We know the world of energy performance certificates might seem like a complex one, but it doesn't have to be. In the following guide, we have tried to simplify and explain, across a few paragraphs, everything you need to know about Display Energy Certificates.
From what they are to who needs one, how you get one, how long they last and, importantly, what happens if you don’t get one – we’ve got you covered.
We’ve been in the energy performance certificate world for over a decade, and have worked with hundreds of clients and visited thousands of buildings. You can be assured that our advice and guidance is based on our real-life experience.
Display Energy Certificates, also known as DECs, have been introduced to raise public awareness around the energy usage of a building and inform visitors to public buildings how efficient that particular site is. The certification system uses ratings from A to G, where A is the most efficient and G is the least efficient. This is based on the actual amount of metered energy use by the building over the previous 12 months.
Relevant buildings and organisations must display the DEC in a prominent place, where it is clearly visible to members of the public. For said members of the public to be able to see the DEC clearly, it should be no smaller than A3 in size, and located in a place frequently visited by the public.
The DEC should be accompanied by a valid advisory report. This accompanying advisory report contains recommendations for how the building owners and management can improve the energy efficiency of the building.
Display Energy Certificates and advisory reports are required for buildings with a total useful floor area of over 250m2 that are occupied in whole or part by public or local authorities, and are frequently visited by the public.
Private companies do not need to display a DEC – even if they share a building with an organisation that does. However, they may do so on a voluntary basis, as an example of best practice.
Here at energyperformancecertificates.co.uk, we offer display energy certificates for schools, universities, hospitals, museums, libraries, leisure centres, dentistry buildings and doctors’ surgeries.
As well as DECs for public buildings, there are also requirements around commercial and domestic energy performance certificates, too. We can help with both.
Commercial energy performance certificates are required when you are looking to sell, rent or build a commercial property. There are some exceptions, though, to when this may not be required:
Domestic energy performance certificates are required by landlords and homeowners who are renting or selling their properties. The law now states that the landlords or owners of properties, that are being sold or rented out, must provide the buyer or tenant with a valid domestic energy performance certificate.
We also offer ‘on construction’ or ‘new build’ energy performance certificates. These are for when new build houses are being built or properties are being converted. These certificates are required for the completion of building regulations.
Once you’ve got in touch with us, via the details below, one of our trained and accredited assessors will need to carry out a site visit to conduct a visual inspection of the area. They will gather the required information, which will involve asking for 12 months’ worth of bills from the occupier, to help assess your energy usage and the overall energy performance of the building.
This may include bills covering gas, oil and solid fuels, district heating and cooling, air conditioning, grid electricity and even electricity generated on-site through things such as solar panels and wind turbines. They may also take meter readings.
On the first occasion, it is mandatory for the assessor to visit the site to carry out their fact-finding work. After this, the DEC and advisory report can be based on previous knowledge of the building, and won’t require a site visit. This is provided that they are being produced by the same assessor and that you, as the building occupant, can provide a declaration that nothing has changed since the last inspection.
The final caveat for this is that your DEC and advisory report must be lodged on the display energy certificates database, also known as the display energy certificates register.
Here’s the good news. If your building has a total useful floor area of between 250m2 and 1000m2, your DEC and accompanying advisory report will both be valid for 10 years.
Should your building have a total useful floor area of over 1000m2, though, your DEC will be valid for 12 months. The accompanying advisory report will then be valid for seven years.
Put simply, your local authority could issue you a penalty charge notice of £500 for failing to display a DEC at all times, in a place that is clearly visible to the public. They can, and will, then charge you a further £1000 for failing to possess or have in your control a valid advisory report.
On top of these penalties, they will still require you to get both of these documents sorted and in place. Otherwise, you will be deemed to have committed further offences. This, ultimately, will cost you considerably more money than getting a DEC in the first place.
Provided you do have a valid advisory report, your DEC is valid and legitimately shows the energy performance of your building, based on actual energy consumption, you will have no issues!
Whatever your DEC needs, we can help. We offer legitimate energy performance certificates for all needs. However, we also offer a range of other services within the energy performance world.
Residential Services:
Commercial Services:
New Build Services:
Please note – if you don’t see what you’re looking for in this list – don’t assume we can’t help. Get in touch via the details below and we’re confident we can find you a solution.
Last but by no means least, we feel we should introduce ourselves. We formed energyperformancecertificates.co.uk in 2010, with our core aim being to offer DECs and other energy performance certificates to homeowners, landlords and businesses throughout the country.
We are proud to have a team full of highly qualified energy assessors who will provide you with the best possible service at a competitive price.
We’ve touched on pretty much everything you need to know about Display Energy Certificates. Now all that remains is for you to get one! For a good value, nationwide service, by approved and accredited assessors, get in touch with us today.
We proudly offer display energy certificates for schools, universities, hospitals, museums, libraries, leisure centres, dentistry buildings and doctors’ surgeries. Importantly, our assessors are all qualified. This is vital, given that every DEC must be completed by a legitimate company and energy assessor for it to be deemed valid and uploaded to the national register.
We visit around 5,000 properties every month, so you can be sure that we know what we're doing. We also have around 150 businesses that use our services regularly. They are given access to our bespoke order management system, and of course, we offer a discount for orders in bulk. So if you're needing multiple certificates – including electrical reports and gas safety certificates – we can also help.
You can get an instant quote at https://energyperformancecertificates.co.uk, give us a call on 0203 397 8220 for more information, or email us at hello@energyperformancecertificates.co.uk.
