Have you ever been torn between buying from a Low Carbon Energy Assessors organisation that exhibits the same social ideals as yourself and one that doesn't? Do you ever dwell on your ideals that adjust your decision making on this matter?

When a potential buyer or tenant first makes an enquiry about a building or views the building they must be shown the EPC and recommendation report. This is the responsibility of either the seller or the agent acting on their behalf. The commercial EPC covers buildings such as offices, community or day centres, hotels, industrial units, launderettes, care homes and hostels, dental surgeries, nail bars, beauty salons, restaurants, pubs, retail shops, warehouses, social clubs, sports centres, leisure centres, theatres, cinemas, music halls and auditoria, warehouses and storage facilities, private car parks, workshops and maintenance depots. When buying, selling or renting your property, an EPC rating is key as it gives you an idea of how much energy bills will cost; the carbon emissions that the property emits; and ultimately, provides recommendations as to what you can do to improve its energy efficiency. A building with separate parts and heating systems requires a single EPC for each part being offered for sale or let. For this purpose, you must also provide an EPC for the conditioned communal areas or request one for the whole building. A DEC will tell you and the public about the actual energy which was consumed by the building and give it an energy rating of between A and G (with A being the most energy efficient). The assessor will look at energy bills for the building and compare them to a benchmark set by a building which is similar in type. The building’s owner or landlord is responsible for obtaining an EPC from a qualified EPC surveyor when they choose to sell or let their property. An EPC is also required for new builds and significant modifications to the heating, air conditioning or mechanical ventilation systems. The property owner or landlord is also responsible for ensuring their property complies with the MEES requirements.



When it comes to choosing the best commercial EPC provider, it's essential to set long-term energy performance standards. This will help ensure that you're getting the best possible service, and that the provider is meeting your specific needs and expectations. You can also use benchmarks to compare different providers against each other – this will provide you with a clearer picture of which one is best for you. Energy savings will not only result in a financial boost, but also reduce emissions and make your business more environmentally-friendly. In order to get the most out of this investment, it is important that you choose an experienced provider who has access to all the necessary resources and capabilities. Furthermore, be sure to track progress regularly so you know exactly what needs doing (and where improvements may be needed). Every EPC includes a rating on a sliding scale from A to G. You’ll also find information on your property’s typical energy use and costs, as well as recommendations on how to improve its efficiency and save money. A property’s EPC rating will be a letter and a score which shows how energy efficient it is, and whether it has high or low running costs. An up to date EPC is a legal requirement for anyone selling a property. They expire every 10 years, so be sure to check whether or not you need to update the EPC before you put your property on the market. It’s very easy to find a Domestic Energy Assessor to do your EPC – we recommend you get quotes to get the best deal. Research around mees remains patchy at times.

A Legal Requirement

An EPC includes a breakdown of a property’s energy performance. If your property is highly efficient you may spend less money on heating bills. As the better the rating, the lower your energy bills are likely to be. Choosing a more energy efficient property will help to safeguard tenants' health and wellbeing by providing warmer, more desirable homes with lower running costs. If tenants are spending less on fuel bills, this could help to reduce the possibility of rent arrears. Finding an energy efficient home could also mean that tenants stay for longer, providing more stable rental income for the landlord. A commercial EPC is similar to those produced for domestic dwellings and assesses the energy efficiency of a building. The commercial EPC provides advice on how you can make cost effective improvements to your building to make it more energy efficient. It provides a detailed report including information on pay back periods, energy saving imrpovements and graphs on energy consumption. If your property has a low EPC rating, there are things you can do to help you move up the table. Alongside the rating, your certificate will show the maximum potential rating your property could reach by making impactful changes. This gives you a good indicator of the difference you could make by investing in some energy efficient upgrades. Energy efficiency measures can support good physical and mental health primarily by creating healthy indoor living environments with healthy air temperatures, humidity levels, noise levels, and improved air quality. An understanding of the challenges met by commercial epc can enhance the value of a project.

