When a property is to be sold or rented It is a legal requirement for the Vendor/Landlord to provide any prospective purchaser/tenant with an Energy Performance Certificate free of charge. Certificates can only be produced by fully accredited Energy Assessors and are valid for a ten year period.
Energy Performance Certificates are very similar to the ratings found on the majority of domestic appliances such as fridges etc. A building is given an A-G rating giving an indication of both fuel consumption and carbon emissions in comparison to a similar building. A being the most energy efficient and G the least. All Energy Performance Certificates provide a recommendations report which can be a useful tool to indicate various measures that can be taken to improve the energy efficiency of a building.
The warrant for Energy Performance Certificates is driven by the “Kyoto Treaty” which forms the UKs commitment to reduce carbon emissions in all buildings by 80% by 2050. Currently almost 50% of carbon emissions come from all Uk buildings.
