Update: European Union (Energy Efficiency) Regulations 2014

Update: European Union (Energy Efficiency) Regulations 2014

ATTENTION!

1. Does your organisation employ more than 250 people directly?
2. Does your organisation have an annual turnover of more than €50 million per year and/or an annual balance sheet in excess of €43 million?
3. Are you a public body with individual buildings having a total useful floor area of more than 500m² or an annual energy spend of more than €35,000?

If you have answered ‘No’ to the above questions, this legislation is voluntary for your organisation.

However, if you have answered ‘Yes’ to any of the above questions, you must complete a high quality energy audit by the 5^th December 2015, notify SEAI once complete, and repeat this every four years thereafter.  Alternatively, you can have a certified ISO 50001 Energy Management System in place, which requires you to conduct regular energy audits to maintain certification.

These are the rules established in the recently published (October 2014) European Union (Energy Efficiency) Regulations 2014, which transpose Article 8 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU).

If your organisation meets the qualification criteria outlined, but is not fully covered by ISO 50001, you will need to conduct a high quality energy audit to comply with the Regulations.

These audits must include energy used by your buildings, industrial processes and transport to identify cost-effective energy saving measures.  The audits must sufficiently represent the overall energy performance of the organisation and the reliable identification of the most significant opportunities for improvement.

Audits are to be conducted with reference to the recently published ISO 50002:2014 or EN 16247 1-4.  Lead auditors conducting the audits must be members of the National Registration Scheme. For your audits, your organisation must:

1. Calculate its total consumption
2. Identify its areas of significant energy consumption
3. Appoint a registered energy auditor
4. Notify the SEAI
5. Keep records

In order to comply with the Regulations, the audits must:

1. Analyse the participant’s energy consumption and energy efficiency
2. Use life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) instead of Simple Payback Periods (SPP)
3. Contain detailed and validated calculations for the proposed measures to determine potential savings
4. Be based on up-to-date, measured, traceable operational data on energy consumption and (for electricity) load profiles

The organisation should be aware that if it does not meet its auditing obligations, for instance by failing to do the required audits or notify SEAI of compliance, it may be prosecuted by the SEAI and is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine.

Find out more about comprehensive lead auditor training necessary for you to conduct your own energy audits here.

Submitted by Ronan O’Sullivan, Antaris Consulting
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