| ACCREDITATION |
All Energy Assessors need to be members of an Accreditation Scheme before they can issue EPCs, DECs or Advisory Reports. Your accreditation is assurance for your clients that you are competent to do the job, professional and properly insured.
ECMK is one of only four organisations approved by the government to manage Accreditation Schemes for all five strands of energy assessment, for:
- Existing dwellings
- New-build dwellings
- Commercial buildings
- Public buildings
- Air-conditioning systems
The ECMK Accreditation Schemes also provides you with approved software to produce and lodge EPCs etc., technical support, ongoing training and a quality assurance process so that clients can rely on your work. We can also arrange Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance on a "pay-per-EPC" basis.
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| EXISTING DWELLINGS - DOMESTIC ENERGY ASSESSORS |
| Accredited DEAs can issue EPCs for existing dwellings. Currently this is required for all dwellings marketed for sale – dwellings for rental will require an EPC from 1 October 2008. ECMK DEAs use our EPC Reporter and Pocket EPC software packages to produce the EPCs, lodging them to Landmark through the EPC Manager portal. |
| NEW-BUILD DWELLINGS - ON-CONSTRUCTION ENERGY ASSESSORS |
| Accredited OCEAs produce EPCs for new dwellings at the point of construction. This is based on an assessment using the SAP methodology, already used to show compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations. The EPC will be required for all new dwellings from 6 April 2008. Currently we offer accreditation for users of JPA Design software but we expect to offer other software systems in the near future. |
| COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS - NON-DOMESTIC ENERGY ASSESSORS |
Accredited NDEAs produce EPCs for commercial buildings, offices, shops, factories etc. These will require an EPC when sold, rented or built and are being phased in during 2008 – buildings over 10,000 sq m floor area from 6 April, over 2,500 sq m from 1 July and the rest from 1 October. NDEAs can be accredited at three levels:
- Level 3 NDEAs are accredited to assess smaller, simpler existing buildings, with “frequently occurring” features, heating systems less than 100 kW and natural ventilation or simple comfort cooling systems. This will include most small shop and office units. Level 3 NDEAs will carry out assessments using the SBEM methodology.
- Level 4 NDEAs can assess larger and more complex or unusual buildings and new buildings, which can be assessed using the SBEM methodology.
- Level 5 NDEAs can assess the most complex buildings, which require the use of a Dynamic Simulation Model (DSM) rather than SBEM.
We offer accreditation at Level 3 and 4 using three SBEM software packages, iSBEM, Design Builder and Hevacomp and hope to add further software options in the near future. Applicants at Level 5 should call the Accreditation Team to discuss their DSM software options.
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| PUBLIC BUILDINGS - DEC ASSESSORS |
| By 1 October 2008, all publically owned buildings over 1,000 sq m floor area and with substantial access to the public, will require a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) each year, which must be displayed. Every seven years, they will also require an Advisory Report (AR) indicating areas in which they could make energy savings. Accredited DEC Assessors will produce the DECs and ARs. DEC Assessors will use a public domain software package ORCALC, which we will supply. |
| AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEMS - AIR-CONDITIONING ENERGY ASSESSORS |
Air-conditioning systems will require an inspection by an Accredited ACEA. Systems over 250kW must have had their first assessment by 4 January 2009, those over 12kW by 4 January 2011. We offer accreditation at two levels:
- Level 1 (for small, simple systems)
- Level 2 (for more complex systems)
You can join an ECMK Accreditation Scheme by two routes:
- The APEL route for experienced energy assessors
- The Qualification route for those new to the role
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| APEL ROUTE |
The APEL route (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) has been developed specifically for very experienced practitioners – if you have been carrying out energy assessments for a number of years, APEL is probably the option for you. You will need to produce evidence of your past work and evidence that you meet the criteria to be an accredited assessor – we will assess the evidence, advise you if there are gaps in your skills that you need to complete, and finally welcome you into the Scheme.
If you think that APEL will be of benefit to you, you should have a preliminary discussion with ECMK or complete the contact form below. It would be helpful if, when talking to ECMK you have to hand information about yourself and your background (for example a current curriculum vitae).
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| QUALIFICATION ROUTE |
| If you don’t have the necessary experience, the Qualification route is open to you. You will need to gain a nationally-recognised award as an energy assessor – awards are currently available for energy assessors of existing dwellings, new-build dwellings, and commercial buildings and an award for public buildings assessors will be available very shortly. ECMK is an ABBE-approved Assessment Centre and can take you through the training, practice and assessment required to gain any of these awards. We accept an appropriate award as simple evidence of your competence to join an ECMK Accreditation Scheme |
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