Commercial EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)

Get commercial EPC certificates for office building, restaurant, shopping centre, retail store, wholesale shop, hotel, industrial parks, warehouse, factory, resort, medical centre, malls, garage, and industrial property.

All information here have been extracted from www.communities.gov.uk

Commercial EPC certificate example

Table of Contents

1. Why energy performance certificates are required?
2. Buildings requiring an energy performance Certificate
3. When Energy Performance Certificates are required?
4. What is an EPC certificate and what does it mean?
5. What an EPC certificate for a non-dwelling contains
6. What contributes to the energy performance of a building?
7. Recommendations with an Energy Performance Certificate
8. How long are EPC certificates valid for?
9. How much will an EPC certificate cost?
10. Can a prospective tenant or buyer waive their right to receive an EPC certificate?
11. Do I need an EPC certificate
12. Do I have to act on the recommendations?

Why energy performance certificates are required?

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is intended to inform potential buyers or tenants about the energy performance of a building, so they can consider energy efficiency as part of their investment or business decision to buy or occupy that building.

An EPC certificate will provide an energy rating for a building which is based on the performance potential of the building itself (the fabric) and its services (such as heating, ventilation and lighting). The energy rating given on the certificate reflects the intrinsic energy performance standard of the building relative to a benchmark which can then be used to make comparisons with comparable properties. It is accompanied by a recommendation report, which provides recommendations on how the energy performance of the building could be enhanced, together with an indication of the payback period.

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Buildings requiring an energy performance Certificate

For the purposes of the regulations, a building is defined as:

“a roofed construction having walls, for which energy is used to condition the indoor climate, and a reference to a building includes a reference to a part of a building which has been designed or altered to be used separately”.

A building can be either:

• the whole of a building
• part of a building, where the part is designed or altered to be used separately

In general terms the EPC certificate provided or made available should reflect the accommodation being sold or let.

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When Energy Performance Certificates are required?

From 6 April 2008 those buildings that are not dwellings with a total useful floor area greater than 10,000m2 (see glossary of terms for a definition) will require an Energy Performance Certificate on construction, sale or let.

From 1 July 2008 those buildings that are not dwellings with a total useful floor area greater than 2,500m2 (see glossary of terms for a definition) will require an Energy Performance Certificate on construction, sale or let.

From 1 October 2008, all remaining buildings that are not dwellings, save for a few excepted cases, will require an Energy Performance Certificate on construction, sale or let.

EPC certificates for the sale or letting of buildings that are not dwellings will be valid for 10 years, or until a newer EPC certificate is produced for building, if sooner.

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What is an EPC certificate and what does it mean?

The EPC certificate looks broadly similar to the energy labels now provided with vehicles and many household appliances. Its purpose is to indicate how energy efficient a building is. The certificate will provide an energy rating of the building from A to G, where A is very efficient and G is the least efficient.

The better the rating, the more energy-efficient the building is, and the lower the fuel bills are likely to be. The energy performance of the building is shown as a Carbon Dioxide (CO2) based index.

Each energy rating is based on the characteristics of the building itself and its services (such as heating and lighting). Hence this type of rating is known as an asset rating.

The asset ratings will reflect considerations including the age and condition of the building. It is accompanied by a recommendation report, which provides recommendations on using the building more effectively, cost effective improvements to the building and other more expensive improvements which could enhance the building’s energy performance.

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What an EPC certificate for a non-dwelling contains

In addition to the asset ratings, EPC certificates must convey several other key pieces of information:

• Reference information – this includes the unique certificate reference number (as stored in the central register), and the date of issue of the certificate
• Energy assessor details – this includes the assessor’s name, accreditation number, employer’s name (or any trading name if self employed) and accreditation scheme
• Information on how to complain or how to confirm that the certificate is genuine – the EPC certificate will provide information on how to register a complaint about an unsatisfactory EPC certificate and how to check the certificate is authentic.

The EPC certificate is accompanied by a report which includes cost-effective recommendations to improve the energy ratings. For each improvement indicative paybacks are listed.

Responsibilities for providing an EPC certificate on construction or modification of a non-dwelling

When a building being constructed is physically complete, it is the responsibility of the person carrying out the construction to give an EPC certificate and recommendation report to the building owner and to notify Building Control that this has been done. Building Control will not issue an EPC certificate of completion until they are satisfied this has been done.

Responsibilities for providing EPC certificates when selling or letting a non-dwelling

As soon as a building is in the process of being offered for sale, it is the responsibility of the seller to make available an EPC certificate to prospective buyers free of charge.

As soon as a building is in the process of being offered to let, it is the responsibility of the prospective landlord to make available an EPC certificate to prospective tenants.

Collecting the information required for an Energy Performance Certificate.