Only an accredited domestic energy assessor may carry out an energy assessment and produce an EPC for a building. For newly constructed buildings the EPC can only be produced by an accredited on construction domestic energy assessor. Energy assessors can be self-employed, employees of service organisations, such as surveyors or energy companies, or employees of the landlord or owner. Energy Performance Certificates - or EPCs - tell you how energy efficient a property is on a scale of A-G. The most efficient homes - which should have the lowest fuel bills - are in band A. The Certificate also tells you, on a scale of A-G, about the impact the home has on the environment. Better-rated homes should have less impact through Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. An EPC rates the energy efficiency of the building by applying zoning methods to calculate the energy efficiency of the building and estimating how much carbon dioxide escapes into the atmosphere. The EPC does not show what the actual energy use of the building is or has been. The building’s owner or landlord is responsible for obtaining an EPC from a qualified EPC surveyor when they choose to sell or let their property. An EPC is also required for new builds and significant modifications to the heating, air conditioning or mechanical ventilation systems. The property owner or landlord is also responsible for ensuring their property complies with the MEES requirements. Each EPC comes with a recommendation report. For a commercial EPC, each recommendation is ranked low, medium, and high against the potential impact of the change of reducing the property’s co2 emissions. For domestic EPCs, the recommendation report includes budgetary costs, and the potential rating after installation of energy efficiency upgrades have been made. Professional assistance in relation to non domestic epc register can make or break a commercial building project.

The Future Of EPCs

EPCs are valid for ten years and can be reused for new tenants as many times as required within that period. If a new EPC is commissioned, this then becomes the only valid one. EPCs are not invalidated by renovation works or improvements. However, a landlord may wish to obtain a new certificate to demonstrate the energy efficiency improvements to potential tenants. Energy efficiency in any building depends on its design, the materials from which it is made, its location, condition and the way it is used. If we are to make a building more energy efficient, then we need to understand all of these factors, taking an holistic approach. Understanding the difference between older and newer buildings is also essential. The former are normally vapour-permeable, in that moisture is let in and then evaporates, whereas the latter rely on vapour barriers and air gaps to keep moisture out. Net-zero is a big topic of conversation at the moment and recently, the Government set a target of lifting the minimum energy efficiency standard in to let non-domestic buildings to ‘B’, as part of its target for the UK being net-zero by 2050. Currently, subject to exceptions, a landlord must not let a building that does not comply with the minimum required energy efficiency standard, originally set at an ‘E’ rating on a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). There is technically an exemption for EPCs for “Low energy demand properties e.g. agricultural barns" however as the government has never clarified what exactly classes as "low energy demand" this exemption is not one that can currently be applied. If you don’t already have a valid EPC, you’ll need to organise an assessment. The cost will depend on the size of your property and the assessor you choose. You can organise getting an EPC through the government’s register, which will show you all the accredited providers in your area. The cost of an EPC can range from a minimum of around £60, so it’s worth getting a few quotes. Advising on matters such as epc commercial property will provide benefits in the long run.

A Commercial EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) is required for every commercial building when it is constructed, sold or let. The EPC Certificate gives information about the energy efficiency of the building to owners, prospective buyers and tenants. Some buildings will be exempt from needing an EPC Certificate. An EPC is an Energy Performance Certificate that contains information about a property’s energy efficiency. It rates the property from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient and G being the least. EPC surveys are carried out by EPC assessors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Domestic Energy Assessors in Scotland. Once completed, your Energy Performance Certificate is valid for 10 years. It is against the law to rent or sell a property without an EPC. Therefore, it is extremely important that your building has an EPC. If you are starting a new build project, make sure to book SAP or SBEM calculations at design stage. This is so that should the building fail to meet building regulation standards, our team can give you advice on how to improve. The requirement for an EPC to be made available to a prospective buyer or tenant does not apply until construction or modification of a building (to have greater or fewer parts designed for separate occupation) has been completed. At the basic level, it is a legal requirement that any property being sold or rented has an EPC that is less that 2 years old. As there is no legal requirement to improve the rating, the reason is likely to be to raise awareness of energy efficiency in properties, to put it on the agenda, as it were, to encourage us to think about it. Can a mees regulations solve the problems that are inherent in this situation?

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards

To achieve the UK’s Net Zero Carbon target by 2050, the Government will be tightening the EPC regulations over the next few years in hopes that it will encourage enough investment to improve energy efficiency and better behaviours all-round. An EPC is required by UK law every time a property is sold or rented. There are some exceptions to this with listed or condemned buildings, but even with these types of properties, most solicitors will still require the EPC paperwork. For privately rented non-domestic properties, from 1st. April 2018, Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) regulations will affect all commercial landlords and property owners. The regulations state that any property having a new lease granted, or an existing lease renewed, must achieve an EPC rating of E or above. From April 2023, the regulations will apply to ALL leases, whether up for renewal or current. Discover supplementary information regarding Low Carbon Energy Assessors at this UK Government Publications article.

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