Energy Performance Certificate explained
Why do we need the EPC?
Confirmed fact: Global warming is real and we are feeling the effects in our lifetime. Scientists have predicted that the UK climate will most likely get progressively warmer and wetter in the coming years if greenhouse gas levels continue to rise. This means that extreme weather such as that which caused the floods of June 2007 in South Yorkshire and other areas is likely to occur more often in the future.
The only sustainable way to prevent this from happening is to stop greenhouse gas levels from rising. Because our homes make up around a third of the UK's carbon footprint, it is essential we start cutting down our emissions. That's where the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) comes in.
The EU passed a law called the "Energy Performance of Buildings Directive". This law states that an EPC must be provided whenever a building is constructed, sold, or rented out. EPCs are being phased in mainly as a part of HIPs over the next few years. For more information on when and how this will be done please visit our HIP section.
How will the EPC reduce household greenhouse gas emissions?
Essentially, the EPC is a plan of how to:
1) Reduce the amount of energy a property uses (meaning lower bills).
2) Cut its carbon footprint down to size.
After we do a full energy assessment the EPC can be produced. You can see very clearly on a scale of A to G (shown below) what a property's current energy efficiency rating is, meaning how much energy it uses. 'A' is very efficient whilst 'G' is very inefficient. The EPC also shows a property's current environmental impact rating which represents the size of the property's 'carbon footprint'. An 'A' rating is very good.
The EPC next goes on to state to what extent both these ratings can be brought closer to an 'A' by giving a 'potential' rating. How to achieve this 'ideal' rating is then laid out in a series of suggested practical improvements.
These improvements are separated into three groups according cost of installation and the estimated cost savings for each improvement are listed alongside:
1) Low cost measures such as fitting low energy light bulbs.
2) More involved measures to consider, e.g. upgrading your heating controls.
3) Further measures to maximise your home's potential. Long term measures may take longer to pay for themselves in terms of money saved, but they are often still worth considering. For example double glazing typically takes many years to pay for itself in terms of keeping the heat in but it has other advantages such as being very durable, secure and it reduce noise from outside.
The final part of the report gives basic information about each improvement and recommends the best place to contact to enquire about it.
Essentially the EPC helps people consider different properties by enabling clear comparison in terms of how much its going to cost to live in a property and how environmentally friendly a home is. Crucially though, the EPC gives you a good idea of how much work it will take to bring a property up to scratch.
Here is a sample EPC
Note: You need Adobe Acrobat to view this file.
Click here to download it for free.
Contact us for a no obligation
HIP or EPC quote
Visit our Home Information Pack page for HIP information
Return to Lane Energy Assessors homepage
LANE ENERGY ASSESSORS
