Frequently Asked Questions

An EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) is a certificate that measures the energy efficiency of a property, using a scale from A – G, with A being the most energy efficient and G being the least energy efficient. If you plan to sell or rent your flat or house, you'll need an EPC, which will confirm how energy-efficient your property is. EPC’s were first introduced in England and Wales in 2007. They are a legal requirement for a building to be sold, rented or built. An EPC is valid for 10 years, and will give the owner or renter an idea of how expensive the property will be to run, in terms of your gas and electricity bills. It's good to have as much information as possible about your new home's energy efficiency before you move in. It will give you a good indication of the amount of money you may need to spend on the house in future, whether it's on energy-efficient measures or on your energy bills. In the UK, the average property is in band D. The EPC will include recommendations, which will indicate ways to improve the home's energy efficiency, which may save you money and help the environment. The Energy Performance Certificate will contain details of the property, such as its location, age, size and condition, heating source, type of windows and much more. These factors will be considered to provide energy saving recommendations that are tailored to the property.

Once the EPC Assessment has been completed, our Domestic Energy Assessors will aim to lodge the EPC Report within 2 working days. You can then view the EPC Certificate at any time, by going to the EPC Register and entering in your property postcode and then selecting your property address from the list.

You must ensure that you provide any evidence of insulation to your Domestic Energy Assessor before, or on the day of the EPC Assessment. This is important as the Domestic Energy Assessor cannot include any evidence on your EPC Certificate that cannot be seen with the naked eye. The types of evidence you can include are: Photographic evidence A signed letter from the contractor who carried out the works on the property. The letter must contain the company letterhead, all company details (name, address, contact details etc.), the type and thickness of insulation that was used, and the name and position of the person writing the letter. This letter can be in the form of an email, which can be forwarded to info@efficientenergies.co.uk If the evidence is not provided to the Domestic Energy Assessor in time, this may result in the insulation not being included on your EPC Certificate, which will have a negative affect on your rating.

Under the guidelines issued by ARLA & Public Health England, all of our Assessors will take relevant action to ensure our clients and employees are safe. All of our Assessors will adhere to the following measure before and during an Assessment: - They will sanitize their hands before and after each Assessment - They will be wearing a medical grade Mask during the entire Assessment. - They will maintain a 2m distance at all times We ask that you please do the following, to ensure both you and the Assessor are safe: - Please ensure all windows of the property are open to create maximum airflow - Please ensure you are wearing a mask for the entire time the Assessment takes place - Please maintain a 2m distance from your Assessor at all times

You do not need to be present on the day of the EPC Assessment, however you must ensure that your Domestic Energy Assessor can gain full access to the property. The Assessor will happily collect keys from a porter or concierge, but please ensure you provide them with prior notice that the Domestic Energy Assessor will be visiting. You can also ask for a third party to give the Assessor access to the property e.g. a Property Agent or neighbour. The Domestic Energy Assessor will need access to every room in the property, so if you have multiple tenants, they must all be notified that the EPC Assessment will be taking place. If the Assessor cannot gain entry into every room in the property, he will be unable to complete the Assessment and you will be charged with a £25 call out fee and will need to reschedule the appointment.

An EPC Assessment is mainly visual. The Assessor will need access to all rooms in the property to measure them. They will also need clear access to the loft to check for any insulation, if applicable. They will check anything that may have an effect on the energy rating (such as the main heating source and controls, the types of windows you have, any insulation if it can be inspected, types of lightbulbs etc.) Depending on the size of the property, it should take no longer than approximately 20-30 minutes.

If you have cancelled your EPC Assessment appointment and given 24 hours notice, then you can rearrange your EPC Assessment with your Domestic Energy Assessor for a mutually convenient time. If you have not provided us with the 24 hours notice, or the Assessor cannot gain access to your property, then you may be charged an additional £25 call out fee, and you will need to rearrange the appointment.

If you think your EPC Certificate is incorrect, we will happily review the existing EPC Certificate to check if there are any faults. If there has been an error on our part, the Domestic Energy Assessor can relodge the report for you at no additional cost. However, if we conclude that all the information on the EPC Certificate is correct, then your report will not be amended, and you will not be entitled to a refund.

There are several steps you can take to improve your EPC Rating, including: Replace non-low energy lighting, or halogen lighting, with LEDs, or compact fluorescent lighting. Control your temperature by installing modern controls, such as a room thermostat, or individual thermostatic radiator valves. Install double glazed doors and windows. Install roof insulation, there are a wide variety of types of insulation at affordable rates. Replace an older, non-condensing boiler with a newer, condensing type boiler. This will have one of the greatest impacts to your EPC Rating. Consider renewable technologies, such as solar panels. Replace wall-mounted panel heaters with modern, high-efficiency storage heaters.

You can easily check if your EPC Certificate is valid by visiting the EPC Register. This is an external Government Portal that holds up-to-date EPC information on all properties in the UK.