Discussion

Just after a quick straw poll. Is there anyone else out there who's been through the energy assessment quals (EPC, DEC, Air Con) but is no longer using them due to moving to a different role, and if so do you have experience of how best to keep them active/make any use of them?

I've had a couple of changes of employer in the last six months (the fun and games of the construction industry and the climate in general), at the start of which I was with a team doing EPCs and Air Cons etc for a significant part of my work. I wasn't doing any design work however, so moved back to nuclear HVAC design and have stayed there through another move recently. Nuclear has little/no demand for that type of energy assessments and obviously they weren't cheap (I did my Commercial EPC and DEC quals through CIBSE, Air Con and Domestic EPCs with Stroma) plus CIBSE has an annual fee which obviously I haven't paid since stopping doing that type of work in my main employment so I've been made inactive on the registers.

It seems a shame to run the risk of losing these qualifications given the effort and indeed money I've put into them ('training expenses' clause in previous employer's contract) - anyone got any thoughts on what to do about them?

I half thought about looking at doing some as a sole trader alongside my main work, but if it literally would be a couple of assessments per year around a full-time main job the CIBSE fee and the admin faffing to get back online seems a lot of effort.

All thoughts welcome.

Patrick