According to the energy consumption regulations taking place in the last few years, the energy rating of a building, residential or not, should be determined. In Belfast, Northern Ireland, a certification for the energy performance is required by law for properties that are built, sold or rented. But how important is an EPC for a house?
This question is answered in this article by epc4less, how provide Energy Performance Certificates Belfast, Northern Ireland.
What Is An EPC?
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is an energy efficiency rating based on the energy consumption and performance of a building. The majority of global energy use comes from the residential and industrial sector (approximately 40%). EPC was first introduced in 2006 from European Union as a critical target for the project HORIZON 2020 aiming at the reduction on energy utilization and CO2 emisions.
An EPC categorizes a property from A (most efficient) to G (less efficient) depending on the energy efficiency rating from 0-100. EPC is valid for 10 years and contains information about the building’s energy use and typical running costs. Also, it recommends effective solutions for the reduction of energy use and money saving.
What Does An EPC Survey Involve?
An EPC survey procedure varies depending on the size and the characteristics of the property. If you live in Belfast, the first step for an EPC survey is to contact a Belfast Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA). The Assessor will ask some basic information about the house. Moreover, some papers should be provided including floorplan drawings, invoices for HVAC equipment and energy bills. Usually, especially for old houses, owners do not possess those papers, so Assessor needs to visit the property for gathering all the information he needs.
During the site visiting, an internal and external inspection of the property is carried out. The inspection for a property of three rooms should last no longer than two hours. The survey of the property includes notes for the construction of the walls and the windows, evaluation of the insulation, quality of HVAC system, information about the light bulbs and measures for floorplant.
Finally, using all the information collected, an EPC is created by using Approved software, along with the recommendations for the reduction of energy utilization.
Will The EPC Rating Affect My House Price?
Energy efficient properties should be more valuable because they need lower running costs for their operation. Also, an important initial investment is required for upgrading a low energy rating house to energy efficient of category A or B. But, it seems that priorities for buyers when looking for a house are the location, the size and the age of the property where some of them will take the energy performance into account.
The selling price may not directly affected by EPC but it is a critical hint for the selling property.
Will An EPC Low Rating Affect The Saleability Of My House?
Epc4less has assessed over 10,000 in the last 12 years. Based on their experience, a low EPC rating has never affected the saleability of a house.
