Energy Performance Certificates for business properties

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) can only be produced by energy assessors who are members of a government-approved accredited scheme for that type of building, and who have the appropriate qualifications or experience.

Energy assessors:

• may be employed by a company - such as an estate agency or energy company - or be independent traders
• must produce an EPC using the correct government-approved software for the type of building
• have a duty of care and hold responsibility for the EPC throughout the ten years it is valid
• can appoint an individual or a team to help them gather information as long as the team members work under their direction
• are expected to visit business properties in person to make sure the information others have gathered is accurate

Energy assessors are also responsible for:

• ensuring that their assistants have the technical ability to carry out the work, are 'fit and proper' and have the proper insurance in place
• all actions, data and output of EPCs and recommendation reports as if they themselves had collected the data
• acting in an independent manner
• conducting energy assessments, producing EPCs and lodging them with their accreditation scheme

There are three levels of business building types and the energy assessor must be trained, qualified and accredited for the particular type of building and the associated government-approved software:

• level three covers simple, existing properties including small buildings or houses that have been converted to business use, eg doctors' surgeries, and uses software based on the Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM)
• level four covers other new and existing properties, eg purpose-built office blocks, and uses software based on SBEM
• level five covers new and existing properties incorporating complex or innovative energy efficiency feature for which SBEM is not suitable, eg large office buildings and complex factories, and uses Dynamic Simulation Model tools