Do I need an EPC?
If you’re planning to sell or lease a domestic or commercial property in Wales then you need an EPC.
At the point of marketing for sale or leasing or construction you need an EPC to identify how efficient your property is. It’s a legal requirement in Wales and provides an indication of your property’s current energy performance. The certificate must be in place before marketing a property, and there are fines of up to £5,000 for non-compliance.
What exactly is an EPC?
To carry out the survey, a visit by an energy assessor from ‘EPC For You’ to your property takes place where all sorts of factors are looked at to be able to accurately assess the energy performance of your property. The assessor is qualified and approved/accredited as required by law.
The EPC survey is based entirely on observation unlike a building survey, which may involve invasive procedures. The time taken for an EPC survey depends on the size of the property and whether it is domestic or commercial, but ‘EPC For You’ can give you an estimate of how long an energy survey will take once an appointment is booked.
- Wales Commercial EPCs
- Wales Domestic EPCs
- Local Surveyors
What happens?
‘EPC For You’ will arrange for a friendly and professional energy assessor to conduct the assessment and he/she will need access to every room in the property. As lighting also uses up energy and produces heat, it is important in producing an assessment, and the number and type of fixed lighting will be noted. Any handbooks for a particular model of boiler for the property may also be helpful to the energy assessor, although they are not essential. Any room thermostats and thermostatic radiator valves fitted as well as any other form of heating that may not be part of a central heating system will also be relevant for the energy survey, for example, in domestic properties this could include open fires.
Having taken all of these observations, the ‘EPC For You’ energy assessor places all of his/her data into a government-approved software program in order to produce an energy efficiency calculation. Based on this information, the EPC will show how good or bad your property’s energy efficiency is. It rates your property’s energy efficiency from A to G, with A as ‘Very Efficient’ and G as ‘Very Inefficient’. The energy survey can also make recommendations for potential improvements. The EPC is valid for 10 years and will be unique to the property address.
- Landlords
- Property Agents
- Housing Associations
- Business Owners