Commercial Energy Performance Surveys
(aka Commercial EPCs)

By Edgeworth Street Chartered Building Surveyors of Solihull

By October 2008, just about all but the very smallest commercial properties in England and Wales will need to have a commercial energy performance certificate (commercial EPC) issued, prior to it being offered for sale or lease.

The process for getting a commerical EPC is to have an energy performance assessment (or energy survey) carried out, which will result in the production of the commercial energy performance certificate.

The survey is quite detailed and will take some time to complete, as all rooms in the property must be inspected.

The commercial energy assessor (or surveyor) will need to look closely at the actual fabric of the building, including cellars and roof voids, as well as the heating, ventilation, hot water and lighting systems.

Each element of the survey is scored separately. This means that each room and each wall within the room, has to be entered onto a plan, with a note made of the construction type, glazing type, heating sources, lighting, ventilation, air conditioning etc within that room.

When the on-site survey is completed, the data then has to be entered into computer software that calculates the energy performance rating of the building as a whole.

When complete, the software has to be uploaded to a central database and a small lodgement fee of around £30 has to be paid.

The energy performance certificate is much like the ratings labels that appear on many domestic electrical appliance, so the building will receive a score based on a scale from A (the highest energy efficient buildings) to G, being the least energy efficient.

Along with the certificate, you will receive recommendations for improving the building's energy efficiency, the aim being of course, that landlords and tenants will make an effort to reduce energy consumption.

The rest of this site shows many of the areas that are looked at with a commercial energy performance assessment along with screenshots from the iSBEM software used to compile the commercial EPC's.

If you require any information regarding commercial energy performance certificates (commercial EPC's), please call David Carter or Robert Street on 0121 733 8686.

Please note that we only offer Commercial EPC's and can not therefore assist domestic customers.