are the same, the activities may not be. For example if we compare an office with a meeting room, the software model assumes less activity for a meeting room as it is likely to used less than an office and so emits less C0² producing a better rating for exactly the same floor space.

There is currently a wide ranging review of commercial EPCs being conducted by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG). With particular emphasis on the quality of work being delivered by assessors and the subsequent accuracy of any EPC lodged.

IEA welcome this review as we have always strived to put quality before price. We always use fully qualified assessors who visit every site in person and are responsible from start to finish for the EPC undertaken.

The review will take the form of a report which will be ready in the autumn of this year and we will keep you posted on any changes in practise that may be recommended.

We continue to receive many enquiries for compliance advice in connection with commercial EPCs and we are always ready to help with interpreting government guidance in this area. Generally interpretations can vary widely given the fact that these are new regulations and it is up to each assessor to decide what is the best course of action to recommend to their clients. The guidance issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG), can sometimes be difficult to understand, but we here at IEA have now had considerable experience with a wide range of scenarios ranging from buildings scheduled and then rescued from demolition. To small shops that are less than 50m2 that are not detached but still need an EPC and building of low energy demand that do not need an EPC.

IEA Ltd recently completed an assessment of a monster site in South Yorkshire for their client Willowbrite Ltd whose own client HSI UK Active Property Fund - Audby are actively seeking a buyer. The site comprised a prestigious 4 storey 31,000 sq ft, rain screened office block with complex air handling services throughout the building and a further 5 industrial buildings ranging from 103,000 sq ft to 6,000 sq ft with varying degrees of complexity.

The total for the whole site amounted to over 300,000 sq ft and was on 5.25 hectares!

When asked to comment on the assessment Tom Whelan said it’s a great site to have won, although it presents a number of challenges. There are both level 3 and level 4 buildings on the site, some having scale plans and others not. With a wide variety of Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning we need to be careful to ensure we get the best rating for each individual building, as each building is important no matter how big or small it is.