Under UK energy efficiency regulations, all air conditioning systems in buildings with a cooling capacity of over 12kW should have been inspected – but fewer than 5% actually have been, according to Bob Towse, head of technical and safety at the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES). This means that the vast majority of such systems have been in breach of the law for at least two years.
Plus: energy efficiency and cost savings
“Apart from the potential legal penalties, building owners and managers are missing out on the energy efficiency benefits that are flagged up by the inspections,” said Mr Towse.
All air conditioning systems put in place on or after 1 January 2008 should have been inspected within five years of installation, with older systems over 250kW output inspected by January 2009, and other systems above 12kW inspected by January 2011.
“Very few building owners are even aware of their legal responsibility, while local authorities – who are charged with enforcing this law – are not doing a great job of it,” Mr Towse pointed out.
Mandatory air conditioning inspections were brought in under the implementation of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), with “compulsory lodgement” of the reports through the Government’s non-domestic energy performance certificate register being introduced two years ago.
However, the Government has since doubled the cost of lodgement, and there have been problems with the software imposed on certification bodies by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
Whilst the risk is low of a fine for ignoring the requirement, therefore, so too is the likelihood that your air conditioning equipment is running inefficiently. With energy prices continuing to increase, this will not help hospitality businesses to save or cut running costs.