New standard for the competency levels of energy assessors
3 July 2014
BSI, the business standards company has been sponsored by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to develop PAS 51215, Energy efficiency assessment – Competency of a lead energy assessor – Specification.
In response to Article 8 of the European Union Energy Efficiency Directive which came into force in November 2012, the UK government set up the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS). The directive states that each member state must introduce a programme whereby large enterprises conduct regular energy efficiency audits by appropriately qualified and/or accredited individuals.
However, the competency level of the assessors, whether they are in-house experts or external resources such as consultants and energy service providers, needs to be assured. PAS 51215 can be used to safeguard the quality of the energy efficiency assessments being carried out.
PAS 51215 specifies requirements for the competencies necessary for a person deemed capable of conducting an energy efficiency assessment, leading an assessment team, and/or reviewing and approving the outcome of an organization-wide energy efficiency assessment, or series of energy efficiency assessments.
Benefits of PAS 51215:
- Eases the uptake of energy efficiency assessments for large organizations
- Encourages other organizations, such as SMEs, to carry out energy efficiency assessments
- Provides a consistent way for lead energy assessors with the right competencies to be identified or trained
Application of PAS 51215:
- It applies to a lead energy assessor who might be working alone or leading an assessment team in completing an energy efficiency assessment. The energy efficiency assessment can be carried out on a building or group of buildings, industrial operations or installations and transport, which form a key part of an organizations’ energy consumption
- It does not cover the processes involved in carrying out an energy efficiency assessment or for identifying the scope of an individual energy efficiency assessment
David Fatscher Head of Market Development for Sustainability said: “Many of the challenges being faced by organizations today revolve around trust, and with that comes openness and transparency. The UK has picked up the gauntlet set down by the EU Directive, by developing PAS 51215. The competency of lead energy assessors might be a simple consideration, but it can have a massive impact on instilling confidence and trust when carrying out energy efficiency assessments. It means the outcomes of those assessments are accurate, true and can help business make the changes they need to grow more sustainably.”
PAS 51215 was developed using a consensus-based approach and some of the organizations involved were: Carbon Trust, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, Environment Agency, Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), Freight Transport Association.
The specification is aimed at those large organizations that will have to conduct energy efficiency audits and that might wish to use in-house staff with the relevant competencies or to contract people to carry out an energy efficiency assessment.
