EPC Certificate

The EPC certificate is a document that is produced in order for consumers to view and identify where their property is underperforming.  The EPC certificate was introduced in 2007. It was originally intended that the EPC certificate is part of Home Information Packs, though when they were abolished in 2010 the EPC certificate still remained a requirement for all landlords and some homeowners.

An assessment of a property is required before an EPC certificate can be created. What is known as a Domestic Energy Assessor is responsible for the survey. The assessor will attend a property and conduct observations of a variety of areas within a property. Assessors look at a selection of places that consume and potentially waste. Boilers, loft insulation, windows and radiators, amongst others, are all checked and evidence is recorded. Once the information has been gathered, assessors will then enter the information into a computer program, which calculates energy use and potential savings.

EPC certificates will require input from the owner or resident though, with a degree of trust being placed amongst them, the reason being that assessors are unable to establish what their actual energy usage is. The amount of energy used and the actual savings is completely down to the resident(s) of the property.