Energy Performance Certificates and your home

The Energy Performance Certificates are carried out by our accredited Energy Assessors, who visit your property to collect the relevant data and create the certificate. This data includes the date, construction and location of the house and relevant fittings (heating systems, insulation or double glazing, for example).

An Energy Performance Certificate shows the official energy efficiency rating of a property. As a homeowner, you'll only need one when you sell your home. From 1st August 2007, in order to sell your home you'll need an Energy Performance Certificate as part of your Home Information Pack. If you're not planning to sell your home, you don't need to do anything.

The certificate provides you with a rating for the building, showing its energy efficiency and its environmental impact on a scale from A-G in graphical format. It also contains recommended ways to improve the buildings energy performance.

By 2009, all buildings in the UK that are constructed, sold or rented out will have to have an Energy Performance Certificate, in accordance with the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Why is the Certificate important?

The Government states that "nearly 40 per cent of the UK's energy consumption arises from the way in which our 25 million buildings are lit, heated and used. Even comparatively minor changes in energy performance and the way we use each building will have a significant effect in reducing energy consumption - and therefore carbon emissions".

Communities and Local Government is leading the introduction of a number of energy and cost-saving measures to make all buildings more efficient. These measures are being applied across all European Union countries and are in line with the European Directive for the Energy Performance of Buildings. The Energy Performance Certificate is part of these new measures to improve property efficiency. It will include suggestions to enable homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of the building. This can mean lower energy bills for the occupiers, and could make homes more attractive to potential purchasers.

What the Certificate means

The Energy Performance Certificate is similar to the certificates now provided with domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines.

Its purpose is to record how energy-efficient a property is as a building.

Two ratings are shown. The environmental impact rating is a measure of a home's impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide (C02) emissions - the higher the rating, the less impact it has on the environment. The energy-efficiency rating is a measure of a home's overall efficiency. The higher the rating, the more energy-efficient the home is, and the lower the fuel bills are likely to be.

Each rating is based on the performance of the building itself and its services (such as heating and lighting), rather than the domestic appliances within it. This is known as an asset rating. The certificate also lists the potential rating of the building if all the cost-effective measures were installed.

The ratings will vary according to the age, location, size and condition of the building. The potential rating on the certificate will take these factors into account, and the suggested measures will be tailored so that they are realistic for the particular building.

How to make your home more energy efficient

Improving the energy efficiency of your home can mean either making changes to the building, or simply changing your behaviour to save energy. Energy Performance Certificates will give you advice on both of these areas.

Installing energy-efficient measures

Here is a list of some of the measures that the certificate might recommend:

• Low-energy light bulbs. These last up to 12 times longer and use around 80 per cent less energy than traditional filament bulbs
• Hot water tank jackets. These cost from around £10, and can cut heat loss by around 75 per cent
• Loft insulation. Fitting insulation that is at least 250mm thick could cut heat loss by around 30 per cent
• Cavity wall insulation. If you have unfilled cavity walls, installing insulation could cut heat loss by over 30 per cent.

The cost of the measures recommended will vary, but the certificate will distinguish between those that cost under £500 (such as those above) and those that could cost more, such as double glazing or new heating systems. The certificate will also list further measures that will help achieve the highest possible ratings for the home, but which could be expensive and will take more than seven years to repay their cost in energy savings.

Behaviour changes

There are also simple ways that you can improve your energy efficiency, simply by changing how you use your home:

• Check that your heating system thermostat isn't set too high (21 degrees C in the living room is suggested), and use the timer or programmer so you only heat your home when necessary
• Make sure your hot water isn't too hot. Your cylinder thermostat shouldn't need to be set higher than 60 degrees C/140 degrees F
• Turn off lights when they aren't needed, and don't leave appliances on standby. Remember not to leave chargers (e.g. for mobile phones) turned on when you aren't using them

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