Energy Performance Certificates - FAQs

The Building Energy Rating (BER) shows the energy performance of your house. It identifies the energy consumption throughout the house for heating, ventilation, and lights. It rates how energy efficient your house systems are. 

BER rating ranges from A to G, with A being most energy-efficient and G being the least. Buildings with an A rating are the most energy-efficient buildings, i.e., they meet the energy requirements as specified by the law. 

The main purpose of a BER certificate is to give information to people before they move into the house.

Every day our local assessors inspect hundreds of properties across the UK. We have been certifying all types of home and properties for over a decade. Our head office and call centre are based in the south east of England.

We pride ourselves on providing you with a fast, reliable and fairly priced service. Removing the stress and hassle of getting certified. 

Whatever your property/building, our energy assessors are experienced in all fields, from homeowners to commercial businesses. 

Bookings can be made online or if you prefer to phone, call us Mon-Fri 9 am - 6 pm, where we’ll be happy to help, before, during and after your assessment. 

We also supply gas safety certification, boiler servicing, and electrical checks

In order to get a BER certificate, you need to schedule a BER assessment for your home/ building. The assessment can only be done by a SEAI registered BER assessor.

After your building is assessed, you will be given an advisory report along with your building's BER certificate. In the report, the assessor will also recommend what you can do to improve your BER. 

Improving your BER makes your property more attractive to buyers, as efficient BER ratings will lead to lower energy costs. Apart from making your property attractive, BER certification will also increase the value of your property. Buyers usually tend to go for houses with a higher BER rating. 

Ordering a BER online is very simple. Firstly choose your property type (residential or commercial). Then fill and submit the online form available on the NationwideBER site or call us on 01 901 014.

Our accredited assessors will visit your property within 24 hours of you placing the order. If you require a residential BER, simply fill out and submit the online form.

For a commercial BER, fill and submit the online form to get an instant quote and then email the quote details to support@nationwideber.ie, then one of our dedicated team will be back to you with a bespoke quote.

The cost of BER certification varies from vendor to vendor. NationwideBER offers fantastic rates; you can get a BER for as low as €123 (including VAT) depending on the size of your property and location. 

Here at NationwideBER we have an average turnaround of 3 working days from placing your order to receiving your certificate.

A BER certificate is valid for 10 years, given that the building does not undergo any changes that may affect its energy performance.

Yes, there are some buildings that are exempt from BER certification. These include: 

1. National monuments 
2. Protected old structures
3. New buildings (for which substantial work has been completed by 30 June 2010) 
4. New dwellings ( for which substantial work has been completed by 30 June 2008) 
5. Buildings developed subject to the requirement of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority 

A criminal law sanction may apply to you if you don’t obtain a BER certificate as made mandatory by the law. If you are renting or selling a property and you don’t have a valid BER certificate on the property, you may face a fine of €5,000 in the district court.

Similarly, if you’re selling your building/house a BER certificate is a necessity and if you fail to meet the requirements it will delay your sale process. 

There are a few different ways to improve the BER rating of your house. Here are a few examples:

1. Replace energy efficient elements: You can enhance the heating system of your house, replace old gas and oil boilers with modern solar technology which is not only efficient but also clean.
2. Install Insulation: You can also improve the BER rating of your house by updating wall, floor, and pipe insulation.

If you want to improve the BER rating of your property, the government also provides grants to help you pay for the updates to the property. BER is one of the most essential factors when it comes to selling your property and it can also increase the value of your property.

The BER reports also comes with an advisory report, this report will provide you with recommendations on how to improve the energy efficiency of your property.

Most of our EV chargers are smart-enabled and you can control them through their associated app. So, if you want to fully benefit from the intelligent home charging capabilities, you need to connect to your Wi-Fi network.

Not all plug-in vehicles are eligible for the OZEV EVHS grant. Fully electric vehicles are eligible if they are on the OZEV list. For plug-in hybrid vehicles, the calculated CO2 emissions must be below 50g/km.

OZEV maintains a list of the eligible vehicles.

As the government continues to work towards zero emissions, they have continued an initiative that contributes up to £350 towards the installation of electric vehicle charging points as long as you meet the new OZEV criteria as of 1st April 2022.

