For simpler and easier access to Energy Performance Certificates by the public and its stakeholders, the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government has come up with changes that will affect all energy assessment strands. They include Reduced data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP), Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing systems (SAP), Network Data Envelopment Analysis Systems(NDEA), Display Energy Certificate systems (DEC) and Air Conditioning Systems.
There is an exception to the Scottish Register. Besides, a few changes have been planned for Scotland later in the year. The changes will apply to all Energy Performance Certificates registers for England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. With new strategic goals that have been set, the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government will host combined England, Wales, and Northern Ireland Energy Performance Certificates registers via a government website. These changes will simplify and enhance the ease of use for both public and key stakeholders. Detailed guidance on changes will be published on a later date by the Stroma certification.
What is changing?
The new combined register will be located at a government website with all Energy Performance Certificates, Display Energy Certificate, and Air-Conditioning Inspections Report. All certificates will be applied and issued online, and there will be no provision of Pdfs. Therefore, clients should be notified to adjust their systems. There is also a change in the appearance and content of the certificates. The changes should be communicated to the clients so that they can make alterations. Another important change is that one will not be able to retrieve draft certificates before lodging them.
Stroma is changing its software to enable you to make the necessary sense checks of the input data. The address will change from Landmark addresses or use of Unique Property Reference Number to one based on the Ordinance survey. Therefore, there will be a change to way address searches, address addition requests, and Unique Property Reference Number searches work. After the changes, there will no longer be the current landmark Energy Performance Certificates register.
All the Energy Performance Certificates that had been previously logged will be migrated to the new register before the launch. Redundant Residue Number systems will likely change from the current 20 digits to 20 digit alphanumeric. This should be communicated to the client to make the necessary changes. Find an Energy Assessor is changing to make it more user friendly.
What is not changing?
All software will continue to produce lodge-able Energy Performance Certificates except for Air Conditioning Inspection Reports. The process of lodging will not be affected as you will be able to enter data and lodge the Energy Performance Certificates.
Certificates that had been previously lodged will be available in the new register with a new format. Stroma members’ areas will remain unchanged, and the process for lodging Energy Performance Certificates and Display Energy Certificate will remain the same. At the moment, there will no change in the registration and submission fee. They will also remain VAT free and will be invoiced the same way via Stroma.