Supporting your sustainability targets with Display Energy Certificates (DECs)

To find out more about what DECs are and how they can benefit your estate, keep reading below.

What is a Display Energy Certificate (DEC)?

A Display Energy Certificate (DEC) provides information on the energy performance and efficiency of a public building in the UK and forms part of the government’s initiative to improve energy efficiency of buildings by aiming to provide a greater awareness about energy consumption.

DECs are mandatory for public buildings that have a total floor area greater than 250sqm and that are frequently visited by the public. This includes community and healthcare centres, offices, hospitals, schools, town halls, leisure centres, and libraries.

Each certificate includes an overall energy rating based on the energy consumption of the building over the previous 12 months and requires updating annually to help track energy-efficiency year-to-year.

How are buildings graded?

Buildings are given an Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) which is graded on a scale from A to G (A being the most energy-efficient and G the least).

This rating is based on the performance of a building and its fixed services, such as heating and lighting. The energy efficiency of windows and doors and insulation will also contribute to the overall rating, as well as the age of a property.

How can our DEC Approved Surveyors support your estate?

Our surveyors Sarah Berry and Karam Sandher are both DEC Approved, which means they can support you by providing DEC certification and accompanying ‘Recommendation Reports’ (RRs).

RRs provide valuable insight and guidance on where improvements can be made to the operational performance to your commercial buildings, which is particularly useful if your estate has been graded to at the lower end of the A-G rating, as actioning this advice has the potential to dramatically reduce energy bills.

RRs typically include guidance about:

• Where experts could be engaged to review the condition of the building or suggest remedial works and upgrades
• Efficient utilisation of mechanical and electrical equipment on site
• Improvements to the building fabric
• Where renewable energy systems may be introduced to reduce carbon emissions.

Our experience

Our building consultancy teams have supported the maintenance of current DECs and RRs at:

• Primary and secondary schools in Stockport
• Bolton Council owned buildings, such as community and healthcare centres, schools, office spaces, town halls and libraries
• Schools and colleges across Manchester, Cheshire and West Yorkshire

If you would like any more information on DECs, please get in touch on here or you can also find out more about our building consultancy teams by visiting our building consultancy page.