Energy performance certificates (EPC certificates) are vitally important when it comes to either selling and/or renting a property out. They are part of the legally prescribed documents that have to be supplied to a buyer or a tenant before a sale or a rental agreement can go through. In short, no EPC certificate, no sale or rental. In this guide we will take a detailed look at EPC ratings, what affects them, how they can be improved and the law around EPC certificates and ratings.
What is an Energy Performance Certificate?
An energy Performance Certificate or EPC is a document which gives information on how energy efficient a property is. The certificate will rate a property’s performance from A-G, with A being the most energy efficient and G being the least energy efficient. The certificate will break down individual areas of the property such as loft or wall insulation, lighting, heating and windows and give an indication, for each area, how good the energy efficiency of that particular part is from very good to poor. This highlights the areas of focus for improvement. The certificate will then also give advice on what improvements can be made, how much the improvement is likely to cost, the expected change to the EPC rating by doing the upgrade and the yearly savings achievable from energy bills to be expected by making the improvements. The certificate then gives the best possible EPC rating if all the improvements were to be made. The final few bits of information on the certificate are:
- Comparative CO2 from the property compared to an average property and how much would be produced after all the suggested improvements are made
- How much primary energy is used per M2 of the property. This is a measure of the energy needed for lighting, heating and hot water and includes the following calculations and is given as a number of kWh/m2:
- The efficiency of the property’s heating system
- Power station efficiency for electricity
- the energy used to produce the fuel and deliver it to the property
- Estimated energy use in the property for space heating and water heating
- Assessor’s details and accreditations
- Date of Assessment and the date of the certificate
- Assessment type. This can be SAP which has to be used for new properties and those which have been significantly altered and RdSAP (Reduced Data SAP) which are used for existing buildings where the full information on the property is not available.
What are the EPC bandings?
EPCs are rated from A to G according to the following scoring system:
- EPC A rating = 92-100 SAP points (Green)
- EPC B rating = 81-91 SAP points (Green)
- EPC C rating = 69-80 SAP points (Green)
- EPC D rating = 55-68 SAP points (Yellow)
- EPC E rating = 39-54 SAP points (Amber)
- EPC F rating = 21-38 SAP points (Orange)• EPC G rating = 1-20 SAP points (Red)
How is an EPC calculated?
An assessor will come to the property and assess various aspects (see below) and then using the Government’s SAP procedure will calculate a score for the property. SAP stands for Standard assessment procedure which is a 234 page document detailing how to carry out an EPC inspection and how to calculate the score. During the inspection the assessor will look at the following:
- Type of property and age
- Construction materials
- Home insulation
- Wall thicknesses
- Heating systems & controls
- Hot water cylinder details
- Water cylinder insulation
- Secondary heating systems (if applicable)
- Floor construction
- Window glazing type
- Lighting, especially whether you are using energy-saving light bulbs
What factors affect EPC ratings?
Several things have a significant impact on an EPC rating and if you’re asking yourself the question “how to improve my epc rating” then this part will be important.
Lighting
Lighting only really has a relatively low impact on the overall EPC rating, but every point counts when it comes to the final rating. Typically lighting will add 1-2 points on the rating. The assessor will take a look at how many light fixtures there are and the types of bulb that are being used and their wattage. LED bulbs are the most energy efficient and will give the best ratings. It does pay to change the bulbs in your property as, especially in the winter, lights tend to be used very frequently and left on for prolonged periods of time.
Windows
Windows actually contribute to the insulation of a property as odd as that sounds. As such, windows should be as thermally efficient as possible. Single glazed windows have very poor insulation properties and really do very little to prevent heat loss. Good quality double or triple glazed windows can add 5-10 points on an EPC score. An assessor will be looking for the u values associated with the windows and also the size of the windows and their quality. The u value which is the thermal transmittance of the window should be as low as possible and for modern buildings has to be below 1.6 W/m2k but the lower the better. This essentially means that the windows transmit less heat, which means less heat loss.
Heating
The boiler in a property has one of the single biggest impacts on the EPC rating and can change it by up to 40 points if the most current energy efficient systems are used along with smart thermostats and smart radiator thermostatic valves. The largest EPC improvements will be made if the current boiler is very old and inefficient, but no matter what, moving to a new highly efficient boiler, with smart controls and smart radiator valves will make a massive difference to the EPC rating of a property.
Insulation
Insulation is the last main factor that can affect an EPC rating. A well-insulated property can shift an EPC score by 4-20 SAP points compared to an uninsulated property. The size of the shift depends on the size of the property, the number of exposed external walls, the size of the loft space and the condition of the walls in the property. Assessors will be looking for cavity wall insulation in the property which will reduce heat loss through walls. Loft insulation will also be important and assessors will be looking to see at least 270mm of loft insulation. Did you know that up to 25% of heat lost from a property is through a badly insulated loft? Insulation should be 100mm lying between the joists and then the remaining depth laid across the joists perpendicular to the first layer.
