Qualifications for Submitting BRUKL Reports

[RossThompson87]

Hi,

I was just looking through Part L 2013 and in section 2.15 it states:

BCBs are authorised to accept, as evidence, a certificate of compliance signed off by a suitably accredited energy assessor.

This could be read as suggesting you need to be an accredited energy assessor to submit the BRUKL report.

Previously in April, I contacted CIBSE to get clarification on this and got the following response:

In the absence of a self-certification scheme in England and Wales this is indeed unclear. Building Control Officers simply need to be satisfied that the person is competent. This might be satisfied by having completed an SBEM/Part L course and assessment which has been widely available in the past but is now only available from BRE and CIBSE Training and Events I believe. In some instances it may be enough to be a CIBSE member, it varies from one BCO to another.

The LCC Design register should be universally acceptable, our assessment and maintenance procedures are UKAS accredited specifically for Part L compliance purposes to provide that re-assurance for BCOs. Being a Level 4 or above EPC assessor also covers the necessary competencies.

Does anyone on the forum have any views on this?

[Complex Potential]

Hi Ross

Historically my understanding is that anyone can sign off a BRUKL document and it is simply down to the BCO's interpretation of "suitably qualified". However, the inclusion of that word "accredited" does give me pause for thought going forwards.

In the case of BREEAM credits, many assessors now insist the modeller be LCEA EPC 4/5 before awarding the likes of Ene1 and so it's likely that BCOs may end up going the same way simply to cover themselves.

As with everything else under the building regs, the BCO's word is final and so it's probably best to simply check with them as early as possible because it's unlikly the documentation is going to become clearer any time soon.

CP