[BEEO cap 610 full content]

The full name of BEEO is Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance , and BEEO cap 610 is Chapter 610 of the Ordinance. The Ordinance aims to require certain types of buildings specified in the Ordinance to comply with regulations on air-conditioning installations, Code of Conduct on Energy Efficiency and Energy Auditing of Electrical Installations, Lift and Escalator Installations and Lighting Installations, and provides for related matters. The Ordinance came into effect on September 21, 2012. The purpose of BEEO cap 610 is to promote and improve the energy efficiency of buildings in Hong Kong. According to data, the main source of carbon emissions in Hong Kong is power generation, and the electricity consumption of buildings accounts for the total electricity consumption in Hong Kong. As much as 90%. Under the general direction of national energy conservation and emission reduction, building owners are promoted through legislation to conduct energy audits for the main four types of central building services installations, and through professionals (REA registered energy efficiency assessors) The energy-saving suggestions not only reduce carbon emissions, but also save the building's operating costs (mainly electricity bills). It can be described as a win-win situation.

BEEO cap 610 Buildings subject to energy audit

Under the provisions of the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance, buildings requiring energy audit include the following categories:

* Commercial buildings
* That part of a mixed-use building that is not used for residential or industrial purposes.

A. According to Section 22 of the Ordinance, owners of building types specified in the Ordinance are required to arrange for energy audits of four central building services installations in the building to be carried out every not more than 10 years.

According to the latest revised proposal of BEEO cap 610, the period of energy audit is recommended to be reduced from once every 10 years to once every 5 years.

Note: There are four central building services installations: air-conditioning installations, electrical installations, lifts and escalators installations and lighting installations.

According to the latest revision of BEEO cap 610, the following buildings are recommended to be included in the scope of energy audit:

1. Data center
2. Hotel or guesthouse.
3. Common areas of residential buildings.
4. Common areas in the portion of a composite building used for residential or industrial purposes.
5. Common areas of industrial buildings.
6. Buildings occupied mainly for educational purposes.
7. Buildings occupied mainly for community purposes (including community halls and social service centers), and comprehensive-use buildings occupied for 2 or more of the above places.
8. Buildings occupied mainly for municipal purposes (including markets, cooked food centres, libraries, civic centers or cultural centers and indoor sports venues), and comprehensive-use buildings occupied for 2 or more of the above places.
9. Buildings occupied mainly for medical and health care services (including hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation centres).
10. A building owned by the Government used primarily to house persons during the performance of any function of the Government.
11. Airport passenger terminal.
12. Railway station.

B. Involving major renovation works

According to BEEO cap 610, if a building under the Ordinance undergoes major renovation works, regardless of whether the energy audit has been completed within the deadline, a REA registered energy assessor needs to be hired within two months after completion to verify the replacement or The efficiency of the additional building services complies with the minimum energy efficiency standards and design requirements of the Building Energy Efficiency Code, and the major renovation works include:

* Add or replace building services installations specified in the Building Energy Efficiency Code and meet the following conditions:

Calculated based on one unit or one common area, the total floor area covered by the project (i.e. project area) is not less than 500 square meters

or

If the works are carried out in stages or in different places within a unit or a common area as a series of works, and the total floor area (i.e. project area) covered by these works is not less than 500 square meters in total within 12 months.

Main components of building services installations

* The addition or replacement of major components of central building services installations, if they involve the following component definitions, are considered major renovation works.

* A complete set of circuits rated 400 amps or above.
* A single-package air conditioner, heat pump or chiller with a cooling or heating rating of 350 kW or above.
* A motor drive and a mechanical drive for an elevator, escalator or passenger conveyor.

Energy Audit Exemption Eligibility

Not all buildings involving major renovation projects require energy audits. Article 4 of BEEO cap610 stipulates that buildings that are the following small or special buildings are not within the scope of energy audits:

1. Buildings where the allowable load of the main electrical switch does not exceed 100 amperes (single-phase or three-phase).
2. Buildings that meet the following specifications: (a) do not exceed 3 stories in height;
(b) The covered area does not exceed 65.03 square meters; and (c) the height does not exceed 8.23 ​​meters.
3. Monuments or historic buildings declared or provisionally designated under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.
4. Buildings demolished or rebuilt within 12 months.

