What is an EPC?
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is an energy efficiency rating for your property. These are both beneficial in ensuring that homes are meeting efficiency targets, as well as allowing home owners to identify areas of their home where they may be able to improve efficiency, save on energy bills and increase the overall comfort of their living conditions.
What does a Home Energy Audit involve?
A qualified assessor will first introduce themselves and ask any questions they need to about the home, as well as about the accessibility of the areas
which they need to inspect. They will take note of various aspects of the property that will allow them to apply a rating and offer suggestions on how to improve them. These will include the size of the living space of your property, the overall constructions of your house, details of any insulation, lighting and the heating system and their controls.
The assessor will go into every room in the building and check the number and type of light fittings to see if these are energy efficient. They will undertake a visual inspection of the loft (if you have one), which will tell them how much and what type of insulation you have as well what type of wall/insulation there is between your property and any adjoining ones.
They will also undertake a visual inspection of the windows, checking whether they are single, double or triple glazed, as well as whether they meet various standards. The assessment will also study the heating system, any controls it has and the overall energy efficiency of the system. They will take photos of all the aspects they study in order to keep a record of their findings.
The visit will take between 45 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on the size and of the property and if multiple extensions have been added.
How much does a Home Energy Audit Cost?
We offer the service in the region of £400.
How is a EPC rating calculated?
The qualified assessor will take into account three main things:
- The size of your property. The first thing an assessor will do is to measure the volume of your property. This shows them the exact amount of space that needs to be heated.
- How you heat your property. Do you have a gas boiler? If so, how efficient is it? If not, what energy source do you use to heat your home? What emits the heat? (underfloor, radiators) How do you control that heat? (timer, TRVs, room thermostat)
- How do you keep that heat and energy inside your property? In other words, once you heat up your property, how easy is it for the heat to escape? Do you have decent loft, wall insulation? Double glazing? Draught proofing?
Once the qualified assessor has completed their survey they will have collected the results of the various areas they have surveyed. They will then use these results to calculate an EPC score using a computer program which runs the results through the Reduced Data Standards Assessment Procedure
(RDSAP), a calculation model that has been adapted and personalised for Jersey Homes.
The assessor will input data such as the property type, its age, type of construction, property dimension, room and water heating systems, insulation, windows and glazing types and types of lighting.
The RDSAP software is a cost-based rating system which uses a number of pre-determined assumptions. These assumptions do not make considerations for the appliances in your property such as washing machines, TV’s or dishwashers. Instead it focuses on the overall energy performance of the building itself, taking into consideration areas such as heating and lighting to provide an energy efficiency rating for the building itself, rather than an ‘occupancy’ rating.
Once the information has been run through the software it will produce a rating based on a scale to show how energy efficient that property is at the
time of assessment.
How do you read an EPC report?
The EPC rating has been created to be easy to read and understand with a clear lettered and colour-coded scale.
The report will highlight two key areas; the ‘Energy Efficiency Rating’ and ‘Environmental Impact (CO2) Rating’.
The Energy Efficiency Rating will provide a table of potential ratings which are colour-coded and graded from A (dark green) to G (dark red) with A being the most energy efficient and G being the least. It will also include the buildings current rating on that scale, along with a potential rating, which could be achieved if the recommendations made are carried out.
The Environmental Impact (CO2) Rating follows a similar system, with ratings based on colour and grades from A (light blue) to G (dark grey), with A being ‘very environmentally friendly – lower CO2 emissions’ and G being ‘Not environmentally friendly – higher CO2 emissions’. This will also include a current rating based on the assessor’s findings, along with a potential rating.
The report will also likely include more granular information on the cost and energy efficiently of the individual parts of the property that have been
surveyed. It will also give recommendations on what you can do to improve the overall energy efficiency of the building.
How long is a Energy Performance Certificate valid?
An Energy Performance Certificate is valid for 10 years, however, if changes are made within this period, an up to date amended certificate is advised.