Here’s everything you need to qualify for the OZEV grant:

• You are a homeowner who lives in a flat or you live in rental accommodation.
• You own the property/have consent from your landlord to install a charge point.
• You have designated private off-street parking with good access for an electric vehicle to be charged safely.
• You own/have ordered an eligible vehicle or have leased one for at least six months.
• This is your first or second claim for an eligible electric vehicle.

There are two extra requirements related to the EV charger and its installation:

• You must install an OZEV-approved charge point, such as the units offered by EV Chargepod.

Your EV charger must be mounted by an OZEV-approved charge-point installer.

Government-funded OZEV grants can provide 75% of the cost of your electric vehicle home charging point, up to a maximum of £350 – leaving just a small contribution from you.

Claiming up to £350 off the cost of your new home charging point is as easy as ABC! Here’s how:

You have to answer a few simple questions, meet the criteria set by OZEV, and share some documents with us. Once you have placed your order, we will send you a link to a step-by-step survey and we'll take care of the rest.

We will complete all your paperwork (16 pages) to enable you to benefit from the government’s / OZEV’s EV charger grant subsidy.

With EV Chargepod, you don't even have to wait for your subsidy – you pay the price with the grant already calculated.

IT'S A WIN-WIN!

To find out more about the electric vehicle home-charge scheme, check out the customer guidance.

Yes, if you are a property owner in Ireland and you are considering selling or renting your property, legally you must have a BER before putting your property on the market. Before listing your property make sure to order a BER assessment from a certified and qualified assessor.

A BER certification is mandatory whether you are selling your property yourself or through an agent. 

Similarly, if you are a buyer, you are entitled to ask the vendor or the agent regarding the BER certificate of the property.

With EV Chargepod, the cost of a fully installed EV charger starts from £549 with the government OZEV grant.

Some electric car owners benefit from a £350 OZEV grant for purchasing and installing a home charger (provided they meet the criteria set out by OZEV).

Once installed, you only pay for the electricity you use to charge.

Even if the annual service is not yet due, you have to contact a qualified engineer immediately in case you sense that your boiler is exhibiting signs of wear and tear or of any abnormal conditions.

During a boiler service, an engineer will visit your property and perform a series of safety and efficiency checks on your central heating system and its components.

Regular boiler servicing is critical to ensuring your unit is running safely and efficiently.

A residential property that has mains gas is required to obtain a Gas Safety Certificate every 12 months. All gas appliances including boilers, gas hobs, and gas fires will be inspected.

You should have your Heating system checked and serviced at least once every year.

A Non-Domestic EPC is valid for 10 years unless it is superseded by a more recent certificate.

The calculations required for producing a Commercial Energy Performance Certificate are performed by a certified Non-Domestic Energy Assessor (NDEA).

When a building is offered for sale or lease, the seller or landlord must provide the EPC free of charge to any prospective buyer or tenant. The seller or landlord must have an EPC prepared for the building before the market process. The EPCs are also required for the construction of a non-residential building.

Yes, PropCert provides dependable Domestic EPCs with countrywide coverage and fully accredited Domestic Energy Assessors. We produce EPCs for existing domestic dwellings, new builds, conversions, and extensions by undertaking energy assessments on a home. The EPC is generated by entering the energy assessment data into specialised software. This creates the EPC which is then lodged into a government central register.

When you place an order with us, you get access to our platform that lets you check its status in real-time.

With PropCert, the process of producing a certificate takes up to 3-4 days.

Our process is fast and straightforward. It involves 4 steps:

1. You place your order through our portal in less than a minute and receive a confirmation text message and email.
2. Our fieldworker contacts you within 24 hours to make an appointment usually within 1-3 working days of the order. We will email you with confirmation of the time and date.
3. Field assessments of the property’s energy performance.
4. Once complete, the property certificate will be uploaded to our portal and you will receive an email notification

We ask that you pay via card at the time of placing the order for two reasons.

1. So you are protected by the Visa/MasterCard Guarantee.
2. We do not allow our assessors to carry cash with them for their safety.

