EPC Assessors

[sansarag]

We make decisions, and those decisions spin around and make us. If you're giving though to bettering your life through the use of Fully Accredited Energy Assessors, then help yourself influence the outcome you desire. Too many people tackle life like it’s a lotto ticket. If you wait around for long enough, your number will come up.

The penalty for failing to make an EPC available to any prospective buyer or tenant when Selling, Letting or Renewing a Lease of commercial premises is fixed, in most cases, at 12.5% of the rateable value of the building, subject to a minimum penalty of £500 and a maximum of £5,000. There is a default penalty of £750 where the formula cannot be applied. A formula is used as the costs of producing an EPC for non-dwellings are expected to vary according to the size, complexity and use of the building. The EPC will still be required. The cost of an EPC is set by the market. It includes the travel time to the dwelling and back, the survey, the energy modelling, production of the EPC, the lodgement and compliance with any quality assurance procedures. The costs of EPCs may differ for the rental sector compared to those for private homes for sale. Along with the older buildings, any that are erected and have a planned use time of less than 2 years would be exempt from an EPC. Likewise, any residential building that is only occupied for less than 4 months of the year would also find itself exempt. With this example, the building owner can also claim exemption if they could reasonably expect and potentially demonstrate that energy consumption is less than 25% for the whole year. EPCs provide suggestions on how to improve the energy efficiency rating, including the score it could potentially reach with improvements, like insulating where needed. These certificates are valid for 10 years – and are a legal requirement if you’re trying to sell or let a property. There are many benefits that one gets by conducting periodic EPC inspections. Furthermore, it is advisable to have a professional inspection company do the inspection for you regularly. With the world getting more and more aggressive with carbon emissions it is good to ensure that your house does not add to the already much carbon emitted into the environment. Energy Performance Certificates provide useful information that shows the energy efficiency of a building or property. You can also know in advance about your energy running costs on average for the whole year to come. In this way, you can transform any kind of domestic or not property into a more energy-efficient one.



The Energy Performance Certification was introduced in 2007, rating a property’s energy efficiency. By law, all domestic and commercial buildings available to buy or rent in the UK must have one. As of 1 April 2018, there is a requirement for any properties rented out in the private rented sector to have a minimum energy performance rating of E. The regulations came into force initially for new lets and renewals but have now been extended to existing tenancies as well. An approved energy assessor will log the data generated from the assessment on to a national register. This is the only place EPC data can be stored. It is also only valid once the data is entered into the register and given a reference number per data set. Once logged on to the database the energy assessor must provide the selling party or landlord with the EPC. You only need to renew an expired EPC when you plan to market the property for new tenants, when you make changes to the tenancy agreement with existing tenants, or if you want to reflect improvements you’ve made to a property that will result in an improved rating. EPCs are administered and regulated for separately in (a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland. EPCs were introduced in England and Wales on 1 August 2007 as part of Home Information Packs (HIPs) for domestic properties with four or more bedrooms. Over time this requirement was extended to smaller properties. When the requirement for HIPs was removed in May 2010, the requirement for EPCs continued. You may be asking yourself how does a non domestic epc register fit into all of this?
 

Minimum Requirements

Industrial sites and workshops, buildings are demolished, structures are used for less than 2 years, and stand-alone buildings with less than 50 square metres of valuable floor space are among the facilities that do not require an EPC. Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 also known as the minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) set minimum standards for EPCs for private rented properties in England and Wales. A Commercial EPC can only be produced by an accredited Non-Domestic Energy Assessor (NDEA) and is valid for ten years. Once produced, it is lodged on the Government’s National Non-Domestic EPC Register and is designed to give potential buyers and tenants some basic information about the building’s energy efficiency rating. This is so they can better understand the costs of running the building and changes or improvements they might wish to consider. The cost of a Commercial EPC is governed by the type, size and complexity of a building, also the type of heating and ventilation. Providing scale floor plans of a building will significantly reduce the cost. Landlords will need to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC Certificate) before marketing their property. The certificate must be made available to prospective tenants upon request. You can obtain an EPC by contacting a qualified and experienced EPC Assessor. The assessor will visit your property and carry out an inspection in order to produce the certificate and let you know about further improvements that can be done to improve your property's energy efficiency. There are many options available when it comes to epc commercial property in today’s market.

