OWNERS of buildings in South Africa have seven months left to obtain and publicly display an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — or risk a fine of R5-million, five years imprisonment or both.
According to new regulations for the mandatory display of Energy Performance Certificates, it is the building owners’ responsibility to publicly display an EPC at the entrance to their buildings within two years of the regulations coming into effect. The new regulations were promulgated in the Government Gazette on December 8, 2020.
Given the limited time afforded to building owners to comply with the regulations, the South African National Energy Development Institute has defined the process and developed tools and guidelines for efficient implementation.
The new legislation affects public buildings over 1 000m² and private buildings over 2 000m².
To assist building owners comply with the new requirements, consulting engineering and infrastructure advisory firm Zutari is offering its experience to assist clients through the process. With deep expertise in building services, including building management systems and environmentally sustainable design, Zutari can assist clients with the most pressing requirements, such as transitioning to a low-carbon economy, policy and legal compliance, and digital transformation.
“We offer a wide-range of services from design and construction supervision through to commissioning, building tuning, energy analysis, digital twining and strategy development for net-zero carbon, water and waste performance,” said Zutari’s Yovka Raytcheva-Schaap (pictured) .
Zutari offers both upstream and downstream assistance with the EPC process.
Upstream assistance includes:
- Identify and verify eligible buildings from the portfolio.
- Obtain records and confirm performance period, occupancy type, occupied area, energy sources, and energy consumption over the performance period.
- Calculation of preliminary performance and rating.
- Submit packaged building’s data to the independent inspection body for verification and issuing of certificate.
Downstream assistance includes:
- Automation of data collection and verification via the building management system for subsequent EPC ratings (implementation of a simple digital twin).
- Identify interventions for improving of energy performance towards net-zero carbon.
- Implement interventions – design and installation supervision.
