How to get an EPC

Whether you are preparing to sell your house and hence need a domestic Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), selling commercial property or need a display EPC, want a report on the energy efficiency of your property in order to plan improvements, or are a professional estate agent or conveying solicitor requiring an EPC for a client, you need to instruct a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) or a Non-domestic Energy Assessor, e.g. by contacting Zero-Carbon Solutions.

Please note that we only offer this service in Lincolnshire.

The procedure is simple and quick. Once we have received your enquiry, which should include a telephone number, we contact you, ask a few details about the size of the job and give you a price. Once the price and payment details have been sorted out we agree the time for an appointment.

Before we can proceed we ask you to submit answers to some questions about the property by compiling a questionnaire, which you can download here. This is an interactive form which you can compile on the screen and subsequently send by email by pressing the Submit button. Alternatively you can print it out, compile it by hand and mail it to us. You do need to have Adobe Reader on your computer in order to use this form.

Next you will receive a letter from us confirming all the details.

The assessment process

  1. Vacant property

    In case a vacant property is to be assessed without the owner's representative present, arrangements will have been made to transfer a key, any alarm codes, etc, to us before the visit to the property. We will simply go to the property, let ourselves in, carry out the inspection and subsequently secure the property and return the keys as arranged beforehand.

    The are a few cases in which me may be prevented from carrying out an assessment as planned, chiefly among these:

    • We arrive and find the property unlocked. In this case we will contact the owner's representative but not enter the premises.
    • We arrive and find e.g. a lose dog guarding the premises. In this case we will not enter.
    • We find unauthorised occupants, e.g. vagrants. We will immediately report this but not carry out the assessment.
    • We find valuables, e.g. cash, left unsecured in the property. We will record this fact and request that the seller or their representative come to the property to secure the valuables before our staff leaves if possible.
    • We arrive and find serious security issues, e.g. used syringes lying about, preventing us from carrying out a complete inspection.

    In cases like these our normal call-out fee will apply even though no inspection has been carried out.

  2. Owner or owners representative present

    In this case the DEA will show you their ID card upon arrival. This card will carry a photograph of the DEA, as well as an accreditation number allowing you to check the authenticity of the ID by contacting a phone help line or checking on the Web as explained on the ID.

    You will get an opportunity to ask questions about the energy assessment and the Energy Performance Certificate, and subsequently the DEA will carry out the assessment. During this he will need access to all rooms in the building, including cellar and loft, built-in cupboards, any garages or sheds, electricity and gas meter boxes, as well as to the garden if there is one.

    Initially the DEA will perform a quick safety survey to ensure it will be safe to carry out an inspection of the property.

    Once satisfied that the property is safe to access, the DEA will measure the dwelling in considerable detail, make a floor plan and examine and make notes about insulation, boilers, fireplaces, light installations, windows, conservatory if present. He may behave peculiarly, e.g. walk about and knock on the walls or remove boiler covers, but that is part of the inspection. He will also take several photographs both inside the property and outside.

    It is important that the DEA is allowed to do his job without being disturbed. He needs to look at a large number of details and assess each of them correctly in order for the property to be given a correct energy rating, and this is a difficult job requiring concentration.

    NOTE: The DEA will use laser beams to measure the property. Although these beams have a low intensity and normally are harmless, you should not look directly at them, and children and pets should be kept away from the area/room where these measurements take place.

    Depending on the size and complexity of the property the inspection can be expected to take between one and two hours (more for very large or complex properties). Before leaving, the DEA will again give you an opportunity to ask questions. Please bear in mind, though, that it lies outside the remit of a DEA to suggest particular improvements or contractors. Nor will it possible to give any indication of the energy rating at that stage. Doing so requires computer processing and the information will be evident from the EPC once you receive it.

    Also in case somebody is present at the property during the assessment there are some cases where the assessment will not be able to proceed, e.g.

    • No qualified adult is at home. The DEA will not be able to enter a property with only minors present.
    • The person present is infirm or incapable, e.g. under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
    • The person or persons present behave in a threatening or intimidating manner at any point before or during the assessment. In this case the assessor will immediately discontinue the assessment and leave the premises.
    • If for any reason in the judgement of the DEA, it is not safe for him to carry out or continue the assessment.

    In cases like these our normal call-out fee will apply even though no inspection has been carried out.

The EPC

In most circumstances the Energy Performance Certificate will be mailed to your representative, e.g. your estate agent or solicitor, and you will be notified of its content through them.

Complaints

DEAs are rigorously trained and supervised. If you are unhappy with the assessment or the conduct of it, you have recourse to two complaints procedures. In the first instance you should put your complaint in writing and send it to Zero-Carbon Solutions in order to allow our internal complaints procedure to resolve it. If this proves impossible a further complaints procedure is offered by the government-approved organisations accrediting the individual DEAs. We will give you full information about this upon request.