Making improvements in any of these areas, especially insulation and heating will improve the EPC rating of a property.
How Long does and EPC check take?
Typically, an EPC assessment will only take around 30 – 40 minutes
Can you fail an EPC check?
Yes, you can fail an EPC check, but only on new build properties. When a property is first built is it assessed according to the SAP process. This will assess a property’s compliance with building regulations as far as energy efficiency is concerned. If it does not comply, then it will fail and an EPC certificate cannot be issued. For existing buildings there is no pass or fail criteria for an EPC check so, an existing property can’t fail an EPC check. If it is very inefficient, it will simply be given the lowest rating of G. This will have an effect if you want to rent or sell the property and we will cover that later in the section on the legal requirement for EPCs.
How Long are EPC certificates valid for?
EPC certificates are valid for 10 years from the date of issue. However, if you do make improvements to the property after a certificate has been generated, it is worthwhile obtaining an updated certificate to accurately reflect the new EPC rating.
How to get an EPC Certificate
There are two ways to get an EPC certificate. The first is to have an assessment done by an accredited assessor and the second is to find a copy of an existing certificate. We often get asked “how to get a copy of my EPC certificate”. The simplest way is to pop onto the EPC register webpage, choose the start now option, put in the required details such as type of property, post code and house number and, if there is an EPC certificate for the property, it will be displayed.
If you need to find an assessor to carry out an assessment to generate an EPC certificate then try using the Government’s website which details accredited assessors. You’ll need to input the type of property (domestic or commercial), whether the property already exists or is brand new and the post code of the property. You will then be shown details of assessors local to the area who will be able to conduct an EPC assessment.
How much is an EPC certificate
Depending on the size of the property an EPC certificate can cost from £35 to £120. Like any other time you are looking for a company to provide a service, it can pay to shop around. It is always worth asking a few assessors for quotes in order to get the best deal.
When is an EPC not required?
As with many legal requirements, there are exemptions and not all properties need an EPC certificate. These are:
- places of worship
- temporary buildings that will be used for less than 2 years
- stand-alone buildings with total useful floor space of less than 50 square metres
- industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings that do not use a lot of energy
- some buildings that are due to be demolished
- holiday accommodation that’s rented out for less than 4 months a year or is let under a licence to occupy
- listed buildings – you should get advice from your local authority conservation officer if the work would alter the building’s character
- residential buildings intended to be used less than 4 months a year
Are EPC a legal requirement?
Yes, they are. A property cannot be sold, be it a new build or an existing property, or rented without a valid EPC certificate. When it comes to an EPC for a rental property, current legislation requires that, for rented properties, an EPC rating of E or above is required. This means that no property can be rented out if it has an EPC of F or G. If the seller of a property or a landlord is found to have sold or rented a property out without providing an EPC certificate to the buyer or a tenant, then they could be fined. More on this topic below.
What is the penalty for not having an EPC?
A seller and a landlord can be fined £200 if an EPC is not made available when selling or looking to rent a property. If a landlord rents out a property with an EPC rating of below an E they can also be fined. Fines for renting out a property with an EPC rating of below an E can be up to £5,000 and a landlord would not be able to issue a section 21 eviction notice, which is also the case if an EPC certificate is not given to the tenant.
Does the EPC rating affect house Prices?
In short yes is does. Moneysupermarket carried out a survey to look at how property prices changed when improving an EPC rating from a G. they saw that moving from a G to and F increased a property’s value by around 6% and moving all the way to an A improved the value of the property by around 14%.
Does the EPC rating affect energy bills?
Energy companies do not charge different tariffs based on the EPC rating of a property so, in that sense, no, an EPC rating does not affect energy bills. Saying that, because the property is less energy efficient, it will cost more to heat or light a property with a G rating vs an A rating so on that front, having a poor EPC rating does affect energy bills as it takes more energy to heat or light the property.
Who pays for an EPC certificate?
There can be confusion when it comes to EPC certificates and who pays for them. We often get asked these two questions:
“who pays for EPC, landlord or tenant?” it is the landlord who is responsible for organising and paying to have the EPC certificate generated for their property.
We are also asked “who pays for EPC, seller or buyer?”. When it comes to selling a property, unlike other surveys, it is the seller who is responsible for organising and paying to have the EPC certificate generated for their property.
The EPC rating for a property is important as it can affect the day-to-day running costs for the inhabitant and also the value of a property. Having a current EPC certificate is also a legal requirement when it comes to selling or renting a property and those selling a property or renting a property can be fined if they do not supply an EPC certificate as required.
