What does an EPC survey 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 the property is brought to the market. So what is involved in an EPC survey?
Firstly, you will need to find an accredited DEA to obtain a residential EPC. In Bristol, you can search for EPC assessors by visiting the EPC Register.
For residential properties, the EPC survey should take no longer than 30 minutes.
What to prepare before the EPC Assessor arrives
- The EPC assessor will have 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.
- Any improvements you have planned for your home should be finished before you book an EPC survey. The EPC assessor evaluates the efficiency of the house at the time the survey was taken. They can’t include improvements that aren’t already in place.
- The domestic energy assessor 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 hatch, room 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 you are using energy-saving light bulbs
What happens after the EPC survey?
After 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.
