Energy Surveys EPC Blog

After much deliberation the Government has slowly been introducing the requirement for Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s). These are required to be provided for all homes by European legislation - the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive which must be fully implemented by 2009 and is one of many initiatives to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and combat climate change.

EPC’s have also been made a requirement of UK legislation and are a key element of Home Information Packs (HIPs). The Government appears to have muddled through the introduction of these potentially valuable documents for householders and this has caused great confusion. Last August all 4 bedroom homes needed an EPC before they could be sold; this was extended to 3 bedroom homes in September and then the rest of the market in December. All new built homes were to also require an EPC by October 2007, this was put back to January 2008 and then put back again to 6^th April. The final phase of the domestic market should happen In October 2008 when all rented homes will require an EPC.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Secretary of State for the Environment Hilary Benn recently announced that the Government would provide funding of £100million for the development of a ‘green homes’ service over the next three years. The service is set to ease the confusion surrounding Energy Performance Certificates, confusion which was created by the Government in the first place due to poor communication and ineffective information being available.

I would question if this is really necessary when the professionals providing the relevant services have already taken it upon themselves to ensure their clients and communities understand the requirements of, and benefits of a home energy assessment. There is a growing army of Domestic Energy Assessors (DEA’s) who have all been trained and are qualified to provide Energy Performance Certificates this includes an increasing number of heating engineers. In addition to this over 62,000 heating installers have obtained the “Energy Efficiency Heating” qualification. It is estimated that over £50million has been invested in training, qualifications and registrations.

With EPC’s being extended to rented homes in October there is a real opportunity for gas engineers to train as DEA’s to provide EPC’s to link with the provision of landlord gas safety certificates.  Are you ready? For details email: deatraining@epcs4u.com

The purpose of an Energy Performance Certificate is to provide an energy rating of a home to indicate both running costs for heating, hot water and lighting and the carbon dioxide emissions; this is then converted into the A-G rating also used on fridges and boilers. Arguably the most important part of the EPC is the accompanying report which indicates the specific measures, tailored to the particular home which will provide the best savings and improvements. What it does not do is tell people where to go to find qualified and competent installers to undertake the improvements or what questions to ask and qualifications to look for.

Having recognised the confusion being created and the limitations of the legislation we have used our experience and with the support of 3 industry groups within the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes* have developed a very easy to navigate website which addresses all the issues now being discussed with Government with regards to getting people to act on improving their EPC, indeed we take this a step further and are encouraging people to get an EPC outside or in advance of the selling process. The website is www.epcs4u.com and it also provides guidance and direction towards competent and qualified installers, green mortgages, green energy tariffs, grants and even DEFRA’s Carbon Calculator and a search facility for qualified DEA’s.

Market research indicates that there is a great deal of confusion and people are concerned that a poor EPC rating will have an adverse effect on property value. There are also concerns of where to go to get a reputable installer for improvement work so the website addresses this too.

This initiative expands the potential market to over 15million private homes rather than rely on a very fickle housing sales market which is nearer 1million.

EPCs4u is also supported by the major industry trade and professional bodies, including IDHEE, CORGI, HETAS, OFTEC, HHIC, NIA, EST and Network Veka.

The Government has a very poor record of actually implementing climate change legislation on time. This in turn leaves the public confused at the lack of action and not knowing what to do, where to go or what questions to ask. www.epcs4u.com has been developed to
address all these issues and has full support of the energy efficiency industry - those qualified and registered to provide the assessments in the first place and also those who can undertake energy-saving improvement work.I do therefore question why the Government is throwing £100million at yet another scheme to promote energy efficiency, when the industry itself has already taken on the task at no cost to the tax payer.

Peter Thom

If you are a Landlord and require Energy Performance Certificates please contact peter@epcs4u.com

*The aim of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes (the Partnership) is to achieve energy efficiency in homes and alleviate fuel poverty through engaging cooperation and collaboration within the supply chain for energy efficient products and services. The Partnership is Government supported and has a comprehensive footprint within all relevant industry and social sectors and provides an effective mechanism for cross-sector cooperation and joint delivery of energy efficiency initiatives.