What is an Energy Performance Certificate?
Industrial development throughout the world has lead to large amounts of pollution and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. The result is climatic changes and extreme weather patterns in many parts of the world. In 2002 the UK, along with other EU members, ratified the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. This means the UK is committed to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to 92% of the 1990 level by 2012. The UK Government has gone further by aiming to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 60% of the current level by 2050.
Production of Carbon Dioxide
A major generator of carbon dioxide is residential housing which produces about one third of all pollution in the UK. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) have been introduced to show home owners how energy efficient their properties are and how that efficiency can be improved. Making improvements saves home owners money and helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions so that everybody wins with energy conservation.
Legislation
By 2009 all buildings must be included in the EPC process so that whenever a property is built, sold or rented an EPC will normally have to be produced. This process is now being phased in starting with sales of residential properties. Trained Domestic Energy Assessors (DEA) or Home Inspectors (HI), such as the members of Greener Horizons, can provide home owners and/or their agents with EPCs at modest costs.
The Inspection
In order to produce an EPC, an energy assessor visits your home where he or she needs access to the exterior of the property, all rooms inside plus cellars, lofts or rooms-in-the-roof if you have them. The assessor also needs to see the boiler and any gas or electricity meters. A report is compiled from the information gathered.
The Energy Performance Certificate
The report gives an Energy Rating and an Environmental Impact (carbon dioxide) Rating, each on scale of 1 (worst) to 100 (best). The EPC report gives a summary of the property’s current energy performance related features and makes recommendations about the measures that could be taken to improve the rating and reduce energy costs. The measures are presented in three groups based on their costs and the typical annual savings that could be achieved by adopting each of the recommendations:
- Lower Cost Measures (cost up to £500) – for example, additional loft insulation
- Higher Cost Measures (cost over £500) – for example, upgrading heating system controls
- Further Measures – possibly with longer pay back times, for example double glazing
The information contained in the EPC report gives existing or new owners of the property the information they need to decide how they might improve energy efficiency. Improving energy efficiency saves money and improves the Energy Rating and Environmental Impact rating.
When an EPC is produced it is assigned a unique Report Reference Number (RRN) and lodged with the Accreditation Scheme and on the official EPC/HCR Register. You may retrieve an Energy Performance Certificate from the Register using the RRN. The EPC is available as a PDF file.