Please bear in mind anyone can visit the property to complete the initial assessment but only a qualified assessor can issue the final report. Simply having a visit to the property doesn’t mean that you will get your report once you have handed over the cash. Paying via card ensures that your provider will complete the process from start to finish.

The Gas Safe Register is the official gas registration body for the UK, Isle of Man, and Guernsey. According to the law, all gas engineers offering certifications must be on the Gas Safe Register.

Properties that are not required to have an EPC are as follows:

1. Places of worship
2. Temporary buildings that will only be used for less than 2 years
3. Buildings with less than 50 square meters of floor space
4. Buildings that are going to be demolished
5. Residential and Holiday homes used less than four months a year.
6. Industrial buildings, workshops, non-residential agricultural buildings.

Once complete, an EPC cannot be updated. If insulation evidence comes to light after the EPC is lodged, the old EPC can be cancelled, and a new one produced. There will be a charge for this.

Whilst at the property, the assessor, will gather the required data and evidence to support his findings. The householder should have any evidence to support the presence of insulation to the floors, walls, and roof available for the assessor at the time of the inspection. If there is no evidence, then the assessor will simply state in the EPC software' insulation unknown'. The software will then make assumptions based on the age and construction of the building as to whether insulation is present. Next to this assumption, the word 'assumed' will appear. This is not stating that insulation is definitely /definitely not present but is simply an assumption made by the software.

The EPC is required by law when a building is constructed, sold, or put up for rent. You will also need an EPC if you are applying for a feed-in tariff for solar panels.

We provide around 2000 EPCs per month throughout England, Wales, and Scotland. We are the largest direct to the consumer, EPC provider in the UK. We simply make our money due to the volumes we do. We do not need to charge a mark-up or inflate our prices. You will find us typically £20-£59 cheaper than your agent.

The EPC is valid for 10 years.

As soon as the booking has been made and paid for online, you will receive an order confirmation email along with a receipt for your payment (if the email is not received, please check your spam or junk folder). You can then expect to hear from our local assessor, usually within 24 hours of the booking, to arrange an assessment time.

Once the Energy Assessor has visited the property, typically, you will have your report within 24 hours of the property being assessed. You will be emailed when your EPC is ready for download (again, please check your spam folder), and a copy will also be placed on the government's EPC Register.

All our engineers are Gas Safe Registered, so you don’t have to waste time looking for one. You can check their Gas Safe ID for assurance. For more information, please email us at hello@gassafetycerts.com or call 020 3011 2389.

Yes, you can place an advertisement to rent or lease your property once you have arranged an order and pre-paid for an Energy Performance Certificate survey. Confirmation of your order will be forwarded to you immediately after the EPC has been booked.

Yes, you are allowed to place your property on the market or rent, but you must ensure that you have ordered and paid for an Energy Performance Certificate beforehand. We will supply you with your order confirmation immediately after booking it.

When you choose an EPC inspection company, you should ensure that the aftercare and access to information are easily obtainable.

The organization should be able to provide you with full access to your EPC for the next 10 years, the length of its validity.

You may find lower price elsewhere but cheap often comes at a cost. Some EPC companies operating in the UK are based overseas and do not have a  call centre or head office in the UK.

Also booking directly with an assessor means should you have a complaint or query, many people find following up with them a challenge. Unreturned calls are common. As are cancelled appointments or no shows which can be frustrating.

Our prices are extremely competitive and are fully compliant with the Energy Performance Certificates regulations. 

Our 19,000+ Trustpilot reviews and UK call centre provide peace of mind for you. We are happy to help before, during and after your inspection to make sure getting an EPC remains a stress and hassle free experience.

The responsibility for getting an EPC is with the owner, seller, or landlord. With a new build, the person carrying out the work must obtain an EPC and inform the building control officer or approved inspector that this has been completed in the specified period.

A seller or landlord must pay for the initial EPC inspection, providing the prospective buyer or tenant with an EPC prior to entering into a sale or lease agreement.

The homeowner must book an EPC inspection with a local Domestic Assessors who will visit the property and examine key items such as loft insulation, windows for double glazing, etc. These observations are calculated, whereby an EPC is issued with a recommendation form attached.