Local and state governments find it challenging to adopt aggressive residential building codes that require energy-efficiency upgrades beyond those with a reasonable payback. Thus, economic considerations inhibit the progress towards a more energy-efficient housing stock and often account for direct utility savings. Improving the energy efficiency of your home is also a great way potentially to add value, so if you’re looking to invest, you could think of a poor EPC rating as a good thing. Choosing a more energy efficient property will help to safeguard tenants' health and wellbeing by providing warmer, more desirable homes with lower running costs. If tenants are spending less on fuel bills, this could help to reduce the possibility of rent arrears. Finding an energy efficient home could also mean that tenants stay for longer, providing more stable rental income for the landlord. As a result of an EU directive it is required by law to show a valid Energy Performance Certificate when selling or leasing a commercial building. The directive came into effect in 2008 and certificates are valid for 10 years. Introduced in 2008 as part of the Home Information Packs (HIPs), the EPC aims to give potential buyers and tenants clearer information on the energy efficiency of their building. As well as rating the building for its current efficiency, the EPC also gives suggestions for improving energy use and will provide a predicted rating for when these are implemented. Conducting viability appraisals with respect to commercial epc is useful from the outset of any project.
 

Minimum Energy Performance Standards

The time it takes to conduct an EPC assessment on site depends on how large the dwelling is. On average an EPC takes between 45 minutes to an hour at the property. An assessor will require access to all rooms, cupboards and loft space. Every wall of the property is measured along with room heights and a detailed floor plan is created to calculate floor areas and heat loss perimeters. Access is also needed to utility meters and hot water tanks and boilers. A certified Non-Domestic Energy Assessor (NDEA) will visit your property to undertake an assessment at a time that suits you. The NDEAs we work with are qualified to the level of your property and accredited by a government body. They are regularly audited to ensure that their work complies with high quality standards. Once on site, the NDEA will take all required measurements and record information necessary to calculate the EPC rating for your property. Poorly insulated roofs and walls can have a massive impact on the EPC rating. Landlords should consider adding insulation to solid brick or metal-clad properties, especially where there are cavity walls. Old HVAC plant and equipment can be a significant factor in energy emissions. Effective solutions include the installation of more efficient boilers, variable-speed heating and cooling pumps and high-efficiency chillers An EPC relates to the property, not the person who commissioned it and – once completed – it is valid for 10 years. EPCs can be reused multiple times during this period. There are stringent financial penalties and potential reputational damage for landlords who fail to comply with the MEES regime, and the asset value of "sub-standard" properties with an 'F' and 'G' rating is invariably reduced. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the MEES regulations through compliance notices and fines, though in some cases, landlords may benefit from a six-month grace period to comply with the letting restrictions. Its always best to consult the experts when considering mees regulations these days.

When selling a property in the UK, it is now a legal requirement to have a valid EPC in place before the marketing of the property begins. Your EPC needs to be ordered before you begin to market your home, and therefore available to interested buyers as and when required. EPC is now a legal requirement for all dwellings in the construction stage. The EPC is valid for 10 years. If there are any changes or repairs to thermal elements carried out during this time period, an updated EPC should be issued. Not every job that an energy consultant goes into is going to be the same. Each build will have different requirements and not every solution is always black and white so it’s important that the consultant has a well-rounded skill set that has provided them with the ability to adapt, be critical and pull their knowledge from areas to provide the best plan and result for you and your build. An EPC is designed to illustrate to prospective buyers or tenants how energy efficient a building is by assigning a rating which is measured on a scale; with A-rated properties representing the most efficient and G-rated the least. Furthermore, the certificate will contain recommendations for cost-effective improvements advising how to improve the energy efficiency of the building and reduce fuel bills. Many farm buildings are exempt from the requirement to obtain an EPC. Most buildings which are sold or rented out will require an EPC. The intention is that an EPC is not required for buildings which do not use fuel or power for controlling the temperature of the internal environment (for instance a cattle shed). A service such as a mees is an invaluable asset in the heady world of business.
 

Omproving Energy Efficiency In Buildings

An EPC rating is a measure of a property’s energy efficiency. It is important because it determines whether your property is eligible for Government energy-efficiency grants. It can also impact the resale or letting of a property. EPCs give properties a rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). How long does an EPC take to prepare? It’s not a long winded process so for the average buy-to-let property an experienced Domestic Energy Assessor should be able to carry out the assessment in between 30 – 60 minutes depending on the size of the rental property. They will then go away and probably be able to email the EPC by the next day at the latest. An EPC for a commercial property now comes in one part combining the main certificate with the distinctive EU energy graph and a recommendations section. The Output report is also available as a non essential document. The Output document can be useful in showing where the energy is being used ie heating, lighting, auxiliary or domestic hot water. Stumble upon further intel regarding Fully Accredited Energy Assessors at this UK Government Portal entry.
 

Related Articles:

Further Information On Professionally Qualified Domestic Energy Assessors
Extra Information About Professionally Qualified Domestic Energy Assessors
Extra Insight On Qualified Domestic Energy Assessors
More Insight With Regard To Qualified Domestic Energy Assessors
More Background Information About Commercial EPC Contractors
Additional Findings About Professionally Qualified Domestic Energy Contractors
Additional Insight About Fully Accredited Energy Assessors