Energy Efficiency in Home Information Packs

Defining the Energy Performance Certificate

The Energy Performance Certificate, as well as containing information on how to reduce excessive unwanted emissions into the environment and consequently reduce fuel bills, will certify the quotient of energy efficiency rated per household on a scale rating A as highly efficient, and down to G as being the least efficient standard.

These ratings are formulated in two stages: The first, the Environmental Impact rating, calculates the amount of environmental impact caused by the discharge of unwanted carbon dioxide or CO₂ emissions given off to the atmosphere of the environment in which the home resides; the second rating, or Energy Efficiency Rating, is calculated to measure the overall energy efficiency of the home, and takes into consideration the amount of electricity and gas consumed, and whether the energy consumption of the appliances within it are seen to be utilised at an efficient level.

The chief aim of this part of the exercise is for the Government to be seen to encourage a positive attitude towards environmental issues and energy savings. And by achieving this to give a clear indication to prospective buyers of the positive benefits or negative disadvantages of the environmental impact of the house they may be intending to buy. In short, the intention is to make the purchase of a high-graded energy efficient residence a much more attractive proposition. In turn, prospective vendors are encouraged to take steps to make their homes more attractive in sales terms by installing or converting to more environmentally-friendly systems to produce a cleaner and much more effective energy environment. At the moment most homes fall into the mid-category range of D to E. The Government, naturally enough, would like to see more of our homes reaching assessments in the A to B bands, so that it can fairly claim to have achieved its aim of creating a much healthier and acceptable climate of energy efficiency and a substantial lowering of carbon dioxide emissions.

And whilst the Energy Performance Certificate may be seen to derive from the type of certification used to identify the energy efficiency rating of modern household consumer appliances, it is a strict legal document, which must be certified by an accredited Energy Assessor.

How is the Energy Performance Certificate Compiled?

The process is as follows: The Energy Assessor is commissioned by the vendor to visit the property, which is up for sale. The relevant energy information, which may include consideration of the actual location of the house, heating systems, the installation of double glazing or specialised insulation, is then gathered by the assessor and the Certificate is formulated according to the assessor’s opinion as to the energy rating achieved.

Not only will the certificate indicate the asset rating calculated by the actual performance of the residence including the effectiveness of existing service utilities, such as gas, electricity, lighting and heating, but it will also forecast the rating achievable should action be taken to upgrade the property by the implementation of the assessor’s recommended cost and energy savings.

As no two buildings are exactly the same, working from a standard template, the assessor will also take into account all the various factors of area location, the actual extent of the property and the state of the building itself. Any recommendations must therefore not be general, but applied strictly to the particular building being assessed.

Apart from suggested measures to reduce energy costs and improve the efficiency of existing energy usage, the certificate will include information regarding the Energy Savings Trust, an organisation charged with providing details for grant eligibility and qualification requirements for the receipt of home improvement discounts or any other approaches which may be useful in regard to making energy improvements in the home. Advice regarding more simplistic methods of reducing costs and energy, without the need of any costly refurbishment of the home, is also available from this organisation.

In What Way are Energy Performance Certificates Utilised?

As soon as the assessment of the building or residence has been made by the accredited Energy Assessor, the information from the completed certificate is transferred to a centralised data holding facility and the Certificate is referenced by a specific and unique number. The system ensures that access is restricted, so that only holders of this number are able to access the stored information.