What should you expect and prepare on the day of EPC assessment?

What does an EPC assessment involve?

If you’re selling a property, if you’re putting it up for rent, or even if you’ve built a house from scratch, you’ll need to order an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). This certificate is provided by a certified Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) and determines the energy efficiency rating of your property. EPCs must be ordered before a property is brought to the market.  So what is involved in an EPC survey?

First, you will need to find an accredited DEA to obtain a domestic EPC. You can search for EPC assessors by visiting the EPC Register or visit our website for more information:

https://epcrating.net

For residential properties, the EPC survey should take no longer than 30 minutes. We operate in Bristol, Bath and a 20 mile radius. Call us for EPC Rating for quotation and we can offer same day certificate on special demand.

What to prepare before the EPC Assessor arrives

1. The EPC assessor will need to access every room and the loft if possible. a little cleaning might be in order prior to the survey! You won’t be expected to lift any floorboards or carpets though; it’s designed to be a brief, non-intrusive assessment of your home.
2. Any improvements you have planned for your home should be completed before you book an EPC survey. The EPC assessor evaluates the efficiency of the house at the time of the survey was taken. They can’t include improvements that aren’t already in place.
3. Domestic energy assessors can only include energy-efficiency measures that they can see or that can be proven. So if you’ve had underfloor insulation or cavity insulation installed, remember to keep documentation to hand for the EPC assessor to review. This is so that they don’t have to make any assumptions based on the age of your house.

What will the assessor look at during the EPC survey?

The EPC assessor will require access to all of the rooms in the property, including (where applicable) loft hatches, rooms in the roof, extensions, conservatory, electric and gas meters.

They will draw a sketch plan of the overall floor area of the property. Once this is done they will work through each room taking precise measurements and capturing all relevant data:

• Type of property and age
• Construction materials
• Home insulation
• Wall thicknesses
• Heating systems & controls
• Hot water cylinder details
• Water cylinder insulation
• Secondary heating systems (if applicable)
• Floor construction
• Window glazing type
• Lighting, especially if you are using energy-saving light bulbs

What happens after the EPC survey?

Once the EPC assessor has completed their survey, they will calculate and produce your EPC Certificate. The EPC assessor will also provide recommendations to improve your property’s energy performance. An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rates the energy efficiency and environmental impact of your property. It is rated on a scale from A to G (where A is the most efficient and G the least efficient). The certificate shows the property's current running costs for heating, hot water and lighting.