WITH half of Guernsey’s carbon emissions coming from buildings, experts are predicting a further crackdown on energy-efficiency standards. Phil Jones, right, the leading consultant who worked with the UK Government to set the current benchmarks, was in the island recently to update the industry. They are known as part L of the UK building regulations and have been mandatory there since 2002 and were partly adopted by Guernsey in October.

So far, only two of the regulations have been introduced locally, the first of which requires all commercial buildings to have a logbook recording how it operates. But Mr Jones said more would follow.

Last month, he spoke at an AFM seminar attended by facility managers, architects and property managers.

Mr Jones said part L was having a significant impact on building design and management in the UK and it would in Guernsey.

‘Everyone knows about global warming but they don’t know what to do about it. This legislation drives them towards practical measures that will reduce emissions and help the environment through better design and management of buildings.’

He said a building’s energy-efficiency would soon affect its value. In the not too distant future, new UK legislation will introduce a rating system to label buildings in a similar way to white goods such as freezers. On top of that, an EU directive will soon mean that energy performance certificates will be mandatory.

Each building will be labelled between A and G. On public buildings, its label will have to be displayed in the foyer. The certificates will be given for the amount of kilograms of carbon dioxide that the building emits per square metre.

Mr Jones said: ‘Laws are going to make energy a really big part of the design and the sales process. Who is going to want to own or manage a building with a G label? It’s going to make it less attractive to prospective purchasers or tenants and it’s going to have an impact on the building’s value.’

He said now that some legislation was in place in Guernsey, it was going to force architects to design buildings in a more energy-efficient way and building managers to operate them in a way that reduces running costs and carbon emissions.

‘In a typical building, a good energy consultant or facilities manager can go in and save 20% in running costs and 20% of carbon emissions.

‘A lot of it is obvious stuff – ensuring lights are switched off, or installing movement-sensitive light switches so they go off when you leave the room. You can pick up 10% savings by good housekeeping: the other 10% comes through simple technical investments.’

AFM chairman Mark Palfrey said building owners would benefit from being able to demonstrate that they owned an efficient building to operate. That would attract tenants and add value to the property.

He predicted that in the foreseeable future, Guernsey buildings would need to show energy certificates when sold or let.

The firm is currently in the process of benchmarking local buildings to develop a model of best practice.