Mandatory Requirements

The Government has decided that all public sector bodies must continue to lead by example in lowering energy consumption and costs by implementing the mandatory requirements below.

Heat

  • Establish maximum period for heating, air conditioning and all utilities. Switch off heating and utilities during out of hours periods
  • Requirement for internal space heating temperature of all public buildings to be consistent with the minimum recommended temperatures for heating, as set out in the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) guidelines. In most (though not all) cases, this will be 19 degrees
  • Requirement to shut off all heat in office buildings at least 1-2 hours before the buildings close.
  • Optimise water heating to save energy.

Light

  • Requirement not to have external/window/feature display lighting (i.e., non-security/safety lighting) between 5pm and 7pm and to reduce unnecessary lighting at other times.

Space

  • With reduced occupancy, public sector buildings should occupy and heat the smallest area possible - e.g. close one floor / work in and heat one zone where possible
  • Identify and track activity variables that have an intrinsic link to energy consumption and manage such activity.

Time

  • Introduce new operational control conditions, appropriate to hours of public services and hours of work.
  • Challenge core and extended hours of business, minimise and lockdown controls outside these hours.
  • Reduce electricity use at peak times whenever possible.

Tracking

  • Implement own Energy Efficiency Assessment of all buildings as a minimum, plan to undertake an energy audit by external expert.
  • Introduce an out-of-hours walk-through audit, to be conducted by security, facilities personnel or by other arrangement.
  • Facility Teams to conduct own Operations and Maintenance Audit, assuring condition, settings and upkeep of plant. Focus on plant conditions, set-points, control, maintenance, register of opportunity input.
  • Facility team to introduce own process for operational control and measurement

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