What is an Energy Performance Certificate?
Introduction
There are several different kinds of EPC, there are domestic, commercial, air conditioning and display energy certificates. They are produced by licensed energy assessors who create them completely independently.
Whilst the different EPCS all look at different things they have all been designed to provide the reader with a common visual representation of how efficient the building or air-con unit is. They quickly represent the efficiency of the building in the form of an asset rating which is an easily identifiable colour graded scale. The certificate also provides the reader with a rating within the range A to G. The best rating is an A or green where as the worst performing G or red.
EPCs were introduced in this country in response to the EPBD or Energy Performance of Building Directive http://www.buildingsplatform.org/cms. This is a piece of European legislation was created to reduce the huge amount of energy wasted across Europe due to poorly constructed and badly managed buildings. For example domestic buildings in the UK account for 25% of our Co2 emissions, this is the same as all the cars and lorries on the road.
Contained within all Energy Performance Certificates is a breakdown of the properties energy use, Co2 production and the costs attributed to its heating, hot water and lighting. Every certificate will also include recommendations for suggesting how to optimize the property and reduce its running costs and environmental impact.
This is an example of how the energy efficiency of a property is represented within an Energy Performance Certificate.
The colour grading system may seem familiar as they have been on domestic appliances for some time now and it is also the colours of the Horizon logo.
The Energy Performance Ratings Explained
There are two ratings. There is the current rating showing the efficiency of the property at the time of inspection and the potential rating. The potential represents what rating the property would receive if the recommendations within the report were implemented.
All recommendations included within the report come with example prices for implementation and an estimate at any potential savings that can be made.
To date Horizon has not produced a certificate that has provided an A rating. To achieve an A the building must considerably exceed today's building regulations and be producing its own hot water and electricity. The national average lies between D and E which is what we see most commonly in the region.
Whilst an EPC will often highlight inefficiencies in the case of domestic properties there exists a considerable amount of assistance in the forms of grants and tax relief accessible by home owners and landlords to help them act on the recommendations within an EPC.
