The significant energy demand of buildings makes it the single biggest contributor to climate  change. This is recognised by policymakers across the global as well as the South African government who has recently released the regulations pertaining to the mandatory display of energy performance certificates for buildings. Compliance with these regulations is the first step towards establishing a decarbonisation framework for the building sector to assist South Africa with meeting its climate change objectives.

Complying with these new regulations can be a costly distraction for building owners who are already feeling the economic pressure of the times. But perhaps with some insight and guidance there is a significant amount of value to be added by becoming compliant. SAepc is a carbon and energy consultancy that provides just these insights to building owners and guides them to energy performance beyond compliance.

The issuance of EPC’s is only the start and used as a departure point for identifying energy efficiency cost savings initiatives, benefiting from energy efficiency tax incentives, feasibility studies for renewable energy and off-grid solutions with alternative funding streams such as carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates.

But what exactly is an EPC? Do I need to comply? What is unique to SAeps approach? Energy Performance Certificates indicate the energy demand performance of a particular building against a benchmark for buildings of similar classification. The performance must be expressed in kilowatt hour per square meter per annum (kWh/m2/a) and displayed on a certificate at the building entrance in accordance with the regulations. [hyperlink to regulations][insert example]

The regulations were published on 8 December 2020 and make provision for building owners to become compliant before 8 December 2022. The certificate can only be issued by a South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) accredited inspection body after the verification of energy data and building plans and a physical site inspection. Compliance with these regulations will come at a significant cost to individual building owners and REITs alike and certainly not welcomed under the current economic environment.

South Africa Energy Performance Certificates (SAepc) recognises these challenges and developed a solution that is cost and resource efficient and adds value beyond compliance. This is done by an interactive user portal that automates a significant portion of the workflow and allows for remote verification of the data and subsequent performance rating.

Links to relevant regulations and standards

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