Situation
The lease for an office building was due for renewal and the EPC rating was F144. Under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard regulations (MEES) the property owner was unable to grant a new lease or agree a renewal without an EPC rating of E or above.
The priority for the property owner was to avoid the risk of being unable to lease the property.
Challenge
The property owner required to make an urgent investment decision in order to arrange works in time for lease renewal negotiations.
Numerous retro-fit energy efficiency improvement options had been considered but without clear information to compare costs and outcomes.
Actions
arbnco was asked to provide an Options Appraisal.
The consultant from arbnco uploaded the building model (xml data file) to the arbn consult platform and an Asset Energy Report was immediately generated for the client’s review.
Options Appraisal
The report presented 3 compliance routes for the property owner’s consideration :-
| Comparison of Energy Improvement Strategies |
Strategy 1 | Strategy 2 | Strategy 3 |
| Investment | |||
| Description | Boiler, Lighting | Multiple Areas | Multiple Areas |
| Investment Cost | £24,651 | £84,993 | £110,142 |
| Outcomes | |||
| New EPC Rating | E124 | E114 | E110 |
| Expected Energy Savings (£/yr) | £9,481 | £13,076 | £15,192 |
| Discounted Payback (years) | 2.6 | 6.5 | 7.3 |
| CO2 Reduction (kg/m²/yr) | 14 | 20.7 | 23.7 |
Outcome
The decision was to implement Strategy 1 with a total supply and installation cost of circa £22,000 – £27,000.
The expected reduction in the energy running cost was around £9,481 per annum with an expected payback of less than 3 years.
Summary of Benefits
The benefits of using arbn consult for the property owner included :-
- Obtaining a detailed options appraisal quickly and at a cost of a few hundred pounds.
- Making an informed investment decision on the most appropriate compliance route, using clear data to compare investment costs and outcomes.