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#1 2023-08-25 12:36:58

sansaarg
Member
Registered: 2023-08-25
Posts: 6

EPC Assessors

I am genuinely certain you have read plenty of pieces about Commercial Energy Performance Assessors. They are decidedly common with bloggers and readers alike.

An EPC is not currently required for a listed property or building within a conservation area when it is sold or rented in so far as compliance with minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter its character or appearance. In the initial years following the scheme’s introduction, an EPC was largely viewed as yet another piece of paperwork involved in the home-buying process. In more recent times, however, it’s taken on a new importance. Some holiday homes may not need an EPC. A certificate will be required when the lettings period exceeds 4 months in a 12-month period and the occupier(s) has/ve to foot the energy cost. Where the occupier doesn’t pay for the energy and the property falls under the terms of a furnished holiday let as defined by HMRC, an EPC is not necessary. It is advisable to see the HMRC website regarding furnished holiday lets for total clarity on where your holiday home may fit in. The Government are keen to implement ambitious energy efficiency targets for the future in order to meet its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. The 2020 Energy white paper indicated that all commercial properties would be required to achieve an EPC rating of at least B by 2030. It is advised to consider protecting your property for these future energy targets. An EPC is a rating system that tells you how efficient your home or business premises is. The system rates the building from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient) and tells you whether a building may need additional updates to make it energy efficient, such as double glazing, additional insulation, etc. It’s important for potential buyers or renters to see this information, as a property with a low rating may require expensive renovations to bring its score up. Alternatively, they may be put off a property altogether if the energy running costs are going to be high. Energy efficiency has been a key consideration in building design, construction, and operation for the past several decades. In most countries, the energy crisis of the 1970s saw energy costs increase substantially. This cost increase played an important role in highlighting building energy efficiency as both a necessity and an investment opportunity.

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A property cannot be listed on the market until a Commercial EPC is booked in. Once you have proof of our lead assessor booking an EPC your property can be listed. No need to wait until the assessment has been undertaken. Depending on the value of the building any Commercial property owner can be fined between £200 to £5000 per property if they do not have a valid Commercial EPC Certificate. A standard EPC is four pages. It provides detailed information regarding the efficiency of a home, and gives you an idea of the energy bills and carbon emissions of the property. Additionally, an EPC contains recommendations for improvements, and lists the savings you stand to make if you were to implement them. During a commercial EPC assessment, the total heat loss is worked out for all the thermal elements of the premises and this is then combined with the efficiency of heating, lighting and air conditioning systems to work out the overall rating. EPCs allow buyers and renters to see the typical costs of keeping the property warm and the efficiency improvements that can be made. Don’t worry if your home or the one you’re buying has a low rating. The steps on the certificate will explain how you can improve the rating. Conducting viability appraisals with respect to mees regulations is useful from the outset of any project.

Improve The Property’s Efficiency

If you are selling your property and need a new EPC you will need to provide your chosen assessor with certain information to enable them to carry out a complete inspection. Upon receiving this information, the assessor will then carry out the checks and compile the results via a government approved system. It will then generate the EPC and provide you with the recommendations. Improving the EPC rating of your commercial property will be essential from April 2023, if it is rated F or lower. There are many ways you can improve your commercial building’s energy efficiency, reducing energy bills and your carbon footprint. An EPC rates the energy efficiency of the building by applying zoning methods to calculate the energy efficiency of the building and estimating how much carbon dioxide escapes into the atmosphere. The EPC does not show what the actual energy use of the building is or has been. EPC reports are based on standard occupancy patterns enabling comparisons to be made between one house and another. The energy performance related features are also assessed ‘good/average or poor’ and provides recommendations as to what measures can be undertaken to improve the properties performance and ideas of the approximate costs. Since 2012, an energy performance certificate, often referred to as an EPC, has been legally required for the sale and leases of commercial properties. It is the responsibility of the Landlord or Seller to ensure that a valid EPC is in place prior to advertising or agreeing to a lease or sale of the property. Formulating opinions on matters such as  commercial epc can be a time consuming process.

