Introduction

Energy Action Scotland (EAS), the national fuel poverty charity in Scotland, has developed a new course aimed at energy professionals who are trained to provide domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).

Building on our recognised policy and technical expertise on the issues causing fuel poverty in Scotland EAS has devised an intensive one day training programme to utilise the skills of existing EPC assessors. It aims to give participants the understanding and tools to confidently determine the risk of fuel poverty and to measure the impact of physical measures and financial aid in homes across Scotland.

What is fuel poverty?

Fuel poverty is a very individual experience for householders. The energy efficiency of the home, household income and the price of fuel used all play a major role in determining the risk. Changes in any of these 3 factors can have a very detrimental effect on the ability of that household to stay warm, provide sufficient hot water and also to be able to afford the energy required to maintain a reasonable standard of living in the 21st century.

Since the enactment of the Housing (Scotland) Act in July 2001 and the publication in August 2002 of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Statement (FPS02) the Scottish Government has been committed to eradicating fuel poverty by November 2016. To that end both central and local Government and other housing bodies have put in place strategies to tackle the poor energy efficiency of properties and the low income of families.

What does the course provide?

Our new course will allow participants to utilise their existing RDSAP surveying and assessment skills to determine the risk of fuel poverty in a specific home. By using National Home Energy Rating (NHER) Stock Assessor [1] modelling software participants will be able to estimate the running costs for all fuel use in line with the FPS02. In addition the software will adjust this estimation of running costs based on the location of the home. Users will then be able to confidently assess the level of income required to live in that home free from fuel poverty.

• Assess fuel poverty and demonstrate compliance with the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS)
• Provides reports for statutory reporting requirements such as average SAP, stock profiles and fuel poverty
• Provides reports on total running costs, including lights and appliances and generating unique NHER ratings

Other useful features of the NHER software are that the user can take account of known local fuel tariffs and also the impact of longer heating periods and higher demand temperatures.

Who should attend?

The course is open to any person that is a member of a registered protocol organisation in Scotland [2]. The course will not cover how to survey or assess the energy performance of a dwelling as it will be assumed that candidates already have this knowledge. Open access courses are carried out centrally at our office in Glasgow. Courses can also be run at your own location.

Cost to attend

EAS Members  £250 + VAT per participant

Non-members  £300 + VAT per participant

A minimum of 5 participants are required and a maximum of 10 can be catered for on each open access course. Please contact us for a quotation if you wish to run courses in-house at your own location.

A laptop computer will be made available for participants on the day, pre-loaded with the relevant software. A course/user manual will be provided for all participants to keep. Please contact NES Ltd. either roger.jones@nesltd.co.uk or chris.starling@nesltd.co.uk to discuss ongoing requirements should you wish to purchase the NHER Stock Assessor application. Special rates are currently available for single licences for social landlords in Scotland [3]

A buffet lunch will be provided.

Certification

There is no formal examination for this course; all candidates will receive a laminated certificate clearly stating the number of hours of study for CPD purposes.

Contact

For further information or to book a place on this course, please contact Rose Ann Porteous at rose-ann.porteous@eas.org.uk or on Tel: 0141 226 3064.

Course Dates

For information on forthcoming training course dates, visit  the Events Diary page.

[1] http://www.nher.co.uk/pages/software/stock_management.php

[2] http://www.sbsa.gov.uk/european_issues/epcprotocols.htm

[3] http://www.nher.co.uk/documents/scotland/scottish_stock_assessor.pdf