Energy Advice

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The role of energy advice and awareness will be crucial to the success of the government's low carbon agenda within the built environment.

Energy advice builds on existing energy assessment to provide steps for property owners/tenants to improve their energy efficiency and reduce energy costs.

Qualifications in energy awareness, such as the City and Guild 6281, offer ideal front line training to provide energy advice and are already popular within the energy industry.

Larger qualifications such as the ABBE level 3 certificate in Energy Advice (Home) provide detailed practical learning to make home visits and conduct thorough Home Energy Audit Reports.

In preparation for the Green Deal (due to launch in October 2012), Asset Skills has already launched Home Energy Advice pilot programmes (using the ABBE qualification) in South West England, Northern Ireland and Wales and has been working with the Department of Energy and Climate Change on Green Deal advisor training. 

The emerging commercial energy advice qualifications will help translate these skills to the commercial sector, identifying specialist areas such as lighting, air conditioning, and large scale installations.

The Green Deal process will see an increase in demand for qualified and accredited energy advisors within the domestic and commercial property sectors. Green Deal energy advice will use the new Energy Performance Certificate to assess a property and provide informed steps that can improve the energy efficiency rating, within the financial measures of the Green Deal. 

The Green Deal details are still emerging and a certain amount of up-skilling will be required for energy advisors to operate within the Green Deal. The energy advice qualifications mentioned above will provide learning that can be transferred across when Green Deal fully emerges. Further details on the Green Deal NOS is available here.

For more information please contact Philip Stott on pstott@assetskills.org