Step by step support with Stroma
With demand for energy assessment ever-growing due to increased awareness and more stringent legislation, being an energy assessor means being at the forefront of energy performance developments and has the potential to be very lucrative.
Stroma Certification is approved by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) to train, accredit and manage energy assessors. This division of the Stroma group provides combined training and accreditation membership packages for commercial, residential and public building energy assessment as well as Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) assessment.
A leading accreditation body in the UK, the company has rapidly risen to the forefront of the sector through a combination of quality training, user-friendly calculation tools, readily-available technical support and competitive fees.
Stroma Accreditation offer routes to accreditation to suit the previous experience of the candidate. A comprehensive range of training courses enabling candidates to reach National Occupational Standards (NOS) are available for those with limited or no prior experience in energy assessment. Courses are held throughout the UK and private courses can be arranged for groups of five or more. This flexibility makes Stroma the ideal option for individuals or companies working to meet deadlines. Each course is taught by an established expert who guides candidates through the material, ensuring full preparation for the examination and written portfolio. All course material is provided, including pre-course material and calculation software required.
Stroma has also developed in-house Code for Sustainable Homes and RdSAP software which is available free of charge to all Stroma-registered assessors.
Stroma Accreditation is also currently embarking on an exciting joint venture with two of the UK’s leading software providers, IES and JPA, as they launch two new ground-breaking tools for energy performance analysis.
VE-SBEM is an easy-to-use 3D graphical interface to SBEM which simplifies both the compliance calculation process in England and Wales (Part L2A), Scotland (Section 6) and Northern Ireland (Part F) and the production of non-domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) via SBEM. This includes a user-friendly, web-based alternative to the government ORCalc software, enabling the straightforward creation and lodgement of Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and the accompanying Advisory Reports (ARs).
iSAP is a new SAP solution which links with VE-SBEM for assessing mixed use buildings with ease. The software enables the demonstration of compliance with Building Regulations for dwellings in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and the provision of an EPC rating for new-build dwellings via SAP 2005.
Stroma is complementing the launch of these software packages with a full turnkey solution: free accreditation membership, free Accreditation of Prior and Experiential Learning (APEL) transfer and highly competitive lodgement fees.
In addition to the qualification route, Stroma Accreditation assists those who qualify for APEL, an accelerated route for experienced energy assessors already working in the sector. The team assess an application, confirm suitability for this route and recommend a bespoke solution for the individual.
Once qualified, an energy assessor must register with an approved accreditation body, responsible for the energy assessments carried out and the EPCs and DECs produced. Stroma Accreditation offers a full range of corresponding accreditation schemes for its energy assessment and CSH assessment training programmes and undertakes regular quality assurance to ensure that all assessments conducted meet the required standard.
The schemes are designed to provide assessors with membership unrivalled in terms of both its cost and its benefits, which include a dedicated helpline manned by qualified assessors, support via a website member’s area, monthly technical updates and ongoing CPD and lodgements through any CLG-approved software.
Thus, Stroma Accreditation is dedicated to making the process of becoming an energy assessor straightforward and efficient, constantly developing services to provide comprehensive and cost-effective training and accreditation membership solutions.