ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES
The Energy Performance of Buildings
Directive requires an Energy Performance
Certificate (EPC) to be made available
whenever a building is constructed, sold
or rented out. The EPC is a certificate
awarded by an accredited Energy Assessor
that ranks the energy performance of the
building on a scale from A for the very
best performing buildings down to G at
the bottom end of the scale. This
certificate can then be used by
prospective tenants and purchasers in
order to establish how efficient the
building is likely to be and
consequently how much the building will
cost to run in energy terms. Each EPC
should also be accompanied by a list of
cost-effective measures to improve
energy efficiency.
In practice this means that as of the
1st October 2008 all commercial premises
with a floor area greater than 50 square
metres is required by law to obtain an
energy performance certificate at the
point at which the premises are either
sold or let to a tenant. Failure to have
a certificate at the point at which a
building is sold or leased could lead to
a fine of up to £5,000.
Once obtained an EPC is valid for 10
years and covers all prospective tenants
and purchasers.
For the purposes of the regulations,
a building is defined as:
“A roofed construction having
walls, for which energy is used to
condition the indoor climate, and a
reference to a building includes a
reference to a part of a building
which has been designed or altered
to be used separately”.
For a building to fall within the
requirement for an EPC it must have both
a roof and walls and use energy to
control the indoor climate. In practice
this means that it must have some sort
of heating, mechanical ventilation or
air conditioning. Buildings which have
hot water and lighting but no heating or
air conditioning are not required to
have an EPC.
Individual buildings need
certificates when constructed, sold or
rented out. Where there are multiple
units within a building, self contained
units will require an individual EPC. If
several units share core facilities,
such as kitchens and bathrooms, only one
certificate will be required for the
whole building. Some houses in multiple
occupation (HMOs) will include
self-contained dwellings (each requiring
its own EPC) and units with shared
facilities, for which one certificate
will suffice. If a number of buildings
in the same block have identical energy
characteristics, an EPC may be based on
the assessment of another representative
building in the same block, therefore
reducing costs.
If a building is modified or extended
and the modification includes the
provision or extension of fixed services
for heating, air conditioning or
mechanical ventilation (ie those
services that condition the indoor
climate for the benefits of the
occupants) then an EPC will be required.
When the modifications are physically
complete, it is the responsibility of
the person carrying out the modification
works to provide an EPC and report to
the owner of the building and to notify
Building Control that this has been
done. Building Control will not issue a
certificate of completion until they are
satisfied this has been done.
EPCs are not required on
construction sale or rent for:
- Places of Worship
- Temporary Buildings (with a
planned use of less than 2 years)
- Stand alone buildings with a
total useful floor area of less than
50m2 that are not dwellings
- Industrial sites, workshops and
non-residential agricultural
buildings with low energy demand
- EPCs are not required on sale or
rent for buildings due to be
demolished. The seller or landlord
should be able to demonstrate that
the building is to be sold or let
with vacant possession; and the
building is suitable for demolition
and the resulting site is suitable
for redevelopment; and they believe,
on reasonable grounds, that a
prospective buyer or tenant intends
to demolish the building (eg on
evidence of an application for
planning permission).
In general terms the certificate
provided or made available should
reflect the accommodation being sold or
let and generally will fall in to one of
four types, as follows:
Domestic Energy Performance
Certificate:
A Domestic Energy performance
certificate is required as part of the
Home Information Pack when a domestic
property is sold. Domestic rental
properties require an EPC upon change of
tenant and all domestic properties which
are sold which do not require a HIP (or
are exempt), will also require an EPC.
EPCs are valid for 10 years, except when
included as part of Home Information
Pack, when they must not be older than
12 months at the first point of
marketing. These EPCs may only be
produced by an accredited Domestic
Energy Assessor (DEA).
Non Domestic Energy Performance
Certificate:
An Energy Performance Certificate is
required for commercial buildings
greater than 50m2 . It is the
responsibility of the seller or landlord
to provide an EPC as soon as a building
is in the process of being offered for
sale or let. EPCs are valid for 10
years. These EPCs may only be produced
by an accredited Non Domestic Energy
Assessor (NDEA) rated at level three or
above depending on the complexity of the
property.
On Construction Energy Performance
Certificate:
When a building is being constructed,
it is the responsibility of the builder
to provide an EPC to the owner of the
building and to notify Building Control
that this has been done. Building
Control will not issue a certificate of
completion until they are satisfied this
has been done. The EPC is produced using
SAP software and is one of a number of
documents produced to comply with part L
of Building Regulations. For Commercial
properties, these EPCs may only be
produced by an accredited Non Domestic
Energy Assessor (NDEA) rated at level
four or above depending on the
complexity of the property.
Display Energy Certificate:
Public authorities, and institutions
providing public services to a large
number of persons, who occupy space in a
building with a total useful floor area
greater than 1000m2, must display a
valid display energy certificate (“DEC”)
at all times and have a valid advisory
report in their possession. A DEC shows
an operational rating which conveys the
actual energy used by the building as
opposed to an EPC which conveys an asset
rating showing the intrinsic performance
of the building. A DEC should be updated
annually. These EPCs may only be
produced by an accredited DEC Energy
Assessor (DEC).
If the public building is sold or let,
it will additionally require an EPC. If
the building has an EPC, the asset
rating will need to be included on the
DEC.
Energy Performance Certificates can
only be allocated by an accredited
Energy Assessor. All Energy Assessors
are required to be qualified for the
type of building being assessed. For Non
Domestic EPCs the levels are as follows:
Level 3
Level 3 energy assessors will be
qualified to undertake EPCs on “simple”
commercial properties with “frequently
occurring characteristics" such as
simple heating systems, simple natural
ventilation and small comfort cooling
systems” -- those which are very similar
to domestic premises in the fabric and
services present, such as a block of
shops with flats above them using SBEM
(Simplified Building Energy Model)
software. These properties can have a
maximum useable floor space of 2500m2
which encompasses approx 70% of all of
the UK’s commercial property. In
addition to the maximum size of the
property the Boiler must be rated at
less than 100KW and any air conditioning
equipment at less than 12KW.
Level 4
Level 4 Energy assessors can provide
EPCs on larger more complex buildings
with advanced features which can be
calculated using SBEM software. A Level
4 assessor using SBEM is expected to
have experience of buildings in the
commercial sector, which may have both
fabric and services installations that
are not found in domestic buildings, ie.
any HVAC systems and will be more
familiar with the requirement of part L
of the Building Regulations. Level 4
Energy assessors can provide
certificates for all buildings that are
suitable for modelling using SBEM
software.
Level 5
A Level 5 assessor is trained in the
use of DSM software and is expected to
have experience of buildings in the
commercial sector, which may have both
fabric and services installations that
are uncommon for which the asset rating
is best measured using dynamic
simulation. Level 5 Energy Assessors can
provide Energy Performance Certificates
for all non domestic building s using
either SBEM or DSM software.
In order to get an Energy Performance
Certificate for your building contact:
information@carbonreductionmanagement.co.uk
or
telephone: 0115 9377358
One of our consultants will then be
happy to advise you further.
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