The certificate shows the energy efficiency levels and environmental carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with a recommended value of the potential for improvements.

Energy Performance Certificates use a scale of A to G. A being the most efficient home, with lower fuel bills and G being the least energy efficient with higher energy bills.

The same scale is used to define the environmental impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of a home. Most properties in Britain are band D or E.

An EPC recommendation form is included to show you ways to improve your energy efficiency levels. The EU directive requires improvements that are cost-effective in reducing fuel costs and CO2 emissions.

Home Inspectors/Domestic Energy Assessors use the RDSAP program to ensure these recommendations, although general, are specific to the property in question.

Booking your EPC couldn’t be easier. Simply click on ‘Instant EPC Quote’ above and fill in your details which should take less then a minute. If you want to speak to someone instead, you can our UK call centre on 0203 397 8220.

After booking your EPC, one of our local assessors will phone you within 1 working day of your order. They will need some details and payment in advance. Our prices start from a competitive rate of £34.00 in selected areas.

Following your call, they will make a follow-up appointment to go ahead with the EPC assessment.

Once your assessor has completed your inspection, your completed Energy Performance Certificate will be available to download by following the “Track My Order” link.

If you are still uncertain or have any further inquiries, please call us on 0203 397 8220 or email us directly at support@energyperformancecertificates.co.uk.

The law regarding Gas Safety is very strict in the UK. The penalty of renting out a property without a gas certificate leads to hefty fines and even imprisonment. Some of the penalties include:

1. Fines of up to £6000
2. Invalid insurance
3. Imprisonment up to six months
4. Manslaughter charges in case of an accident where a tenant dies due to a poorly maintained gas system.

If you are using a reliable Gas Safety Certificate provider, such as Gas Safety Certs, you will receive your certificate within 24 hours after the inspection. After settling your payment, you can easily download the certificate online from the customer portal.

Yes, a Gas Safety Certificate can fail. It can be due to two reasons:

1. Our engineer identifies a fault with an appliance that could cause harm
2. We identify a gas leak at the property
3. A change in the gas safety regulation
4. The Gas Safety engineer that you used in the past did inspect your property according to the regulations.

Therefore, always make sure to get your Gas Safety Certificate from a reliable company, such as Gas Safety Certs.

Yes, all rental properties, both residential and commercial, must have an EPC.

Yes, Landlords are required to provide safety certificates to their tenants within 28 days of completion of checks. For more information, visit our Gas Safety Certificate page.

A gas safety certificate lasts for twelve months.

Yes, under the law, Landlords are required to have annual safety checks on all the gas appliances, including boilers and flues, in their rental properties. These safety checks must be carried out by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer.

Contact our team of Gas Safe Registered engineers today. Call 020 3011 2389 or email hello@gassafetycerts.com for an instant quote.

With EV Chargepod, the cost of a fully installed EV charger starts from £689 with the government OZEV grant.

Some electric car owners benefit from a £350 OZEV grant for purchasing and installing a home charger (provided they meet the criteria set out by OZEV).

Once installed, you only pay for the electricity you use to charge.

The standard installation of an EV home charger with EV Chargepod includes:

• Up to 3 hours of fitting time

• Fitting of the EV charge point on a brick or plaster wall, or to another suitable permanent structure: The EV charge point must be fixed to the main property and able to utilise the property’s earthing arrangement, which must meet current regulations – we are required to check this by law

• Surface mounting of cable – i.e. no conduit or chasing: Up to 10 metres of cable are run and neatly clipped to the wall between the electricity distribution board/consumer unit and the EV charge point

• Routing of the cable through a drilled hole in a wall up to 500mm (20 inches) thick (if necessary

• The fitting and testing of electrical connections and protections required for the EV charge point

• Installation of a 40A MCB Type B (space in existing consumer unit required).

We will back up your charger with a 2-year warranty and installation - with a guarantee of 12 months. All our chargers meet strict government regulations and safety standards. You’ll receive an electrical certificate for your EV charger installation.

Government-funded OZEV grants can provide 75% of the cost of your electric vehicle home charging point, up to a maximum of £350 – leaving just a small contribution from you. 

