Claire Shepherd, Sector Lead for Property & Urban Regeneration at ITPEnergised takes an in-depth look at Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s) – why you need them, how they can add value to your property and how our team can provide EPCs for Level 3, 4 and 5 commercial buildings and deliver expert advice that goes beyond the minimum EPC compliance requirements.

EPC’s were introduced in the UK in 2007 (England and Wales) and 2008 in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Since then they have become a standard legal requirement of construction projects, property transactions and new leases, however beyond this legal compliance we believe EPC’s can be a valuable tool to understanding your property. 

What is an EPC?

In a nutshell – an EPC is a certificate which provides information on how energy efficient your building is, and how it could be improved. The property is given a rating from A to G, with A being the most efficient and G being the least efficient.

Why do I need one?

• It is a legal requirement to have a valid EPC when a building is sold, rented or constructed. Your property’s EPC needs to be available to potential buyers as soon as you start to market your property for sale or rent, to inform potential owners and tenants how energy efficient the property is.
• In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, it is unlawful to let or sell commercial properties with an EPC Rating of F or G (MEES – Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards).  Buildings with a poor rating therefore need to be improved to allow them to be sold or let.
• In Scotland, properties over 1,000m²  that do not meet the energy standards equivalent to those introduced in the 2002 Building Regulations, will require a further assessment to identify a target for improvement of the carbon and energy performance of the building.

What do ITPEnergised do?

We are accredited to provide the following EPC services:

• EPC’s for Level 3 & 4 commercial buildings throughout the UK.
• Section 63 Action Plans.
• Display Energy Certificates. (DEC)

In addition we can also provide EPC’s for Level 5 commercial buildings. Level 5 buildings are typically the most complex buildings to produce energy assessments for.  A Level 5 non-domestic property contains specific features such as atriums, automatic blind control and ventilation with enhanced thermal coupling. 

Our team is qualified to assess Building Regulations compliance and produce EPC’s for any non-domestic building in the UK, irrespective of its size or complexity

The added value of an EPC

• The EPC process can help highlight relatively inexpensive ways to improve ratings, which in turn make your property more appealing to the marketplace.
• Lowering energy consumption and increasing energy efficiency are key considerations for many organisations who want to improve their sustainability. 
• A commercial property with good energy consumption and ratings attracts more potential tenants and buyers.
• Unsellable assets and properties without a tenant can be brought back to the market by meeting minimum energy efficiency standards.

As a general rule:

The better your EPC rating, the better the marketability of your property.

At ITPEnergised we help our clients take a closer look at their certificates to find out what inputs are driving the ratings, what they can implement to optimise their property’s efficiency and how they can make their property a more attractive proposition for a potential tenant or purchaser.  This exercise can help identify cost-effective savings which, if implemented, will improve an EPC rating as well as the property’s energy efficiency.

We believe the EPC recommendations are just as important as the rating.

We can provide expert advice that goes beyond the minimum EPC compliance requirements. We have the knowledge and expertise to go beyond the recommendations made by the software, and know the real world implementation of the improvement measures we suggest.  We have extensive expertise in energy management, Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) Assessments, Streamlined Energy Carbon Reporting (SECR) compliance reporting and renewable energy feasibility studies.

An EPC is not just a legal requirement, it can also be a valuable tool for your business. 

To view and download the full Energy Performance Certificates paper, please click here.