2015 is the year when the first wave of TM44 Surveys will need to be undertaken once again as part of any Companies TM44 renewal programme. The Legislation came in during 2009 for buildings with over 250kW of output but the main date which will affect these Air Conditioning Assessment Renewals will be January 2015. Clients should be mindful that the size of the systems within one building (cumulative) dropped to 12kW on 1st January 2010, so the 5 years that ACI Certificates are valid for are now due up.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey has this week guaranteed businesses’ energy audits will go to “the people who need to hear it”.

Speaking to businesses at one of the Energy Saving Opportunities Scheme (ESOS) roadshows in London, he said the audits will be seen by board members.

He said: “One of the whole purposes of ESOS is to try to give the information to the people who need to hear it.

TM44 Air Conditioning Inspections which were commenced in 2009 (250kw and above) have all become due once again in 2014 as part of the 5 year renewal process, and now as we approach 2015 those clients who were compliant before the 12kw deadline of 30th December 2009 should be planning their renewal programme. ACI Reports undertook many AC reports (TM44s) in those early days when Air Conditioning Inspections (ACIRs)first started and our client base has continually grown ever since. Many smaller “one man band” Assessors have fallen by the wayside, as predicted, and no longer offer an AC inspection service. ACI Reports have also long pointed out to clients that the old CIBSE “Word” type documents have been done away with, and there is only one way to comply and that is using the Landmark Register and their own Landmark DCLG software.

Coleraine in Northern Ireland is the next big push on TM44 Enforcement as ACI Reports can confirm that two of our large portfolio High Street clients have received notices in the district this last month. TM44 non-compliance notices are not something new in NI, there were a spate of them two years ago, mainly in Belfast. ACI Reports undertook a batch of emergency TM44 inspections at that time and are now doing the same in the Coleraine area.

A number of companies will already have their energy use audited under schemes such as ISO50001, which is likely to bring this ratio down.

However some industry figures are sceptical all firms will get ESOS compliant in time for the deadline, 31 December 2015.

On Friday, Chief Commercial Officer at energy consultancy Inenco, Dave Cockshott warned of “a significant risk that demand for assessors with expert sector knowledge could outstrip the numbers currently available”. ACI Reports think this is incorrect, the lead Assessor role is being overstated, it’s the building survey issue that will cause delays due to inaction.

As at September 2014 none are properly qualified, despite what is being touted around the internet, the training courses are not fully set yet and the TM (Technical Manual) has not been released by the Environment Agency, so the courses cannot know the detail of what is required. Talk to Chris Rodgers at ACI Reports and we will give you facts and proposed dates for launch.

Who’s going to carry out my ESOS audit?

ADECS, CRC, EU ETS, CCAs, TM44s, Energy Act 2018 and now ESOS – that’s a lot of Legislation to get your head round!

Each of these schemes calls for an understanding of energy consumption in some form or other. But with ISO 50001 being recognised internationally as the best practice method for managing energy, having a certified EnMS will put you in a great position to comply with these and any other future schemes. Its expensive though, and on-going. ACI Reports cuts through all that complex stuff to make things simple, reports Jack Davies.

ACI can report that on 27th June, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced the results of its consultation for the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), which includes using registered lead energy assessors, which ACI Reports can provide. ESOS is the UK’s way to implement Article 8 of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, and introduces mandatory energy audits for non-SMEs. ESOS is expected to result in cost benefits of £1.6bn to the 9,400 participating businesses.

ACI Reports are able to reveal that the revision of ISO 14001, the international environmental management system standard, is set to progress to the next stage with the latest “overwhelmingly positive” ballot on the latest draft. This brings in more Environmental influence and will mean that more ISO14001 Auditors will pull up Companies that do not have a TM44 Air Conditioning Inspection on all their air conditioning equipment, leading to Air Conditioning Assessments being in place.