Landlords! Things are heating up – Are you compliant with the new Heat Meter Regulations?

Landlords! Things are heating up – Are you compliant with the new Heat Meter Regulations?

       Our Project coordinator, Shristi Chand talks clients through our roadmap to compliance.

Amendments have been made to the Heat Meter Regulations with short deadlines for all landlords regarding their Heat Network (Metering and Billing) - Karsons can make you compliant!

Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations came into force in 2014. The main purpose of this Regulation is to reduce carbon emission and energy consumption through accurate billing. The Regulations states that it is the duty of the heat supplier (this could be any landlord that recharges for heating, cooling or hot water) to notify the Government every four years providing key criteria set out within the Regulations. As of 2020, new amendments to the Regulations were made calling for specific classifications in the buildings and this amendment also imposed two important dates that you should be aware of. 

Firstly, a notification of the building classification and where required a Cost Effectiveness Evaluation needs to be completed by the 27th November 2021 depending on building classification and if required (also by building classification) then heat meters or heat cost allocators need to be installed by 1 September 2022. According to the Regulation a heat network is defined as follows: “Heat networks are shared heating systems which provide a more energy efficient alternative to individual boilers. On a heat network, water is heated or chilled at a central source of production and distributed to customers through pipework for heating, cooling or hot water use.”

What do landlords need to do?

The 2020 amendments to the Regulations request landlords to firstly identify their buildings into three classifications: Exempt, Open and Viable, to see if heat meters must be installed. Buildings under the Exempt class would be exempt from installing heat meters but should advise the Government authority of the building’s criteria for exemption. In this instance, Karsons will review the specific criteria and advise if your building falls under the Exempt class, write an Exemption Report and notify the Government Authority. Where buildings fall under Open class, a specific ‘Cost Effectiveness Evaluation’ or viability exercise is required to determine if they are required to install heat meters or heat cost allocators by 1 September 2022. From the Open class, a ‘Cost Effectiveness Evaluation’ may therefore deem the building Exempt or Viable. If the building is deemed Viable then heat meter or heat allocators need to be installed by 1 September 2021.

So what’s Karsons approach to these new regulations?

Well, we strongly believe in the benefits and necessity of metering. It is only with effective metering, can there be effective management. When you know what your consuming, there is more motivation to save. Our approach is to review the building’s exemption criteria and if required, undertake the Government’s Cost Effectiveness Evaluation but if meters are required, we will undertake a feasibility study to ascertain exactly what route to take for compliance. A budget review may be needed by landlords/building owners, as heat meters are not cheap. The Government’s Cost Effectiveness Evaluation software states a cost of £1,526 per meter plus annual expenditure of £92 per meter, but we will do our best to achieve compliance as cost effective as possible.

Karsons are very well versed with these regulations and we are talking to all of our clients on their responsibility to achieve compliance. If you have any questions on this, please contact us but act fast, as the first deadline of the 27 th November 2021 is not too far away!

Contact us at info@karsonsconsulting.com for more information or if you wish for us to consider a specific strategy for your building.