Description

In England and Wales the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 implement Articles 7-9 of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). They require inspection of all air conditioning systems with rated outputs over 12kW at intervals not greater than 5 years.

An Industry Working Group comprising ACRIB, BRE, BSRIA, CIBSE, FETA, HVCA, IoR and Summit Skills has developed this publication to give guidance on meeting these regulations.

Go to the CIBSE Energy Centre website for information on becoming a CIBSE accredited air conditioing inspector or finding a CIBSE accredited air conditioning inspector

TM44 provides guidance on carrying out the required air conditioning inspection within reasonable constraints of time, cost and skills, including specific guidance on generating advice for the user, on a consistent basis. Engineers and energy managers responsible for these systems need to consider how they will comply with the new rules. For systems over 250 kW they have until January 2009 to complete the first inspections, and for the remaining systems over 12 kW they have until January 2011.

Building owners and managers wishing to understand the purpose and scope of the inspection should read at least the introductory section 1 and the explanatory section 6, copies of which could be provided to the building owner/manager by the inspector prior to the inspection. These provide an overview of the inspection, and its potential benefits and subsequent use, to help managers prepare for the visit and to consider what further actions may be appropriate after the inspection. Those wishing to carry out the inspection should read at least sections 1 to 5 as relevant to the types of systems they will assess.

Other parts of the EPBD, and of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007, include a requirement for a certificate describing the energy efficiency of the whole building to be prepared and made available on sale or rent of buildings. This certification process will also involve the inspection of buildings to obtain basic details of the building fabric, building services (heating, lighting and air conditioning systems) and other equipment used in the building.

European Regulation (EC) 842/2006, the ‘F-Gas Regulation', which came into force on 4 July 2007, requires regular inspections of some refrigeration systems to test for leakage of fluorinated greenhouse gas refrigerant from systems. Some refrigeration systems containing cfc or hcfc refrigerants may already be subject to regular leakage testing under European Regulation (EC) 2037/2000 on substances that deplete the ozone layer. And some air conditioning systems will fall under the scope of the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, which may apply to systems with an installed power in excess of 25 kW.

TM44 also indicates how building owners and managers should be advised to prepare and keep information from all these inspections so that the time needed to carry them out, and hence their cost, can be minimised.

The group advising on the preparation of this document also provided input on behalf of the UK to the Working Groups of CEN TC156 developing European Standards for air conditioning and ventilation system inspection to support the requirements of the EPBD.

Contents

1         Introduction
1.1          Background
1.2          Scope of the inspection required by the EPD Regulations
1.3          Factors affecting air conditioning system efficiency
1.4          Provision of advice
1.5          Preparation for the inspection
1.6          Energy consumption metering
1.7          Extent of the inspection
1.8          Guidance on good practice inspection and maintenance
1.9          Appropriate forms of inspection procedure

2         Inspection of packaged cooling systems
2.1          Checklist of pre-inspection information
2.2          Inspection process for packaged cooling systems
2.3          Reporting
2.4          Inspection checklist

3         Inspection of centralised cooling systems
3.1          Checklist of pre-inspection information
3.2          Inspection process for centralised cooling systems
3.3          Reporting
3.4          Inspection checklists

4         Assessing equipment sizing in relation to the cooling load
4.1          Estimating loads for packaged systems
4.2          Estimating loads for larger installations
4.3          Assessment of cooling capacity
4.4          Assessment of ventilation performance

5         Advice and alternative solutions
5.1          Introduction
5.2          Cooling load reduction
5.3          Alternative cooling techniques

6         Explanatory notes for building owners and managers
6.1          Background
6.2          The inspection process
6.3          The inspection report
6.4          Exchanging information with other inspection or certification procedures
6.5          The scope of the inspection
6.6          Good practice inspection and maintenance of air conditioning equipment

References

Appendix A1: Suggested reporting format for a packaged cooling system