The energy assessor will need to understand the internal layout of the building and for what purposes it is designed to be used. This is to understand the energy demands of each individual space (zone) in accordance with its designed use.

The information that will be required to produce an EPC certificate includes:

• The individual spaces or zones in use within the building, and their dimensions (either as verified from plans or as measured). This information is most readily provided by building plans
• The activities conducted within the zones. Examples of zones include retail space, office space, kitchens, storage etc
• The heating and ventilation services for each zone (including type of system, metering, controls, fuel used etc.)
• The lighting and controls used for each zone
• The construction of the fabric of the building and thermal efficiency of the materials used: roof, floors, walls and glazing.

If there are no plans for a building, the energy assessor will need to survey the building and gather the appropriate information. If you have up-to date information and plans for your building this process will be less time consuming.

The energy assessor is responsible for ensuring the information used in the energy calculations is accurate and, even where detailed plans are available, may need to validate this information by making a site inspection.

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What contributes to the energy performance of a building?

The energy rating of a building is a complex calculation that is based on a combination of factors. The key factors are:

• The type of construction of the building (including walls, roofs, floors and glazing)
• Whether parts (zones) of the building are used for different purposes eg office, factory etc, and the occupancy profile for each zone
• Heating, cooling, ventilation and hot water systems used
• Lighting.

The energy performance of commercial is shown as a CO2 based index.

The CO2 based rating a building receives depends on the energy used for space heating, water heating, ventilation and lighting, less any energy generated from energy generation technology installed in the building (such as solar water heating). The lower the number (on a scale of 0 to 150+), the lower the typical CO2 emissions.

The rating is adjusted for the total useful floor area of a building (see glossary of terms for a full definition) so it is independent of size for a given type of building.

The calculation process compares the carbon emissions of the building with those of a ‘notional’ building. The notional building is an equivalent building (i.e. a building of the same size, shape and use as the actual building) constructed to 2002 Building Regulation standards.

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Recommendations with an Energy Performance Certificate

The recommendation report that is included with an EPC certificate will help owners and occupiers to improve the energy efficiency of a building. The recommendations only include those improvements that are appropriate for the building that has been assessed. For each recommendation indicative paybacks are noted. The recommendations are provided in four categories i.e. those:

• With a short term payback – less than three years
• With a medium term payback – between three and seven years
• With a long term payback – greater than seven years
• Other recommendations (based on the energy assessor’s knowledge).

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Penalties for not having an EPC certificate

Local authorities (usually by their Trading Standards Officers) are responsible for enforcing the requirement to have an EPC certificate on sale or let of a building.

Failure to make available an EPC certificate when required by the Regulations means you may be liable to a civil penalty charge notice. Trading Standards Officers may act on complaints or undertake investigations. They may request you to provide them with a copy of the EPC certificate and recommendation report that you were under a duty to provide. If asked, you must provide this information within seven days of the request or be liable again to a penalty charge notice.

A copy of an EPC certificate can be requested at any time up to six months after the last day for compliance with when the duty was to make it available.

The penalty for failing to make an EPC certificate available to any prospective buyer or tenant when selling or letting commercial is fixed, in most cases, at 12.5 per cent of the rateable value of the building, with a default penalty of £750 where the formula cannot be applied. The range of penalties under this formula are set with a minimum of £500 and capped at a maximum of £5,000.

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How long are EPC certificates valid for?

An EPC certificate for a commercial will be valid for 10 years or until replaced with a newer one

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How much will an EPC certificate cost?

The price of EPC certificates will be set by the market and market demand. It is likely in practice that the cost will vary according to a number of factors including size, location and age of the building.

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Can a prospective tenant or buyer waive their right to receive an EPC certificate?

The relevant person has a duty to make available an EPC certificate to a prospective buyer or tenant and will be liable to a penalty charge if he fails to do so, irrespective of whether the prospective buyer or tenant purports to waive an entitlement to receive the certificate.

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Do I need an EPC certificate if I have exchanged contracts to sell or let before the date on which the Regulations apply to my building, but have not yet completed the transaction?

The last point at which the duty to make available an EPC certificate may be satisfied is before a prospective buyer or tenant enters into a contract to sell or rent the building i.e. upon exchange of contracts. The Department considers that this is the point which determines whether or not the Regulations are in force in relation to a transaction. In this case the contract has been exchanged before the date on which the Regulations apply to the building and the duty to make available an EPC certificate will not arise.

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Do I have to act on the recommendations?

You are under no obligation to act on the recommendations for energy improvements to the building. However, taking action on the recommendations is likely to improve the energy efficiency of your building, reduce your fuel bills, cut its carbon emissions and could make it more attractive to potential buyers or tenants in the future.

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