Contact an Expert for a Full Assessment
Before starting a large project you should get a professional assessment to determine the current energy efficiency of your building as well as the current condition of your building.
This will allow you to determine the scope of the works required. See our full building audit and survey guidance below for what to include.
- General information about the building
- Organisational aspects of the building e.g is there a factor or a owners committee
- Building characteristics and planning restrictions/current building regulations
- Historical energy-use of the building
- Overview of the available planning material, technical data of the building, performed studies, obligatory audits, inspections or conformity certificates
- Overview of the maintenance history and planned (yearly) maintenance
- Overview of the replacement investment history and planned/necessary replacement investments
- Overview of the known problems in the building
- Define where underground pipes and cables can be found.
The audit should not only focus on the energy efficiency of the building but also show a clear image of the condition of the building. This applies to the following building elements of the communal areas: building condition and building design, technical installations, public utilities, (fire) safety and general living conditions.
Your auditor should:
- Check the condition of the building with the current standards and technical requirements
- Estimate the residual lifespan of the building components
- Be able to make a proposition to fix the determined defects
Below are listed elements that should be included.
Main elements
The aspects below should be taken into account in the analysis.
| Subject | Component |
|---|---|
| General safety | Height parapet |
| Fall prevention | |
| Presence lifelines, anchor points | |
| Asbestos inventory | Visual inspection of asbestos containing elements in the common areas |
| Fire safety | Quick scan and evaluation of the compliance with regulations and standards |
| Supporting structures | |
| Partitioning | |
| Spread of fire | |
| Evacuation routes, escape routes and fire escape ladders | |
| Ventilation of the fire escape stairways and lift shafts | |
| Signalisation and safety lighting | |
| Presence of fire detection and fire alert | |
| Mobile fire extinguishers and hose reels | |
| Electricity | Visual check |
| Check presence of inspection in line with regulation, with minimal regulations about safety | |
| Building envelope | Outer shell elements (roof, façade, floor, windows and doors) |
| Concrete decay | |
| Wood rot | |
| Thermal bridge analysis and risk of mould | |
| Overheating | |
|
Stability: check of the strength calculations of the supporting structure (terraces and balconies, subsidence and crack formation) |
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Rain penetration and water infiltration |
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| Technical installations | Inspection of the communal technical installations: HVAC, SWW and lighting |
| Ventilation system (air quality standards) and airtightness | |
| Lifts | Conformity regulation and standards for preventive inspection and risk analysis |
| Ventilation system (for individual residential units, mould and condensation problems) | |
| Technical cables | Cables of all utilities |
| Technical shafts | |
| Accessibility | Conformity with regulation about accessibility |
Optional elements
|
Subject |
Component |
|---|---|
|
Drainage grey and black waste water |
Drainage pipes |
|
Septic tank |
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Sewage |
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Acoustic sound insulation |
Evaluation façade |
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Evaluation internal walls |
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Biodiversity |
Possibility green roof |
|
Possibility green façade elements |
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Water |
Rainwater recuperation |
|
Placement meters per residential unit |
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Transport |
Charging poles Electrical Vehicles and E-bikes |
|
Renewable energy |
Placement of renewable energy installations with a possible change to the appearance of the building (e.g. Installation of photovoltaic panels on external walls) |
With the information gathered from your audit you will be able to determine what work is essential and what is desirable. Your auditor/surveyor should be able to provide indicative costs for each measure which will allow you to determine the scope of the project that is economically feasible to undertake.