© 2011 hippityhop.co.uk
Energy Surveys for EPC (s) / Energy Performance Certificates
Asbestos Surveys and Sampling for Commercial or Domestic
Quotation/Estimate Checking and Negotiation
Northampton -
Coventry -
Office: 01604 708878
Mobile: 07974 530841
Energy Matters for the Public:
What is all the fuss about regarding Energy Performance Certificates? The EPC is part of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and if you want to know the technicalities, then click here to go to the EPBD website.
For the layman, and EPC is compiled from an energy survey of a dwelling. An EPC can only be produced by a suitably qualified and accredited Domestic Energy Assessor. An Energy Performance Certificate must be obtained if you are selling or renting a dwelling. If you are selling your property, the EPC forms one element of the Home Information Pack.
The energy survey involves a visit to the property which, depending on size, can take anything from half an hour upwards. The average in our experience is around 45 minutes which allows enough time to gather all of the required information. The energy assessor will look at the age and structure of the property and will also take measurements (including ceiling heights), how the property is insulated (floor, wall and loft insulation), glazing, open chimneys, heating systems, the number of heated/unheated rooms, how the water is heated, low energy lighting, electrical services and heating supplies (eg, mains gas, LPG etc). There are also some further technical things to do with extensions, conservatories, rooms in the roof and, for flats, corridors and other heated spaces. The report is based on a SAP calculation but is known as a Reduced Data SAP (RdSAP). Once the energy assessor has the necessary information, it will be input (often off site) into some software along wtih a few calculations and a standardised Energy Performance Certificate will be generated. This is lodged on a central register and will have a unique reference number.
What use is an EPC? The EPC is not just the two bar charts that you may have seen on Estate Agents’ property details. The full Energy Performance Certificate is a 5/6 page report which tells you about the dwelling, rough running costs for fuel and electricity and recommendations to improve both the energy efficiency (running costs) and the carbon emissions of the dwelling.
In the UK, around 40% of all carbon emissions are produced by domestic dwellings. That’s quite a lot! However, the UK only produces around 2% of global carbon emissions so why bother with all this in the first place? Well, we have to start somewhere and why shouldn’t it be the UK (and Europe) leading the way in reducing carbon emissions? Benefits include a cleaner environment for younger people growing up and, as green technologies are developed, an industrial and economic stimulus. It could be argued that if we look at green issues from an economic rather than environmental point of view, the case for green technology makes more sense. Fuel prices are not going to be reduced over the medium to long term and natural resources WILL become more scarce and more difficult to obtain. Even if you take global warming out of the equation, surely it makes sense to invest now in reusable and sustainable technology to save money?
Tim Lawson (DipDEA, DipOCDEA)
October 2009