If you’re planning on selling or renting your property, you will need to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

An EPC is a document that provides information about the energy efficiency of a building and its environmental impact.

It gives potential buyers and tenants an indication of how much money they could save on their energy bills. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the different types of EPCs available and which one is right for your property.

The Different Types Of EPCs

There are three types of EPCs available in the UK

Domestic EPC

Non Domestic EPC or Commercial EPC

SAP EPC

Domestic EPC

This is required when selling or renting a residential property such as a house, flat or apartment. This is by far the most common type of EPC and is the one that is typically refered to when simply talking about an EPC.

Commercial EPC

Is required when selling or renting out any other non-residential buildings such as offices, hotels, shops and warehouses. It’s official description is a non-domestic epc although it is most commonly refered to as a commercial epc.

A commercial epc is used for both new and existing non-residential buildings.

SAP EPC

Is required when having to demonstrate compliance with any building regulations. A Sap EPC is required for all new build properties and properties that have been created from a dwelling change of use, an example being converting an office block into residential flats.

SAP stands for Standard Assessment Procedure and is the UK government methodology for assessing energy efficiency in residential properties.

Because a SAP EPC is dealing with buildings that have been created from scratch or being changed in a significant way, the u-values of the fabric elements such as walls, floors, roofs, windows are precisely calculated. A u-value is the rate that heat is lost through an element. The lower the u-value, the better the thermal efficiency of an element.

A domestic epc typically does not calculate u-values but an assumption of the u-values is made by the software based on the age of any particular part of the property.

Very often your building control body may just ask you for an epc. However, if it’s requested by building control, it will typically be a SAP EPC they would need to see.

A Sap EPC produces a more accurate energy rating of a property.

Assessor Qualification

Each of the EPCs mentioned above require a different qualification.

To be able to produce a domestic epc, the Assessor has to be qualified as a Domestic Energy Assessor or DEA.

To be able to produce a commercial epc, the Assessor has to be qualified as a Non-Domestic Energy Assessor, NDEA.

To be able to produce a sap epc, the Assessor has to be qualified as an On Construction Domestic Energy Assessor, OCDEA.

Acreditation is gained through one of the accreditation bodies, such as Elmhurst Energy, Stroma Certification, ECMK, or Quidos.

The Metric Used To Produce The EPC Rating

Domestic and Sap EPC

Both the domestic and sap epc uses a calculation called the “primary energy use” to rate the epc. The lower this figure, the higher (better) the epc rating.

In an energy performance certificate (EPC), the primary energy use refers to the total amount of energy consumed by a building, including energy used for heating, cooling, hot water, lighting, and appliances. The primary energy use is typically expressed in kilowatt-hours (kWh).

The primary energy use is calculated by taking into account the energy used by the building and the efficiency of the energy sources used to supply that energy. For example, if a building uses natural gas for heating, the primary energy use would include not only the natural gas consumed by the building, but also the energy used to extract, transport, and distribute the natural gas.

Once the primary energy use of the building is calculated, it is then divided by the floor area of the building to produce an average figure of kilowatt hours per square metre (kWh/m2). This way the ratings of properties of different sizes can directly be compared against each other.

Example of a domestic epc rating

Commercial EPC Rating Metric

A commercial epc uses the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the energy use of the building to rate the property. The lower the emissions, the better the ratings.

Example of a Commercial EPC rating

How much does an epc cost?

Domestic EPCs are the cheapest types of EPCs and they are generally in the £59 – £100 price range.

Sap EPCs are typically in the £150 – £350 price range depending on the complexity of the property.

Commercial EPCs vary the most in cost as commercial buildings can vary significantly in size and complexity from a small cornershop to a large hospital. Prices typically start from £200.

Summary

An EPC can provide valuable insight into how energy efficient your property is and what improvements can be made to reduce energy bills further.

It also assigns your property with an ‘energy rating’ from A – G which gives potential buyers/tenants an indication of how much money they could save on their energy bills compared to similar properties with lower ratings.

The higher the rating, the more money they can expect to save.