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What an Energy Performance Certificate looks like and contains |
Energy Performance Certificates were created as a way to educate the public/companies on how to improve the energy efficiency of there buildings, so if you are buying, selling or renting a home it is now law to have an Energy Performance Certificate and they are also required on construction of new homes, so if you are buying one make sure you see a copy of it.
Homes currently account for 27 per cent of the UK's carbon emissions and it is why the powers at be want us to change the way in which we light, heat and use our homes as most people contribute to this, so even small improvements to the energy performance and the way we use our homes, could have a significant effect on our utility costs and carbon emissions. Over time it could also have an effect on the value of our homes, as recently we have heard the first buyer say to a agent " those five house details you sent me are not efficient enough!" and although this is the minority, it could be become the norm if gas and oil prices keep on rising.
How are homes rated?
Hopefully you have heard of the building regulations? but if not this is what they are;
The Building Regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings, primarily to ensure the safety and health for people in or around those buildings, but also for energy conservation and access to and about buildings and if you want to know more please follow this link
The Building regulations have changed over a dozen times in the last 30 years and are getting tougher year on year, which although are adding costs for builders and developers are improving our homes, although there is a way to go before we get houses that will cost us nothing to run but that and should be the aim.
We are getting a bit technical now but part of the building regulations is a SAP rating (Standard Assessment Procedure) which is the current method used to obtain energy ratings for new build homes. The procedure is used to determine heat losses and thermal characteristics of the property by examining the building's plans, the construction materials used in the build and additional factors including space and water heating.
SAP ratings are scored on a scale from 1 to 100 where 1 is the worst and where 100 will indicate no heating/hot water cost.
SAP ratings as you can imagine are not simple to calculate so Architects working on new buildings generally work with an energy consultant who has the qualifications and technical software to work these figures out with them.
When it comes to existing homes the system works on what is called a reduced SAP calculation (RdSAP) which if correctly calculated gets within 5% of a full SAP rating. As domestic energy assessors we therefore have to gather information about your house and this is why we will be in your home for around 1hour.
What does an energy performance survey entail?
1. The ratings above need to have the volume of your property to be calculated so we need to sketch your property and measure and calculate the areas/volumes of the main house and any extensions.
2. We need to know/find out how old your house is and what it is constructed of ie is it cavity or timber frame etc
3. We need to find out the current insulation in the property via a roof/wall inspection.
4. We need to find out what heating systems are installed and what fuels are used.
5. We need to find out what lighting/heating and controls are used in every room.
Once we have collected all this information a standard software package is used (based on a default family and use) to calculate the rating which is displayed as a graph with a range from A-G.
How do you read the EPC graph? also see this link
These graphs are used for all sorts of white goods nowadays so you may have seen them before but with your home the EPC currently does not make it clear what it means so to make it simple here is an overview.
1. An "A" rated house with a rating of 100 will cost you nothing to run! These houses are still rare but keen self builders and some forward thinking developers are building these houses now and if your are interested some are being in Watermoor Cirencester (the old post office) by a developer who has been working in Germany for many years.
2. A "C" house is currently the standard for new homes in 2009 but the government is going to be changing the building regulations moving forward and is aiming for "A" rated standard by 2020. You can feel the difference of a "C" rated house when the heating is off as the insulation is stopping heat loss.
3. "E" ratings is what the average house is in the uk so please do not panic if your house is rated like this.
4. Flats will often have better ratings than houses as they have less heat loss walls (outside walls or unheated walls adjacent to garages etc) and other properties beside and below them.
Accredited Domestic Energy Assessors |
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