Changes to EPC standards of efficiency mean that landlords have a legal obligation to make sure their properties are up to scratch. As of April 2018, minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) are being applied to domestic lettings – this means that your property has to be rated ‘E’ or above in order for it to be let out to tenants. An EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) is a report on the energy performance of a property. It is produced in accordance with the requirements of the European Union directive 2002/91/EC. A report is produced which includes an Energy Efficiency Rating, similar to that found on domestic appliances Measuring the overall efficiency of a home on a A to G scale the report also indicates the potential rating should low cost measures be undertaken. Perhaps the most important aspect of the EPC document is the recommended top actions that you can take, how much these changes could cost, and how much money they could save you over three years. For instance, it may recommend cavity wall insulation as a top action. This work is estimated on the certificate to cost between £500 and £1,500 however over three years you could save £496. Property with the best ratings are more attractive to potential tenants and buyers as they are cheaper to run. Business owners know that when it comes to running costs, every little helps. Businesses effectively save money whilst becoming more eco-friendly when they follow the recommendations suggested by the EPC to reduce its carbon emissions. The European Union introduced the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) in 2003. The UK Government followed with the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) Regulation in 2007. Commercial buildings contribute 20% of the UK’s carbon footprint. EPCs are part of a series of legislation to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of the UK’s commercial building stock, both new and existing. You may be asking yourself how does a non domestic epc register fit into all of this?

Energy Performance Chart

EPCs include recommendations for making your home more energy-efficient, commonly including measures such as insulation, double glazing, air source heat pumps, solar panels and LED lighting. The EPC provides estimated costs of installing these measures and the potential savings you can achieve by making these changes. The landlord must commission an EPC and ensure a copy of it, including the recommendation report, is available3 free of charge to prospective tenants at the earliest opportunity. As a minimum, this should be when prospective tenants are first given written information about a dwelling or are arranging to view it, and before any rental contract is entered into. A copy of the EPC (rating and recommendation report) must be given free of charge to the person who ultimately becomes the tenant before any rental contract is entered into. Energy has emerged as a critical economic issue and top priority for policymakers. Unsustainable energy supply and demand have serious implications for everything from household budgets to international relations. Buildings are on the front line of this issue because of their high consumption of energy. Studies have repeatedly shown that efficient buildings and appropriate land use offer opportunities to save money while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A higher energy rating should make a building more marketable than one with a lower rating as a more energy efficient building is less costly to run. The recommendation report should provide information that may help to reduce the running cost of the property even further. A domestic energy assessor will visit your property to carry out a survey to begin the process. This is usually a brief visit, depending on the size of the dwelling in question. They will take measurements to produce a simple floor plan of the property, take some photographic evidence of things like insulation and the heating system, and make notes ready to enter this information into a government-approved software package. Its always best to consult the experts when considering  epc commercial property these days.

The recommendations on an EPC are a list of improvements you can carry out to make your home more energy efficient. They are listed in order of importance and the number of recommendations will vary depending on the property. An EPC assessor establishes the construction of the main house and any extensions and inputs their approximate age ranges to enable the software to assess the thermal efficiency of the house. Measurements are taken inside and out and the heating system and controls are recorded. The levels of current insulation are assessed alongside any energy saving measures already undertaken. This information is input into the software which produces the report to be uploaded into the central register. The Energy Performance Certificate is needed by vendors when selling a property and by Landlords when renting. All Rented properties in the UK must have a rating of ‘E’ or higher. If your property is currently being rented with an ‘F’ rating or you are worried that your property may not reach an E rating, then please do not hesitate to contact me, as I support and provide consulting to many Landlords in assisting them to apply easy cost effective improvements to their lettings properties and piece of mind that they are fully compliant as landlords. Property with the best ratings are more attractive to potential tenants and buyers as they are cheaper to run. Not having a valid Commercial EPC can be a real inconvenience for both owners and property agents. An EPC is valid for 10 years. When it expires you need to update an EPC for a new sale or tenancy. You may also want to update the EPC if you make improvements to the building. This is especially if you sell our rent the building after the improvements. This means potential buyers or tenants get the most up-to-date information. Do your research about mees before entering into any long term transactions.

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#2 2024-06-18 05:47:32

willparker
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Registered: 2022-05-04
Posts: 478,861

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