Prepare and issue non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports
Overview
This standard is about preparing and issuing non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports, lodging them on the approved register and issuing them to customers. The competencies required to carry out an energy inspection of the property fabric and produce an Energy Performance Certificate are covered in INSNDEA4, INSNDEA5 and INSNDEA6; those that relate to carrying out the on-site determination of the Operational Profile, which precedes this stage are covered in INSGDA5. The competences in respect of explaining the components of the Green Deal (or equivalent programme) report to customers and the implications for implementing the energy efficiency measures in the report are covered in INSGDA7.
This standard is about collating all the information you have obtained on the property and its use by the current occupiers and using approved software to produce non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports which provide bespoke recommendations for energy efficiency measures.
You are required to use the approved software to lodge the completed non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports and issue them to customers. You must also maintain your own internal records in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation.
The energy efficiency measures included in non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports provided to customers must be objective and impartial. However, it is possible that you will work for or with a particular organisation or employer and that you will receive referral fees or other benefits from them should the customer use their services. Although you may offer customers quotations or proposals for the purchase of particular products, services or suppliers, it is vital that you fully disclose to the customer, as a minimum verbally ahead of the visit and in any case in writing, any personal interest, benefit or referral fee you will gain if they choose to take up such offers.
You must understand and work to the requirements of each devolved nation.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
Prepare non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports
- assemble and collate information gathered before, during and after your property visit, including any pre-existing Energy Performance Certificate or Display Energy Certificate for the property
- use the relevant devolved nation's approved software to prepare non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports, ensuring that data is entered to the required standards
- undertake further investigations to identify values following the relevant conventions and Code of Practice to reduce or eliminate the use of default values and the 'unknown' option
- provide a detailed explanation of why a default value or 'unknown' entry was used, and the steps taken to try to avoid their use, in accordance with the relevant conventions and Code of Practice
- use the relevant devolved nation's approved software to generate energy efficiency measures for the property to reduce energy consumption and to assess their effect on energy performance
- identify financial incentives and schemes to support energy efficiency and carbon reduction relevant to the energy efficiency measures being considered
- identify the relevant legal requirements which impact on energy use and carbon emissions and the energy efficiency measures being considered
- record the choice of specialist and the basis for this choice, retaining evidence of their suitability to undertake the specialist assessment in the property in question
- prepare non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports that meet the relevant scheme requirements, certification body requirements, codes of practice and standards
- disclose, within non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports, any referral fees or other benefits that you may receive should the customer follow your suggestions for particular products, services and suppliers
- confirm the non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Report to ensure it meets the required standards
Lodge and issue non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports
- collate relevant information to support the specific decisions made and energy efficiency measures considered
- maintain accurate and traceable records of investigations undertaken, values attributed and options considered
- lodge non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports and data on the relevant devolved nation's prescribed national register on completion
- issue non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports to customers within the agreed programme timescales
- update the Energy Performance Certificate after the installation of agreed energy efficiency measures
- maintain internal records which meet Green Deal (or equivalent programme) requirements and the relevant data protection legislation
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
Prepare non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports
- the relevant devolved nation's prescribed format and content of a non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Report
- the range of relevant energy efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption that may be included within a non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Report
- the relevant devolved nation's approved software used to produce non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports and how to use it
- the necessary quality assurance checks to conduct on your own information gathering to confirm values and energy efficiency measures meet the required standards
- the circumstances in which items can be recorded as 'unknown'
- how to gather additional information to avoid the use of default values which arises when items are recorded as 'unknown'
- the way in which energy efficiency measures are generated by approved software and why it is important to delete or amend them to ensure they are bespoke to the property and the customer
- how to use the relevant devolved nation's approved software to generate energy efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption that are bespoke to the property and its current occupier
- how to incorporate outputs from any specialist assessments in the non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Report
- the relevant devolved nation's codes of practice and standards that apply to preparing non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports
- the importance of checking the non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Report to ensure it conforms with the required standards
- the importance of disclosing the referral fees or benefits you may receive as a result of the customer following your recommendations for particular products, such as products, services and suppliers
Lodge and issue non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports
- how to lodge non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports and associated data on the relevant devolved nation's prescribed national register on completion
- how to issue non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Reports to customers and why it is important to do so within the agreed programme timescales
- how to update the Energy Performance Certificate after the installation of agreed energy efficiency measures
- the level of detail within the records required to produce a non-domestic Green Deal (or equivalent programme) Advice Report and justify your decisions on the values recorded, energy efficiency measures included and advice given
- the circumstances in which records can include the fact that information is 'unknown' and the evidence required to support this choice
- the importance of storing records securely in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation
- confirm that records can be accessed for future use when required by relevant organisations
Scope/range
Energy efficiency measures:
- all energy performance improvements listed at Appendix T of the current version of Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP)
- any other improvements that may be supported by UK Government policy of that of the devolved nations, as listed in relevant legislation or guidance
Relevant information:
- legible visit notes relating to the Operational Profile
- clear site sketches (plan, elevation) to give an adequate record of the Operational Profile for audit purposes
- clear photographs containing mandated data (e.g. time and date) appropriately staged and annotated where necessary
- legibly completed questionnaires or records of conversations
- records of web searches or other research
- records of fuel bills seen and meter readings taken
- any other information you consider necessary to support your decisions
- any other information required by relevant energy saving improvements requirements