Energy audit requirements

According to BEEO cap610, energy audits must be conducted by designated persons in accordance with the energy audit code. The requirements for energy audits include the following items:

1. The owner of a building specified in the Ordinance shall arrange for an energy audit of the central building services installation of the building to be carried out not more than 10 years ago.
2. The first energy audit for the central building services installation of a building to which a Certificate of Compliance Registration is issued must be carried out within 10 years after the building is first issued a Certificate of Compliance Registration.
3. The first energy audit of central building services installations in buildings that have not been issued with a Certificate of Compliance Registration shall be conducted in accordance with the timetable specified in Schedule 5.
4. Energy audit must-
(a) Conducted by a registered energy efficiency assessor and in accordance with the Energy Audit Code.
5. A registered energy assessor who conducts an energy audit for a building must submit a copy of the energy audit form and the audited energy audit report to the Director within 30 days after issuing the energy audit form.
6. According to Clause 5 above, the energy audit form issued must be in the specified form and accompanied by the documents specified in the form.
7. An energy audit form issued for a building will no longer be valid when another energy audit form is issued for the building.
8. The owner of any building who contravenes clause 1 commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 5.
9. Where an energy audit form is valid for a building, the owner of the building must display the text of the form in a conspicuous place at the main entrance to the building. It shall be an offense for any owner to contravene the above provisions.

When should the first energy audit be performed?

As mentioned above, BEEO cap610 requires the building owner to arrange for energy audits of the four central building services installations in the building every no more than 10 years. The first energy audit should be carried out after the "Compliance Registration Certificate" is issued. It will be carried out within ten years after the completion of the "Certificate of Compliance". Developers of new buildings must apply for a "Compliance Registration Certificate" from the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department after the building is completed. The REA verifies that the building's central building services installations, as well as the installations provided by the developer to serve individual units (regardless of size), must comply with the latest version of the Code of Practice on Energy Efficiency of Buildings.

For buildings that have not been issued a "Compliance Registration Certificate", according to the requirements of BEEO cap610, the date of the first energy audit depends on the date when the occupation permit (occupancy certificate) of the relevant building is issued, and the arrangement is as follows:

The first energy audit for the current two types of prescribed buildings includes:

Those parts of commercial buildings and mixed-use buildings that are not used for residential or industrial purposes.

* If the building's occupation permit was issued before December 31, 1969, the first energy audit should be completed within 48 months from the effective date of Part 4 of the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance.
* If the building's occupation permit was issued after December 31, 1969 but before January 1, 1978, the date of the first energy audit should be 36 months from the effective date of Part 4 of the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance The first energy audit was completed within 10 days.
* If the building's occupation permit was issued after December 31, 1977 but before January 1, 1988, the date of the first energy audit should be 24 months from the effective date of Part 4 of the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance The first energy audit was completed within 10 days.
* If the building's occupation permission date is after January 1, 1988, the first energy audit should be completed within 12 months from the effective date of Part 4 of the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance.

In the revised proposal of BEEO cap610, if various types of buildings newly included in the energy audit have not been issued a "Compliance Registration Certificate", the first energy audit can be scheduled according to the following time:

* If the building's occupation permit was issued before December 31, 1969, the first energy audit should be completed within 48 months from the effective date of the amendment to the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance.
* If the building's occupation permit was issued after December 31, 1969 but before January 1, 1978, the first energy audit should be completed within 36 months from the effective date of the amendment to the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance. First energy audit.
* If the building's occupation permit was issued after December 31, 1977 but before January 1, 1988, the first energy audit should be completed within 24 months from the effective date of the amendment to the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance. First energy audit.
* If the building's occupation permit is issued after January 1, 1988, the first energy audit should be completed within 12 months from the effective date of the amendment to the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance.

We are Hong Kong Energy Audit (HKEA), which specializes in providing energy audit services for buildings in Hong Kong. The engineering team is composed of senior engineering staff and REA registered energy efficiency assessors. In addition to the above services, it also includes energy-saving engineering advice and construction. Assist in applying for green certification (such as Leed, Well, Beam plus, etc.), preparing and approving energy audit reports, etc. Feel free to inquire about our services with our customer service staff at any time.