ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATION
Tuckerman are now one of only a few accredited EPC assessors and are able to undertake such assessments and register the EPCs on the national database:
An EPC is required as soon as the premises are marketed, and at the latest prior to completion of the deal, and it is valid for 10 years.
The penalty for non-compliance in the first instance is a fine of up to 12% of the rateable value (up to a maximum of £5,000).
The EPC assesses all aspects of a building that have an impact upon the energy use and CO2 emissions of the building. This includes information such as the building’s orientation, geographical location, structure (walls, roofs, windows, door types etc), as well as all the permanent building services present in the building (comfort cooling, heating, ventilation, lighting, domestic hot water etc.)
The EPC will be compiled by an accredited Energy Assessor, of which at present there are very few in the country.
The Assessor will assess the building on all of the above factors and feed it into an approved software tool (SBEM) to produce an EPC. The EPC is graded from A-G, with A being the most energy efficient, and G being the least.
The Assessor can also use the SBEM software to check Part L compliance for new builds or major extensions. Alternatively, the SBEM software may be used in conjunction with a contractor and tenant to assess how ‘green’ a proposed refurbishment will be, and make recommendations accordingly.
For owners of large portfolios, within which buildings are often changing hands, it may be worthwhile getting ahead of the game and instructing the production of EPC’s in advance of the sale/lease, as an EPC can be produced at any time and is valid for 10 years, regardless of how many times the building changes hands (there are exceptions to this, for example if the building is subsequently further sub-divided; please call me if you require further information)
This information should be held on either the Operating and Maintenance Manual/s or the Health and Safety File.
For further informaiton please contact Adrian Duffell on 0207 222 5511 or aduffell@tuckerman.co.uk
The latest Government information is available by clicking here.