Display Energy Certificate

Display Energy Certificate

Since October 2008 legislation has required all public buildings over 1,000 sq. m. to display a certificate in a prominent position. Within the definition of public buildings are council offices, libraries, courts, schools, hospitals and leisure centres.  The legislation also applies to buildings occupied by companies and organisations that receive public funding.

The requirement for a DEC (Display Energy Certificate) currently only applies to public buildings.  However, revisions to the current European legislation may eventually require all commercial properties that are visited by the public to also have a DEC on display.

For a DEC to be valid, a current Advisory Report also has to be produced. A DEC is valid for one year and an Advisory Report is valid for 7 years.

DECs work out a building’s rating based on energy used and continue to track usage each year so comparisons can be made and performance reviewed. It is currently one of the best measures available for carbon foot printing.