Energy Performance Certificates - FAQs

It is such an easy process to book an EPC inspection through us. You can simply visit our website and click on the ‘EPC Quote’ link, which will ask you to complete a brief and straightforward form that will provide you an instant quote. Or should you wish to speak to someone, you can call us direct on 0203 397 8220.

After booking the EPC, one of our local assessors will phone you within 1 working day of the order. During this conversation, they will require some details and payment in advance. Our prices start from a competitive rate of £34.00 in selected areas.

Following the initial telephone call from the Assessor, he will make a follow-up appointment to call you and gather all the relevant information to proceed with the EPC assessment.

Once this information has been formatted and calculated, your completed Energy Performance Certificate will then be available to download by following the “Track My Order” link.

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

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 occupiers ways to improve their 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 bespoke to the property in question.

The responsibility for the provision of an EPC rests 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.

A simple procedure, 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.

With a brand new and updated EPC ordering system, we can now ensure that we will provide you with the highest standard and top-quality service with our nationwide Domestic Assessors. Our prices are extremely competitive and are fully compliant with the Energy Performance Certificates regulations.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The EPC is valid for 10 years.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A gas safety certificate lasts for twelve months.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

A fully installed home charge pod costs from £449 with the government OZEV grant.
Electric car drivers benefit from a £350 OZEV grant for purchasing and installing a home charger.
Once installed, you only pay for the electricity you use to charge.
The typical electricity rate in the UK is just over 14p per kWh, while on Economy 7 tariffs the typical overnight electricity rate in the UK is 8p per kWh.
 
Cost of charging an electric car

Charging an electric car at home costs about £8.40 for a full charge and is the most convenient and cost-effective way to keep your car fully charged. Most drivers will charge their electric car overnight, waking up to a full battery every morning.
Average domestic electricity rate in the whole of the UK is about 14p per kWh.
Fully charging a 60kWh electric car will cost between £8.30 and £9.40 (depending on where you live) and give you about 200 miles of range.

You can calculate the cost to fully charge your own car by using the formula: Tariff (e.g. 14p/kWh) * Battery size (e.g. 100kWh) / 100 = Cost to fully charge (e.g. £14).
 

Full charge can be obtained for free, as many employers will install a workplace charging point.

Rapid Charging Point: 
Normally you wouldn’t use a rapid charging point to charge your battery to full. EV drivers would normally use these charging points on the motorway at the service stations. This is where you’ll place your EV on charge and go grab a coffee or some lunch. An average cost would be £6.50 for 30 minutes that will provide your battery with a 100-mile range.
 
 

A rapid charge point is very useful to give your battery a quick boost if you are out on the road and running low. A rapid chargepoint would not usually be used to charge your battery to full and not installed at a home. Rapid charge points are often found at motorway service stations and other commercial places as they require a larger supply and installation that what could be feasible at home.

• 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, (property's earthing arrangement must meet current regulations – we are required to check this by law)
• Up to 10 metres of cable, run and neatly clipped to the wall between the electricity distribution board / consumer unit and the ev charge point.
• Surface mounting of cable – i.e. no conduit or chasing
• Up to 3 Hours fitting time.
• Routing of the cable through a drilled hole in a wall up to 500mm (20 inches) thick, if this is needed.
• The ev charge point must be located in your designated off-street parking area and be fixed at a height where it can’t be hit by a Vehicle. No higher than 1.8 metres (6 feet) above the ground.
• 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).

All you’ll need is off-street parking and a dedicated home charger installed. This is usually the most convenient place to charge your electric car as you can plug-in overnight and the magic happens while you sleep peacefully in your bed..

Our charge pods have built-in safety features and smart technology, it’s Wi-Fi enabled to give you access to additional smart features like energy monitoring and over-the-air software updates.

There are universal and tethered charge points. Tethered home chargers have a cable attached, which you typically just plug in to your vehicle to start charging. Home chargers are also available with a universal ‘Type 2’ socket that accepts a separate cable and plugs into your car in the same way. These separate cables are often provided by the vehicle manufacturer but if you didn’t receive one or need a spare, you can purchase them when ordering your home charger.

Electric cars can also be plugged into a standard 3-pin plug at home, however, it takes longer to charge and the sockets do not have the required safety features of a dedicated charger, therefore it is not considered best practice.

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

• A typical electric car (60kWh battery) takes just under 8 hours to charge from empty-to-full with a 7kW charging point.
• Most drivers top up 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 chargepoint: The time it takes to charge will also be limited by the max charging rate of the chargepoint you are using. For example; even if your vehicle can charge at 11kW, it will only charge at 7kW on a 7kW chargepoint.
2. Max charging rate of vehicle: You can only charge a vehicle’s battery at the maximum charge rate the vehicle can accept. For example; if your vehicle’s max charge rate is 7kW, you won’t charge any faster by using a 22kW chargepoint.
3. Size of battery: The bigger your vehicle’s battery capacity (measured in kWh), the longer it will take to charge.
4. State of 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 colder ambient temperature can make it take slightly longer to charge, particularly when using a rapid charger. Colder temperatures also mean vehicles are less efficient, so less miles are added per time charging.

*Real range will depend on various factors including driving conditions, personal driving style, outside temperature, heating/air conditioning, etc.

OZEV grant

As the government continues to work towards zero emissions, they have continued an initiative that contributes up to £350 towards (as of the 1st April 2020) the installation of electric vehicle charging points.

You can claim for one charging point per vehicle, for up to two points per household.
 

• You must have off-street parking.
• You must install an OZEV-approved chargepoint, such as ev charge pod.
• You must use an OZEV-approved chargepoint installer.
• You need to own, have ordered, or leased an eligible vehicle (min 6 months).

Which vehicles are eligible for the OZEV Grant?
Not all plug-in vehicles are eligible for the OZEV EVHS grant. All full battery electric vehicles are eligible, but plug-in hybrid vehicle CO2 emissions must be calculated below 50g/km.
OZEV maintains a list of those vehicles which are eligible here.
 
How do I claim the OZEV Grant?
To claim up to £350 off the cost of your new home charging point, all you have to do is answer a few simple questions 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 of £350.00. We will guarantee your charger and installation for 3 years. All our chargers meet strict government regulations and safety standards. You’ll receive an electrical certificate for your EV charger installation.

Government funded grants can provide 75% towards the cost of your electric vehicle home charging point up to a maximum of £350 – leaving just a small contribution from you. But because we do all of this for you, you don't even have to wait for the grant to be paid...you pay the price with the grant already calculated. IT'S A WIN WIN ! 

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.

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.

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.