Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

EPC stands for Energy Performance Certificate. An EPC is a document that tells you the energy efficiency rating of a property, on a scale of A - G for domestic properties and A+ - G for commercial properties. EPCs are legal documents that must be in place for any property up for sale or rental.

A RdSAP EPC is an Energy Performance Certificate for domestic or residential properties, RdSAP stands for Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure.

Both domestic and commercial Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) were first brought into effect in 2007 to measure the energy efficiency of residential and commercial properties.

If you are planning on selling or renting out your property, then it is a legal requirement that you have a valid (and with a passing rating) EPC for potential buyers and tenants, who have the right to request an EPC if you do not provide one immediately.

If you are planning on renting the property then, due to MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards) legislation, you must have at least an E rated EPC.

The energy performance of a domestic building is graded on both an A - G scale (G being the lowest rating and A being the highest) and a numerical scale (1-20 being the worst and 92+ being the best achievable scores). The grade that you receive is known as the Energy Efficiency Rating, and factors such as the property’s construction and heating can affect your final rating in addition to the standardised assumptions about occupancy numbers and individual energy use. Currently, the average dwelling in England and Wales will achieve a D rating. To rent out your domestic property legally, it must achieve at least an E rating on it’s EPC.

An EPC assessor will not be able to give you an estimate of your EPC rating whilst still on site, this is because they need to enter all the data they have collected into the EPC software which calculates the efficiency depending on a range of variables.

The answer is yes! The following situations deem your property exempt.

  • Some listed buildings
  • Building due for demolition, resulting in site due for redevelopment
  • Building to be sold or rented out with vacant possession
  • Places of worship
  • Industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings that have a low energy demand.
  • Stand-alone commercial buildings with a total useful floor space of less than 50m².
  • Switch your lighting to LED
  • Insulate your hot water cylinder
  • Install heating controls
  • Replace boiler with a new condensing boiler
  • Replace single glazed windows with double glazing
  • Install or upgrade your loft insulation
  • Insulate your floor
  • Install wall insulation
  • Install solar panels

Both domestic and commercial EPCs are valid for 10 years from the date of the certificate, unless superseded by a more up-to-date certificate.

All EPCs are lodged in the national register, on which you can search via postcode to check whether your property has an EPC or not. The link to the site is as follows - https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate.

For domestic properties up to four bedrooms it will take approx 30–45 minutes on site for the assessor to collect all the necessary data for the calculations, and after the site visit the assessor will need to process the data and finalise the EPC certificate at the desk. Here at EPCs Southwest Ltd, we aim to have the documents ready 1-2 working days after the date of the appointment.

Hidden Energy Saving Elements
If you have any hidden* energy saving elements in your property (for example, insulation, renewables, etc.) then you will need to provide evidence of its presence to the assessor either prior to or on the day of the survey, this can be a headed invoice from when the insulation was installed. If you cannot provide evidence then the energy saving elements cannot be included in the calculations for your Energy Performance Rating - this is industry standard, as assessors must provide evidence for all the data they input to the EPC software for quality assurance auditing.

*if you cannot see over 75% of something without intrusive action (drilling into walls, lifting floor boards, etc.) then it is counted as hidden.

Access
The assessor will need to have a look into every room in the property (including the loft in domestic properties, and commercial if accessible), please arrange all access requirements prior to the survey.

As from the 1st April 2018, there will be a requirement for any properties rented out in the private rented sector to normally have a minimum energy performance rating of E on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect from 1st April 2018 and for all existing tenancies on 1st April 2020. It will be unlawful to rent a property which breaches the requirement for a minimum E rating, unless there is an applicable exemption. A civil penalty of up to £4,000 will be imposed for breaches.