Under Regulation 8 of the European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2006 – 2008, which transposed Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings (known as the EPBD) into Irish law, each public body was required, in relation to a building it occupied which had a total useful floor area greater than 1,000 m2, to secure and display a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) the purpose of which was to illustrate the building’s operational energy use. The DEC was valid for a period of 12 months and needed to be updated and renewed on an annual basis.
Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings (recast) repealed and replaced the original Directive and is transposed in Ireland by the European Union (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2012 which came into effect on 9 January 2013. Under the new regime, the requirement in respect of DECs is revised to include all buildings with a total useful floor area of greater than 500 m2 and which are frequently visited by the public. The floor area threshold is to be reduced to 250 m2 from 9 July 2015 for buildings occupied by public bodies.
Under the DEC scheme, buildings are assessed by appropriately qualified assessors who have registered with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Having regard to a building’s actual energy consumption in the preceding 12 months, a rating scale of A to G applies, with A-rated buildings being most energy efficient and G-rated buildings least efficient. No minimum energy rating is specified but it is anticipated that building owners will take steps to improve a building’s performance over time, particularly where the potential for cost effective improvements exist.
Compliance with all statutory obligations, including DEC requirements, under the European Union (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2012 is, first and foremost, the responsibility of building owners or, in the case of public bodies, the administrative head of each public body. Public bodies have been notified of their statutory obligations by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland which has been designated as the Issuing Authority under the Regulations and is responsible for the day to day administration of the DEC scheme. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland report that there are currently in the region of 60 valid DECs in place.
An EPBD Implementation Group meets on a regular basis to monitor progress in relation to the ongoing implementation of the recast EPBD in Ireland, to oversee the operation of the Building Energy Rating scheme and to co-ordinate and plan for future developments in relation to the energy performance of buildings. The EPBD Implementation Group is comprised of officials from my Department, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. While the primary focus over recent months has been on bedding down the changes introduced under the recast EPBD, it is envisaged that the emphasis going forward will be focus to a greater extent on implementation and compliance which will result in the publication of more DECs.
