Responsibilities for displaying a DEC
Under this legislation it is the responsibility of every occupier of a building affected by these regulations to:
- display a valid DEC in a prominent place clearly visible to the public at all times
- have in their possession or control a valid advisory report which conveys recommendations to improve the building’s energy performance
This must be done for each of the buildings affected.
Producing DECs
An energy assessor, accredited to produce DECs, is the only person who can produce a DEC and advisory report for your building. It is acceptable for employees to produce DECs provided they meet the standards of and are accepted by an accreditation scheme.
Firstly the energy consumption data provided will be reviewed by the energy assessor in line with the approved methodology. Under certain conditions, the methodology allows adjustments to be made for longer hours of occupation, variations to weather and climate and allows certain activities to be separated if they are not typical of the type of building (separable energy uses).
The carbon dioxide emissions for the certificate are based on the adjusted energy consumption and adjusted total useful floor area and building type to give a measured CO2 emission per square metre.
The energy assessor will then use an approved tool to calculate the operational rating and produce a DEC and advisory report from the information gathered in line with the approved methodology.
To produce the first DEC and advisory report, the energy assessor must visit the site. In subsequent years the DEC and advisory report can be based on previous knowledge of the building, provided that:
- they are being produced by the same assessor; and
- a declaration that nothing has changed has been provided by the building occupant
The DEC and advisory report must be lodged on the national register and given a unique certificate reference number.
Energy assessors must act in an independent manner – this is ensured by their membership of an approved accreditation scheme. Energy assessors are responsible for conducting an energy assessment, producing a DEC and advisory report and lodging the DEC and advisory report with their accreditation scheme.
The accreditation scheme is responsible for checking and lodging certificates on the national register. Accreditation schemes are also responsible for monitoring the quality of the certificates energy assessors produce.
Once an energy assessor has been commissioned to produce a DEC and advisory report, there are 3 main steps to performing the assessment, which are:
- gathering the relevant information (dimensions, energy meter readings and building energy services)
- entering the information into an approved software (operational rating methodology) program
- the software producing the certificate and the advisory report for the building
The energy assessor then submits the certificate and advisory report to their accreditation body for lodgement on the government’s register and provides the building occupier with a copy.
Collecting the information required for a DEC
The occupier, in collaboration with the energy assessor, will need to obtain actual meter readings or consignment notes for all fuels used in the buildings that are affected by this legislation. This may include gas fuels, oil fuels, solid fuels, district heating and cooling, grid electricity and electricity generated on site or obtained by private distribution systems from other sites.
For district heating and cooling and electricity generated on site, or obtained by private distribution systems from other sites, the average carbon factor for the fuel over the accounting period will need to be obtained e.g. in kg of carbon dioxide per kWh delivered.
You can obtain the information required to produce a DEC from a number of sources:
- on-site energy meters
- the building landlord or representative[footnote 2]
- the utility supplier
- the district heating / cooling provider
The calculation of the operational rating is based on annual energy consumption, which means the energy consumed over the period of one calendar year (365 days). Ideally all energies are metered over the same one-year period.
For more information on assessment and measurement periods, please see the Government methodology for producing operational ratings, display energy certificates and advisory reports.
A team of people can work on gathering the information for an energy assessment as long as they are working under the direction of an accredited energy assessor. The accredited energy assessor must ensure that anyone visiting a property or gathering information on their behalf is both fit and proper and suitably qualified to gather the information. Only accredited energy assessors can produce and lodge DECs.
An accredited energy assessor may use data previously collected about a building. They must, however, be satisfied that any data about a building has been properly collected and accurately reflects the building as they will be responsible for any data used to produce a DEC.