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Elmhurst has launched two exciting new membership categories: Associate and Students. Our Associate membership is available for individuals such as builders, developers, architects, managers of existing energy assessors, companies who allocate work to assessors, and generally all those involved with the construction of buildings. Associate members will receive regular industry updates and technical guidance including full access to Elmhurst's expert support teams who can provide technical advice for all sectors of energy assessment including domestic/residential
A significant research study has found that home improvements have real health benefits for the families occupying them. A study of 9,256 properties in south Wales, which took place between 2009 and 2014, found a substantial decrease in the number of hospital admissions for those living in improved homes which met the Welsh Housing Quality Standards. 92.5% of the homes were improved by at least one measure such as new heating systems, wall or loft
The Building Standards Division of Scottish Government have announced a call for evidence as part of their review of the energy standards within the Scottish Building Regulations. The review is considering the next steps to further enhance the energy performance of buildings and contribute to greenhouse gas abatement targets set under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. The first stage of the review is a ‘call for evidence’ which gathers stakeholder views on the design
A recent freedom of information request has shown that the government department in charge of energy policy has some of the countries least energy inefficient buildings. Four of the eleven offices leased by the Department of Business, Energy and Industry (BEIS) had an Display Energy Certificate rating of G - the lowest possible score. Display Energy Certificates (DECS) are used to measure the energy performance of public buildings on a score of A to G
We have just updated our free insurance cover for accredited members. Trained and qualified energy assessors who are accredited with a government approved accreditation scheme would typically have to arrange Professional Indemnity (PI) and Public Liability (PL) insurance in order to cover the work they do as an energy assessor. However, all Elmhurst accredited members do not need to spend time or money arranging often expensive third party PI and PL insurance to lodge reports and
Elmhurst Energy has updated its informative guidance on the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for landlords and property agents in the private rented sector. Introduced by government to improve the quality of private rented buildings and reduce the UK’s CO2 emissions, phase one of MEES became effective from 1st April 2018. It is now unlawful to grant new leases for properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating below an E, with fines of up to
Just before Easter the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) issued a ‘Call for Evidence’ surrounding how the country meets the Government’s commitment to phase out installation of high carbon fossil fuel heating in new and existing buildings off the gas grid, during the 2020s. The Call for Evidence explains what the Government mean by this ambition, and seeks evidence on how they could implement it. Claire Perry, the Minister of State for
This week Elmhurst launched its SBEM Online software for commercial Energy Performance Certificates in England and Wales, to the delight of members and stakeholders. SBEM Online was previously only available for NHER members but, after heavy technical investment from Elmhurst, was released to the wider membership. This highly sophisticated software provides a host of benefits to non-domestic assessors, including smart data inputs, integration with Landmark and NDEA conventions along with the ability to lodge directly
Ofgem are the regulator for the Governments flagship energy efficiency policy called the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) and they have consulted on tweaks to the scoring mechanism called ‘deemed scores’ for the new ECO3 due to be launched in October. The ECO3 Policy which was consulted on a few weeks ago states that it is now to be solely focussed on fighting fuel poverty, aligning it to the Governments strategy to improve all fuel poor
Elmhurst welcomes today's publication of Dame Hackitt's report on Building Regulations in the light of the Grenfell Fire disaster. We agree that building regulations are complex and the current process of enforcement is lacking. The reality is that modern buildings are complex and as consumer expectations increase that complexity will undoubtedly mount. If there is to be a tighter system of safety management then this should be led by independent, accredited professionals from the industry