Claiming up to £350 off the cost of your new home charging point is as easy as ABC! Here’s how: 

You have to answer a few simple questions, meet the criteria set by OZEV, and share some documents with us. Once you have placed your order, we will send you a link to a step-by-step survey and we'll take care of the rest. 

We will complete all your paperwork (16 pages) to enable you to benefit from the government’s / OZEV’s EV charger grant subsidy. 

With EV Chargepod, you don't even have to wait for your subsidy – you pay the price with the grant already calculated. 

IT'S A WIN-WIN! 

To find out more about the electric vehicle home-charge scheme, check out the customer guidance.

As the government continues to work towards zero emissions, they have continued an initiative that contributes up to £350 towards the installation of electric vehicle charging points as long as you meet the new OZEV criteria as of 1st April 2022. 

Here’s everything you need to qualify for the OZEV grant:

• You are a homeowner who lives in a flat or you live in rental accommodation.

• You own the property/have consent from your landlord to install a charge point.

• You have designated private off-street parking with good access for an electric vehicle to be charged safely.

• You own/have ordered an eligible vehicle or have leased one for at least six months.

• This is your first or second claim for an eligible electric vehicle.

There are two extra requirements related to the EV charger and its installation:

• You must install an OZEV-approved charge point, such as the units offered by EV Chargepod.

Your EV charger must be mounted by an OZEV-approved charge-point installer.

Not all plug-in vehicles are eligible for the OZEV EVHS grant. Fully electric vehicles are eligible if they are on the OZEV list. For plug-in hybrid vehicles, the calculated CO2 emissions must be below 50g/km.

OZEV maintains a list of the eligible vehicles here.

With an average domestic electricity rate in the UK of about 28p per kWh, charging an electric car at home costs an average of £15 for a full charge depending on your battery capacity. 

Most drivers will charge their electric car overnight, waking up with a full battery every morning.

This is the most convenient and cost-effective way to keep your car fully charged. 

You can calculate the cost of fully charging your own car by using the formula: 

Tariff (e.g. 28p/kWh) * Battery size (e.g. 100kWh) / 100 = Cost to fully charge (e.g. £28). 

For example, fully charging a 60kWh electric car will cost around £16.4 and will give you about 200 miles of range.

Most of our EV chargers are smart-enabled and you can control them through their associated app. So, if you want to fully benefit from the intelligent home charging capabilities, you need to connect to your Wi-Fi network.

The time it takes to charge an electric car can be as short as 30 minutes or exceed 12 hours. This depends on the size of the battery and the speed of the charge point.

• A typical electric car (60kWh battery) takes just under 8 hours to charge from empty to full with a 7kW charge point.

• Most drivers top up the charge rather than waiting for their battery to recharge from empty to full.

• The bigger your car’s battery and the slower the charging point, the longer it takes to charge from empty to full.

There are 5 main factors that affect the time it takes to charge an electric vehicle.

1. Max charging rate of a charge point: The time it takes to charge will also be limited by the max charging rate of the charge point you are using. For example, even if your vehicle can charge at 11kW, it will only charge at 7kW on a 7kW charge point.

2. Max charging rate of the vehicle: You can only charge a vehicle’s battery at the maximum charging rate the vehicle can accept. For example; if your vehicle’s max charging rate is 7kW, you won’t charge any faster by using a 22kW charge point.

3. Size of the battery: The bigger your vehicle’s battery capacity (measured in kWh), the longer it will take to charge.

4. State of the battery (empty vs. full): If you are charging from empty, it will take longer to charge than if you are topping up from 50%.

5. Environmental factors: A lower ambient temperature can make charging slightly longer, particularly when using a rapid charger. Lower temperatures also mean vehicles are less efficient, so fewer miles are added for the same charging time.

Yes, it’s completely safe to leave your EV overnight. You can also schedule when to charge, so your electric car can start charging during the off-peak energy tariffs.

A rapid charge point is very useful to give your battery a quick boost if you are out on the road and running low. Normally, you wouldn’t use a rapid charging point to charge your battery to full. Rapid charge points are not installed at home as they require a larger supply (3-phase). They are usually found at motorway service stations and other commercial places. This is where you’ll place your EV on charge and go grab a coffee or some lunch.