Among the innovations introduced by the Legislative Decree 102 of 4 July 2014, we can highlight the obligation for certain types of companies to carry out an energy audit (or energy diagnosis) for the classification of energy consumption in their production sites located in the national territory, the identification of technological interventions or updates capable of reducing consumption over time, in order to comply with the energy savings targets defined by the European Directive 2012/27/EU; all of which in view of a complete analysis of the energy consumption of the company.
It is for these reasons that the Ministry of Economic Development has issued a document that clarifies in detail the obligations arising from the application of Decree 102/14.
For Article 2 of the decree, the Energy Audit is:
"The systematic procedure for obtaining an adequate knowledge of the energy consumption profile of a building or group of buildings, of an industrial or commercial activity or installation or of public or private services is there to identify and quantify cost-effective energy saving opportunities and report on results".
The energy diagnosis is therefore the first step for a rational energy management and is essential for the company that wants to improve its energy efficiency. The Energy Diagnosis process includes a series of work steps:
- preliminary activities: this is a phase in which the Energy Auditor meets the management and together with the latter defines objectives, needs, timing and plans all the activities for the execution of the diagnosis;
- field activities: these are conducted on the ground by the Auditor, through visits and inspections aimed at evaluating energy uses, understanding the user’s behaviours and operational modes and their impact on consumption and energy efficiency;
- analysis: this represents the main activity of the energy diagnosis during which the Auditor identifies energy flows and defines an energy balance;
- final activities: the Auditor produces a final report to be delivered to the management, consistent with the requirements and purposes agreed with the latter.
The obliged entities are:
- large enterprises, which employ at least 250 persons or less that have an annual turnover of over EUR 50million and an annual budget of over 43million euros;
- energy-intensive enterprises, which have an annual energy consumption (electricity or other) of not less than 2,4 Gwh and a ratio of energy cost to turnover volume not less than 3%. These companies are included in the annual list established at the Equalisation Fund for the electricity sector pursuant to the DM Economy and Finance 5 April 2013. Energy-intensive companies are exempt from the obligation to adopt a system of management of energy consumption in accordance with the criteria of diagnosis contained in Decree 102/14 (EMAS, ISO 50001, EN ISO 14001).
The entities qualified to perform the energy audit, starting from July 19, 2016 are only the subjects certified by bodies accredited according to UNI CEI 11352 (ESCO - Energy Saving Company) and UNI CEI 11339 (EGE - Experts in Energy Management).
To monitor and control your company’s energy consumption and costs, especially if it is energy-intensive and medium or large, an important tool is energy accounting. It is also essential for the evaluation and programming of modernisation measures from the energy point of view or for other energy management measures.
The energy certification is the document where it is possible to quantify the performance of the building-plant system, from the point of view of consumption, the type of materials used for its construction, the efficiency of the installed systems and their correct sizing.
It is no more than the totality of the activities carried out by a qualified professional for the definition of a document attesting the performance, efficiency and energy performance of a building that concludes with the issue of the energy performance certificate (EPA).
For further information, please visit the website Sportello Unico dei Servizi della Regione Sardegna.