Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)?

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) were introduced as part of the government's commitment to improve energy efficiency of buildings in England and Wales. They are designed to make it easy to judge the performance of a building in terms of energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions and to offer advice on possible improvements. As the price of gas and electricity continues to rise the information and advice in the EPC becomes increasingly valuable as a tool for controlling energy costs.

From 6th April 2008 EPCs were required for the construction, sale or rent of buildings with total floor area above 10 000 square meters; from 1st July they applied to all buildings above 2500 square meters and from 1st October 2008 they will be needed for all remaining buildings. Buildings that are small (less than 50 square meters), temporary (planned usage less than 2 years) or due for demolition are exempt from these requirements, as are buildings which do not use energy for heating/ventilation.

EPCs are needed when a building is constructed, sold, offered for rental or for lease assignment. Modifications which result in changes to the heating/cooling and ventilation systems also require an EPC. EPCs are valid for 10 years from date of issue provided there are no changes to the building that affect the heating, cooling or ventilation requirements.

The law requires a copy of an EPC to be given to prospective tenants or buyers at the earliest opportunity when a property is being offered for lease or for sale. This could be when any written information is provided, or when viewing is being conducted or before contracts are entered into. Responsibility for obtaining an EPC lies with the owner/landlord even if the property is being marketed by an agent acting on their behalf. Where a lease is being assigned the landlord's responsibilities will be satisfied if the assignor provides the EPC to the assignee.

Penalties for non compliance may be imposed by the local authority unless you are able to show that you commissioned an EPC at least 14 days before it was required. The penalty has been set at 12.5% of the rateable value of the property, subject to a minimum charge of £500 and a maximum of £5000.

In order to produce an EPC we would need to collect information about the following:

• heating


• cooling and ventilation systems


• hot water system


• lighting


• building age,


• construction details and level of insulation


• building dimensions (internal)


• windows
  
  

This information will be gathered during a survey of the property. The time needed for this will vary according to the size and complexity of the property but will take about 3 hours for a small building which has straightforward provision of services. Detailed plans of the property will be needed for larger/more complex buildings and will be prepared if none are available. This will incur additional cost.

Following the survey, the data will be used to generate an EPC which will be forwarded to you within 3 working days. This will contain information about your building's energy demand (on a per square meter basis), as well as target levels that could be achieved if relevant improvements are made. There is an A+ to G scale (similar to those already used for electrical equipment) which shows carbon dioxide emissions and there are recommendations for improving the energy efficiency of the building. These recommendations are not compulsory but they will reduce energy consumption if adopted, and information is given to enable the cost effectiveness of each measure to be assessed.

The content and layout of an EPC is closely controlled. It must, by law, contain the following;


•The Energy Performance Certificate which contains the title of the certificate, address of the building and the Certificate Reference Number

•Energy Performance Asset Rating which contains information about the building's calculated Asset Rating based on its predicted CO2 emission rate (Buildings Emissions Rating) It also shows where the buildings Asset Rating fits on a scale of the building energy efficiency bands

•Benchmarks which contain information about the asset rating corresponding to target emission rate (Target Emissions Rating) and also to the typical (average) emission rate from other buildings of that type

•Technical Information about the main heating fuel and the complexity of the building

•Administrative Information giving details about the energy assessor, the Property Reference Number. the certificate's validity dates and the Recommendations report reference number.



Further Reading : European Union -The new Directive on the energy performance of buildings - pdf (386 kb)