In September last year new regulations were brought into effect in Scotland. These regulations relate to the energy performance of large non-domestic buildings, and what can be done to improve them.

The Assessment of Energy Performance of Non-domestic Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2016 applies to non-domestic buildings of more than 1000sqm. Owners who wish to sell or lease their property will have two choices: the energy efficiency of the property can be monitored and reported annually, or measures will have to be taken to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. If the building complies with Scottish Building Standards of 2002 onward, or has been improved under The Green Deal then it is exempt from the new regulations.

One easy way of implementing energy-efficient changes to a building is by installing lighting controls. This is one of seven prescriptive improvement measures outlined in the regulations. Flex Connectors are happy to help with any advice our customers might require on selecting lighting controls for your building.

Occupancy controls alone offer energy savings of up to 60%. These will automatically turn lights off when a room is vacated. For further savings, daylight harvesting lighting controls can be employed. These react to daylight, and dim luminaires down, or turn them off if there is sufficient natural light in a room.

Flex7 lighting controls are easy to retrofit, and installation involves simple plug-in connection. No commissioning is required and the whole system is incredibly quick and easy to install.

More information on the new Regulations can be found on The Scottish Government’s website: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/Building/Building-standards/S63

A useful guide for building owners is also available: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00503633.pdf