Energy awareness - Display campaign

CYBER – Communicate Your Buildings Energy Rating

Cyber is a continuation of the Display Campaign – which is a voluntary scheme aimed at encouraging local authorities across Europe to display the energy consumption, CO2 emissions and water use of their public buildings to staff and members of the public alike which started in 2003.

Display Energy Certificates (DECs) for public buildings over 1000 square meters became compulsory in October 2008. Each member country of the EU has developed its own style of DEC poster and means of calculating ratings. This has lead to a profusion of differing designs.

As a result it has become difficult and somewhat confusing to produce both the DEC and the Display posters for the same building, as the two systems often produce slightly different ratings using identical data.

At a recent meeting in Brussels, CYBER participants recognised that whilst the original Display project had set the agenda for European energy labelling of buildings and that the design and inclusion of water performance on the Display poster made it superior to the DEC, developed by the government for use in England and Wales, the Display poster had probably run its course.

It was further agreed however that it did not matter which of the two types of posters were used as the basis for an energy awareness campaign, so long as the meaning behind them and the ways and means building users could contribute to improving energy ratings was communicated effectively.

Since we have now calculated and sent out the majority of the DECs required for us to adhere to the legislation we will now seek to promote them and also raise awareness of what building users and staff can do to help improve the ratings achieved via our work programme within CYBER.

To enter our free competition click here.