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What is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)?
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When you purchase a new appliance it always has a coloured sticker on it telling you how energy efficient the appliance is. This is the case for buildings. Each has an EPC rating from A, the most efficient, to G, the least efficient. The rating lets you know how costly it is to both warm up and cool down your home.
An EPC shows information on a property’s energy use and typical energy costs plus makes recommendations on how to reduce energy usage and increase efficiency. If you’re a landlord or selling a property, you must get this certificate ordered before you put the property on the market. If it’s still valid, you may be able to use the EPC given to you when you bought the property.
You can view EPCs for any property that has one at the national EPC register.
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Do I need an EPC?
Since 2008 it has been a legal requirement to have an EPC whether you are selling a property or letting out. If you own a commercial property that you want to sell or lease, you’ll also need to get an EPC organised.
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There are some exemptions to the requirement of an EPC. They include:
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A rented room within a house (a self-contained flat within a larger house that has its own front door and facilities will need one)
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Some types of listed buildings
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A property that cannot be modified to make it more energy efficient
What information is displayed on an EPC?
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An EPC will look like the multi-coloured sticker that you see on new household appliances. It will include:
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An energy efficiency rating
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The estimated costs of running your home
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A summary of energy performance related features
The energy efficiency rating on an EPC will be dedicated to how energy efficient your property is. As we mentioned before this is graded from A to G.
An older property with no retrofitted energy-saving technology will typically be around a D grade. Landlords are required to achieve a minimum of an E grade and can face a penalty of up to £4,000 for failure to meet this minimum efficiency requirement.
The summary of energy performance related features will help you to see how energy efficient different aspects of your home are. Use it as a guide to work out which areas to focus on first when improving your home’s energy efficiency.
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Who can carry out an EPC?
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Only an accredited domestic energy assessor can issue you with an EPC. An estate or letting agent can find one for you, but you can also do this yourself by visiting the EPC Register to search for one in your area.
How is the
rating calculated?
The rating is calculated following
a non-invasive assessment of the
property by a qualified
Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA)
This is typicaly based on:
Property age and type
Wall type
Lighting
Main and secondary heating
Windows
Roof
Hot water
Floor type
What does it Show?
4. How to improve the property's energy performance
An EPC is split into 6 main sections:
1. The energy efficiency rating for the property
This section provides recommendations on how to increase the
property's energy efficiency. This includes recommended energy
saving measures, typical instalation cost, typical yearly saving
and potential rating after carrying out the recommendation.
This section shows the current and potencial energy rating of
the property rated A-G.
2. A breakdown of the property's energy performance
- Very good (most efficient)
- Good
- Average
- Poor
- Very poor (least efficient)
This section shows the energy performance for the different
features of the property, such as lighting and windows.
They are assessed as either:
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5. Estimated energy use and potencial savings
View the estimated yearly energy cost for the property
compared with the potential saving if all the
recommendations were installed. Also included a section on heating use in the property,covering estimated energy used to heat the property and the potencial energy savings by installing insulation.
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6. Contacting the assessor and accreditation scheme
3. The environmental impact of the property
The details of the Energy Assessor who produce the EPC
and their accreditation body are displayed on the EPC should you wish to contact them.
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This section shows how much CO2 the property produces per
year as well as the average household and the property's
potential CO2 emissions.
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