The article below was provided by EPC-Belfast who are accredited Domestic Energy Assessors in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They explain how the Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) of houses are produced and what it involves to have your property assessed for the EPC.
Qualified energy professionals known as Domestic Energy Assessors, have the accreditation rights to issue Energy Efficiency Certificates. These certificates summarize the heat and power needs of the building. Mostly, each certificate last up to ten years and may be used as many times as needed until it expires.
The process of certification issuance is divided into two main parts; initially, the assessors must go-through the entire house, recording details about the structural and heating components, then complete the actual report.
After completing the report, the assessor (DEA) must has to put the information into the computer system and performs remaining work, in order to issue the energy efficiency certificate. The assessors may put the query regarding the wall construction, insulation (both internal and external), year built. Below is the write up which shows each step performed by the assessor during your house visit.
Exterior Survey of the Building
Whatever the size or type of the building, the assessors usually begin the inspection from the building exterior whilst taking images, which helps in defining the structure layout. The assessor will request to see the rear of the building. At the back, the assessor will ask to take photographs of the oil boiler if present at the backyard. This will help in proving the boiler manufacturer and model.
After entering the house, the assessor may take some photographs of the heating programmer, radiators, TRVs and wall thermostat (if present). The assessor will measure the external wall to check its depth (thickness) and isolation.
Additionally, the DEA will register the information related to the wall structure, either brick, stone, or timber. He or she will examine and record the thickness (mm) of the windows’ glass and frame type. After inspecting these areas the assessor will look at the lights of the property, particularly the number of the lower energy lights in the rooms.
Updating Information into Systems
The next part is when the assessor enters the above data into computer software. The assessors do not own the software. Instead the software is available to all the assessors in the cloud. The assessor will enter each detail and remarks about what they saw in the house during the survey. After completing the entire process the system will automatically generate the EPC.
Conclusion
The energy performance of a house is rated between zero to hundred. Getting a lower EPC score means poor performance in energy consumption and vice versa. The generated EPC is stored in the database of EPC Register of Northern Ireland, a nationwide institution responsible for storing EPC certificates.
If you are based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and want to get an EPC of your house, search online for a quote.
