News & Updates

E-Newsletter August 2015

Dear Colleague,

Renewals

We will be writing to you shortly about your renewal invoices.  I hope that most of you will want to continue to identify yourself as experts in the energy efficiency field, particularly those of you that represent an oasis of expertise in the desert that is the energy certification market.  Please remember that this is an opportunity for us to check that all of your details are in order so we might ask you for missing items such as photographs or up to date PII/PLI details before sending out your ID card and Certificate of Competence.

Please note that although the CIBSE website shows your registration fees and provides you with an option to pay, we will be making the above checks and therefore will not be issuing ID cards and certificates to anyone that has maintenance items missing.  Those who do have maintenance items missing will be suspended.

CPD audit

I am pleased to report that the result of our CPD audit this year revealed that there were fewer people that had not recorded their CPD activity compared to the previous year.  It was disappointing however, that many of you had not recorded your objectives.  It might seem a bit obvious, but when you are conducting CPD activity you should have a reason for doing it that is a bit more meaningful to demonstrate 21 hours.  If the 21 hours that you have done was aimless, it doesn't really demonstrate your commitment to maintaining your competence.  This might seem to be a bit of a technicality, but we want to be able to demonstrate that you are the best, not just say that you are the best.

ESOS

State of business – I am taking every opportunity to ask people how their strike rate is with ESOS enquiries, and I am getting more and more people telling me that enquiries are turning into instructions.  This is obviously good news.  It is certainly not my role to advise you how to run your businesses, but I would hope that if you are getting to the point that you need help with delivery of ESOS work, that you turn to our ESOS Register to find that help. The Environment Agency have issued newsletter number 4 which you can see here.

ESOS Europe report

I have had a lot of people asking about ESOS across Europe as they have clients with operations in more than one country.  A report has been published summarising how different member states have implemented ESOS. 
Download Report

There is good news and bad news on this.  In Ireland, membership of a UK ESOS register along with a relevant first degree and experience is required, but you need to be on the register in Ireland.  Details can be found here and an application form can be downloaded here.

For the rest it looks like individual applications are required with no standard recognition of your UK registration.  It does look as though most countries are recognising ISO 50001, or in some cases appropriate ISO 14001 systems, so this could be the best approach for companies operating in more than one European country.

QA Feedback for DEC Assessors

We have been reviewing audit results and noticed that there is a commonly occurring theme with non-compliant DEC audits. It seems that a lot of you are not remembering to check the DEC Conventions document.  If you are only coming to this once a year this is perhaps understandable and hence this reminder.  There is a short DEC convention document and importantly it described the way that you need to confirm floor areas when your DEC requires you to make a site visit.  Whichever evidence method you use you are always required to make your own check measurements on site to confirm the accuracy of any information that you have been given.  For a quick refresher, you can find the DEC convention document here.

F-gas

Although as air conditioning inspectors you are not necessarily engaged in f-gas reporting, you are expected to make reference to f-gas requirements in your reports.  The way that thresholds at which leak checks should be made have changed and the information on these requirements and how to apply them are available from a number of sources.  I have included a summary of this below.  Thanks to Andy Hawes, one of our Air Conditioning Inspectors for pulling this together.

According to www.gov.uk/f-gas-in-refrigeration-air-conditioning-and-fire-protection-systems

The thresholds at which leak check intervals are specified are expressed in terms of CO₂ equivalent.

They take into account both the quantity of F gas in the equipment and the 'global warming potential' of the F gas (how much the F gas contributes to global warming).

This table sets out the:

• F gas thresholds, in tonnes CO₂ equivalent, at which leak check intervals are specified
• maximum allowed interval between leaks checks for equipment that meets each threshold
• quantities of commonly used HFCs equal to each threshold

www.gov.uk/calculate-the-carbon-dioxide-equivalent-quantity-of-an-f-gas

You calculate the carbon dioxide equivalent of a quantity of F gas by multiplying the mass of the gas (in tonnes), by the gas' global warming potential (GWP).

You'll usually find the mass of an F gas expressed in kilograms (kg) on product labels etc. To convert the mass to tonnes, divide by 1,000.

Global warming potentials for F gases are listed in the table of F gases regulated by the EU.

You can also find global warming potentials for the gases which have record keeping requirements under the EU regulation.

Example calculation

The amount in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent is the mass (in tonnes) of F gas multiplied by the GWP of that F gas.

For example, the global warming potential of HFC 404A is 3,922. Therefore the tonnes CO₂ equivalent of 10kg of HFC 404a is calculated as follows:

1. Mass (in tonnes) of F gas multiplied by GWP of F gas
2. = (10/1,000) * 3,922
3. = 39.2 tonnes CO₂ equivalent

Building Regulations on-line

The number of you that have delayed demonstrating your understanding of the 2013 Building Regulations Part L is now small, perhaps waiting, in vain as it turns out, for the 2016 Regulations.  We will not be able to issue a new Certificate of Competence in September to anyone that hasn't successfully completed this assessment.  The assessment is still available online and costs £40 + VAT, you can book the assessment here.  This assessment is being moved to a new server in September and will not be available between 1^st and 14^th September.

It is hoped that the previously reported online learning package will be available during August for those of you that would like a bit of help in preparing for the assessment.  Details of how to do this will be posted on the CIBSE Training and Events website as soon as it becomes available.

Scotland

There have been some minor amendments to the Building Regulations in Scotland. You can view the SI here.

50001

We are getting very close to completing our assessment for accreditation to certify Energy Management Systems.  The number of 50001 certificates issued globally is growing steeply, not quite exponentially, and the report on implementation of ESOS across Europe identified above illustrates why this is happening.  I think that most companies operating across Europe will come to the conclusion that the simplest way to maintain ESOS compliance going forward will be to introduce Energy Management Systems and get them certified.  The benefits of such a system is likely to make ESOS compliance self-funding.  To reflect our move into this area of certification activity I am planning to re-structure our LCC EMS strand to reflect the roles associated with ISO 50001.  Watch this space for further information as this develops.

In the meantime for those of you already engaged with clients to develop Energy Management Systems, we are open to receiving applications for certification now.  Application information can be found here.

Heat Network Consultants Register

CIBSE have launched CP1, Heat Networks: A Code of Practice for the UK.  In support of the strategy to make this the lead document for all Heat Network installations, CIBSE Certification are operating a register for people that have demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of the use of the Code of Practice.  Details of the register can be found here.

And finally, those of you that have been following EPBD related developments this year may be interested in an article by CIBSE's Technical Director, Hywel Davies, in the August CIBSE Journal.

Kind regards

Andrew Geens
Head of CIBSE Certification