Since the government announced that all commercial properties need a minimum EPC 'B' rating by 2030, landlords up and down the land have been scratching their heads over where to start with upgrading their properties.
Doing nothing is not an option. From April next year, all buildings must be an E or better, even if there are no changes in tenancy. The standard is raised to a C rating in 2027, and a B in 2030. Properties not hitting the minimum ratings cannot be leased.
Landlords must start planning now as the road to energy efficiency can be a long and, sometimes complex one.
2030 may seem like a long way off but surveys to establish exactly how you can boost energy performance, managing tenancies to allow the work to be carried out and securing finance for the works, all takes time.
And, of course, if the figures for improvements versus rent levels don’t stack-up then you need a viable exit strategy or an alternative use for your property.
Not all EPC assessors are equal
The first step is to understand EPCs.
EPCs are determined by accredited assessors who use approved software to measure various aspects of a building’s energy efficiency to get an end score, which translates to a grade. For example, a score of 0 – 25 is an A, while a score of 150 or more is a G.
It’s beneficial to building owners to provide as many accurate metrics as they can, to assessors. Assessors can work on default values but defaults assume the worst so will almost certainly lead to a poorer final EPC rating.
The cost of an assessor can vary, depending on the building, but some cheaper assessors save time by using default values, which will result in a worse score, so paying a bit more for an environmental/energy consultant to do a thorough job can pay dividends. Quality assessors can also run future iteration models to ensure that the cumulative benefit of any changes has the required effect.
Fabric and services
EPCs are assessed through two main aspects – building fabric and building services. Fabric is about the construction of a building, such as its structure, floors, internal and external walls, glazing and the roof. Building services are things like the heating, cooling, lighting and power to the building.
Biggest wins
After your EPC assessment, you’ll probably find that the report tells you that the biggest gains you can make, are in your building services. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Typical works can range from minor interventions, such as lighting replacement or insulation upgrades to more substantive upgrades such as changing the energy source from gas to electric, replacing older inefficient plant with new, and installing energy metering and monitoring of the lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Most people are aware these days that LED lighting is best for conserving energy but swapping out all your bulbs for LED may not get you maximum improvement. Having a full lighting plan drawn-up is often well worth the effort. A full design can highlight where lighting is being overused. Smart systems can be installed to ensure that lighting automatically dims in bright daylight and switches off when a space is empty. Ventilation systems can also be upgraded to include demand-driven control. Heating and cooling units can be changed to variable refrigerant flow (VRF) units. These can be configured to have room-specific temperature zones. An effective way of improving an EPC rating is for a building to generate its own energy on site, through solar panels or wind turbines, for example.
The big but
It is absolutely essential that any recommendations for improving the EPC fully take into account the specifics of the building. For example, solar panels are all well and good but if your roof doesn’t have enough space for them or the roof structure can’t support their weight, it’s back to the drawing board.
In summary
These are the main points to consider for attaining that golden EPC rating and reducing energy consumption and the associated carbon emissions. Key to getting this right – first time – is getting the best advice and expertise to guide you. As well as that, choosing the right construction or fit-out partner who is knowledgeable in EPC ratings is crucial.
