Non Domestic EPC
Non Domestic EPC / Commercial EPC
What is an Energy Performance Certificate?
A Non Domestic EPC conveys summary information about the potential energy performance of a building, its fabric and services. The Energy Performance Certificate gives an A to G rating - called the Asset Rating - of energy performance based on CO2 emissions and includes recommendations for improvement. Non Domestic EPCs will be accompanied by a Recommendation Report highlighting measures which, if adopted, have the potential to save energy and money. Energy Performance Certificates will remain valid for ten years unless the building is modified.
Which buildings need a Non Domestic EPC?
Energy Performance Certificates are required for non-domestic commercial buildings on construction, sale or rent, starting with the largest buildings from 6th April 2008. Some building modifications which result in the addition or removal of building parts and the extension or introduction of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) services will also require an EPC. Implementation began with buildings with a gross floor area over 10,000 m2 (measured from the internal faces of the external walls). This was extended to buildings over 2,500 m2 on 1st July 2008, and subsequently nearly all non-domestic commercial buildings on 1st October 2008. The following types of building do not require an Energy Performance Certificate:
- Places of worship
- Stand-alone non-dwellings less than 50 m2
- Temporary buildings with a planned life less than two years
- Industrial premises with low energy use where the space is mostly not heated or cooled (such as process and heavy engineering workshops and stores with localised work-station conditioning)
- Buildings to be demolished within two years
Who has to provide the Non Domestic EPC?
A Non Domestic EPC must be provided by the seller when the building is to be sold, or by the Landlord in a building that is to be let.
For new or modified buildings the EPC must be provided by the person carrying out the work (i.e. the developer).
At what point is the Non Domestic EPC required?
On construction: The constructor gives the Energy Performance Certificate and Recommendations Report to the purchaser on physical completion of the building and notifies Building Control, who will not issue the Certificate of Completion until the Non Domestic EPC is provided.
On sale/rent: As soon as the building is offered for sale/rent the seller/landlord must make an EPC available to prospective buyers/tenants. The Energy Performance Certificate may be for the whole building or individual units, and completion of a contract should not happen without it. An EPC is required if the transaction has not completed before the implementation date above. Some multi-tenancy sale/rent scenarios are complex and you should seek advice from an accredited expert to determine whether an Energy Performance Certificate is required for the individual unit or the building as a whole. An EPC is not required on lease renewals or lease surrenders.
On modification: The person undertaking the work is responsible for providing the Energy Performance Certificate and Recommendations Report to the client. They must then notify Building Control, who will not issue the Certificate of Completion until the EPC is provided.
You do not need to provide an EPC if you have reasonable grounds to believe that the prospective buyer or tenant cannot afford the transaction or is not serious about the transaction or you are not likely to be prepared to sell the building to them.
What are the penalties for not having a Non Domestic EPC?
Local Trading Standards Officers have the powers to enforce the regulations. Fines for the failure to produce an EPC can range between £500 and £5000 depending on property rateable value. The penalty notice also includes the requirement to produce a valid EPC.
What information needs to be on the Non Domestic EPC?
The Non Domestic EPC shows an "asset rating" which is a numerical indication of the energy performance of the building based on its standardised use.
Asset ratings are calculated using the methods approved pursuant to regulation 17A of the Building Regulations, taking into account the energy performance of the building's fabric and its services (i.e. heating, cooling, hot water, ventilation and lighting).
EPCs must also include benchmarks to enable buildings to be compared with one another.
The regulations prescribe a standard form for EPCs as per the sample EPC appended.
Does any other information need to be provided?
EPCs must be accompanied by a recommendations report, which provides recommendations for the improvement of the energy performance of the building.
What if there are separate units within one building?
An EPC for a separate unit within one building may be based on the assessment of a representative unit. If there is a common heating system, the whole building can be certified as one. An EPC can also be commissioned on a part of a building, for example where there may be several floors leased to various tenants and one becomes vacant, an EPC may be provided for that vacant part of the building in isolation.
Who can produce Non Domestic EPCs?
Energy Performance Certificates and Recommendation Reports can only be produced by a qualified and accredited commercial energy assessor. The accreditation and competence of the assessor must be suitable for the complexity of the building. For non-dwellings this is on a scale of 3 to 5, ranging from a simply-serviced naturally ventilated building at level 3, to a complex air-conditioned or highly-serviced industrial building at level 5. We are able to produce certificates for level 3 & 4 buildings. This covers approximately 95% of commercial EPCs.
The calculation procedure
The Government approved software used to model a building and calculate a commercial EPC is provided by BRE and is called SBEM, the Simplified Building Energy Model. More complex buildings will almost certainly require other dynamic simulation modelling solutions (DSMs) to be used, as SBEM cannot currently handle complex building elements such as atria, night cooling etc. The SBEM tool has been available for 2 years and complies with Government regulations. Data is entered into SBEM via a front end called iSBEM.
Assessing your buildings
Clients are encouraged to begin the work as early as practicable and preferably once any refurbishment work has been completed on a vacant building.
The Energy Assessor will need to understand the internal layout of the building and for what purposes it is designed to be used. Even if detailed drawings of the building exist it is still likely that an inspection will be required to confirm the building services and construction details. It is important to understand not only the specific dimensions of the building but also: the actual usage of the space (as this dictates the relative energy usage of each part of the building) and the building services including the types of lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation in use in the different areas of the building. All of this information is added into the modelling software.
The way forward
We offer up to, and including Level 4 certificates which covers about 95% of commercial EPCs.
The process is considerably more involved than domestic and depends on more than just the floor area for costing; factors such as the HVAC system and building complexity along with the amount of information available, floor plans etc, will affect the price.