Article

Air Conditioning Inspection

18-08-09 CIBSE

Building owners and operators are increasingly aware of their legal duty to have air conditioning systems inspected and there is now a growing market demand for inspectors. However, misleading information is rife. In order to ensure a high standard of inspections and to deliver good value inspection reports it is vital that the industry only employs suitably qualified, accredited and experienced inspectors, so that building operators can trust air conditioning inspection reports and get good value from them.

Since January 2009, air conditioning systems with a cooling capacity of 250 kW or more must have been inspected under the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations in England and Wales. Parallel regulations apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland. These regulations implement the inspection and energy certification requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. In addition, all systems over 12kW output will need to be inspected by January 2011.

The Regulations require these systems to be inspected by a competent and accredited person who belongs to a scheme approved by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG). There are several such schemes, one of which is operated by CIBSE Certification, which accredits air conditioning inspectors for both complex and simple systems. It is one of a range of Energy Assessor accreditations offered by CIBSE Certification in support of the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations. CIBSE also accredits inspectors to work in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so providing a truly nationwide coverage.

However, despite this requirement for only competent and accredited persons – there are growing concerns that inspections are being carried out by people who lack the experience needed to provide the required service.

CIBSE recently released a joint statement with the HVCA warning potential trainees that they may not be able to be accredited to work as air conditioning inspectors after undergoing certain training courses. A number of training organisations are now offering air conditioning inspector training based on a proposed ABBE diploma in air conditioning inspection although this diploma has not been accredited by either the Sector Skills Council or the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) as a suitable qualification for those seeking accreditation as air conditioning inspectors. This means that, by itself, this qualification will not prove the competence of those graduating, who therefore may not be able to take work providing air conditioning inspection reports.

CIBSE Chief Executive Stephen Matthews said: “In order to recognise, let alone suggest ways to improve the performance of the equipment used in complex air conditioning systems, you really have to have a good deal of experience. It is essential that clients can be sure that in getting an air conditioning report, they are getting something which is genuinely valuable. Air conditioning systems can use as much as 30% of the electrical demand of a building, so a poorly performing system will be wasting a large amount of energy.

“A really competent air conditioning inspector can therefore save significant amounts of energy, and money. We are very concerned that people with no experience of such systems will be persuaded to take this qualification in the expectation of future work which they will not, in fact, be competent to undertake.”

Air conditioning inspections offer a means to improve the performance of systems and deliver savings: in some cases CIBSE assessors have identified measures which repay the cost of the inspection within months, and then continue delivering real savings to the building operators.

As a Facilities Manager it is also important to be aware of the requirements for Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and Display Energy Certificates (DECs). Since 6 April 2008 Energy Performance EPCs have been required whenever a building is built, sold or rented, while public buildings over 1,000m2 and frequently visited by the public have needed to display a DEC since October 2008 (slightly different legislation applies to Scotland). These certificates must be produced by an accredited energy assessor such as those accredited by CIBSE Certification.

As with Air Conditioning Inspectors, there are concerns that many building owners & operators are choosing to have quick-fix EPCs produced and are prepared to cut corners in order to save money in the short term. But what about the long term? What appears to be a good deal can end up costing you in the future.

An EPC will give your building a grade between A and G and will be accompanied by a recommendations report which will make suggestions as to things you might do to improve the building’s grade.

Potential corner-cutting techniques used by some intermediaries and those offering cheaper certificates include:

Using energy assessors who meet the basic competence requirements, but with minimal experience of commercial buildings
Using unqualified or semi-trained data-gatherers to pull together or even process the information for the EPC.
Encouraging the energy assessor not to visit the site but to work from data only (to be supplied by you – beware hidden costs here)
Assuring you, and the assessor, that much information is simply not available - allowing them to quickly turn you out a Grade G certificate.
Producing a highly generic report using system defaults, which will be of absolutely no value to you for realising real energy and hence cost savings in your buildings.

To avoid these short cuts you should go to a firm you know or which has been recommended to you and avoid intermediaries. Assessors who are experienced in commercial buildings will not only provide you with the certificate you require, but can provide professional advice on ways to better manage the energy use in your building, and to deliver real energy savings. This approach has been shown to deliver real savings that repay the inspection costs and improve business performance, as well as fully meeting the legal requirements. For those businesses who are within the scope of the Carbon Reduction Commitment this will be an even more important issue from next year.

CIBSE Low Carbon Energy Assessors are accredited by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers as having additional competence in helping you reduce your energy bills and your carbon emissions. They now number over 1,000 and you can access them via www.cibsecertification.co.uk

Need more guidance? CIBSE Publications can help

· TM44: Inspection of Air Conditioning Systems gives guidance to inspectors on practical inspection procedures for assessing the energy performance of air-conditioning systems. It aims to identify ways to save energy, cut carbon emissions, and therefore reduce the damage to energy budgets in the current economic climate.

· TM47: Operational Ratings and Display Energy Certificates provides guidance on the requirements for DECs, along with guidance on their preparation, including what information is needed, who can produce them, what software should be used and what must be done to display them.

· Energy and Carbon Emissions Regulations: A Guide to Implementation sets out the legislative, regulatory and planning mechanisms created by Government in order to reduce the energy use and carbon emissions from the UK construction and property sector.

· Guide L: Sustainability part of a Sustainability Toolkit comprising Guide L, Introduction to Sustainability and Online Tool to help you take the necessary steps to ensure your buildings and building projects are genuinely sustainable.

For more information please visit www.cibse.org/bookshop