Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
An Energy Performance Certificate is part of a Home Information Pack. The certificates are commissioned by the seller (or their agent) from an accredited Energy Assessor, who visits the property to collect the relevant data and creates the certificate. This data includes the date, construction and location of the house and relevant fittings (heating systems, insulation or double glazing, for example).
An Energy Performance Certificate shows the official energy efficiency rating of a property. If you're not planning to sell your home, you don't need to do anything.
The certificate provides you with a rating for the building, showing its energy efficiency and its environmental impact on a scale from A-G (where A is the most efficient and G the least efficient), in graphical format. It also contains recommended ways to improve the building's energy performance.
By 2009, all buildings in the UK that are constructed, sold or rented out will have to have an Energy Performance Certificate, in accordance with the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
The certificate will also provide contact details for the Energy Savings Trust, who can help you find out whether you could be eligible for grants or discounts to help carry out these improvements to your home. It will also list simple ways that changes in behaviour can save you energy and money - without the need for any works
What is in the EPC?
The Energy Performance Certificate is similar to the certificates now provided with domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines.
Its purpose is to record how energy-efficient a property is as a building. The certificate will provide a rating of the property from A to G, where A is very efficient and G is very inefficient.
Two ratings are shown. The environmental impact rating is a measure of a home's impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide (C02) emissions - the higher the rating, the less impact it has on the environment. The energy-efficiency rating is a measure of a home's overall efficiency. The higher the rating, the more energy-efficient the home is, and the lower the fuel bills are likely to be.
Each rating is based on the performance of the building itself and its services (such as heating and lighting), rather than the domestic appliances within it. This is known as an asset rating. The certificate also lists the potential rating of the building if all the cost-effective measures were installed.
The ratings will vary according to the age, location, size and condition of the building. The potential rating on the certificate will take these factors into account, and the suggested measures will be tailored so that they are realistic for the particular building.
What happens to Energy Performance Certificates once they're complete?
All domestic Energy Performance Certificates are lodged in a central database. Energy Assessors (through their Accreditation Schemes) lodge them as they produce them, and each is given a unique reference number. Access to the database is restricted, so only those who have the unique reference number can access the certificate for a particular property.
Domestic Energy Assessors
Your safety Domestic Energy Assessors or Home Inspectors should always make an appointment. Do not allow unexpected cold callers into your home to carry out Energy Performance Certificates.
Domestic Energy Assessors must be accredited before they are allowed to inspect a property. Accreditation Schemes should ensure that the work of the Domestic Energy Assessors (who prepare Energy Performance Certificates) can be trusted by sellers, buyers and lenders alike.
The Accreditation Schemes :
Ensure that all Assessors are 'fit and proper' people
Check the background of Assessors, including carrying out a Criminal Records Bureau check
Ensure that the Assessors are qualified to carry out their duties
Ensure that the Assessors have adequate indemnity cover to deal with any claims that might arise (Our domestic energy assessors have professional indemnity insurance with a limit of £1,000,000)
Check the quality of the work produced by Assessors and ensure that there are no drops in standards
Have the power to suspend and/or cancel the membership of any Assessor whose work falls below acceptable standards, or who does not adhere to a strict code of conduct
Ensure that there are proper procedures in place for complaints and redress
Keep a public register of their members.
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