The Commercial Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s) has become a very important certificate to have n the property and construction industry and from January 4th in 2009 is has become an essential requirement. The European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) demands that these Commercial EPC’s will need to be presented at the point of marketing, selling, leasing or construction for all non-dwellings. The certificate covers all types of buildings from shops to small offices, industrial units and large commercial buildings such as train stations and airports. Building Control is responsible for enforcing these changes in the newly built properties and it’s the Trading Standards department responsibility to enforce certificates on existing buildings. These legislative requirements mean that every part of the build needs to be monitored and accessed, so the build will comply with the Commercial EPC.
The Commercial EPC is designed to inform you how energy efficient the commercial property is and provide advice on all of the aspects of the build that need to be developed further and improved to make it more energy efficient. The commercial EPC is graded on a scale system of A-G with A being the most energy efficient and the same scale also demonstrated the impact of the property has on the environment in terms of CO2 emissions. If you do not comply with the commercial EPC legislation then this will result in a penalty of up to 12.5% of the rateable value of the property, from a minimum of £500 up to a maximum of £5,000. This penalty is on top of the cost of a compliant commercial EPC . This commercial energy performance certificate is then valid for a 10 year period.
There are, on the other hand, some commercial premises that are exempt from the commercial EPC. Those exempt include:
Stand alone buildings that are less than 50sqm,
Places of worship,
Properties that already have permission to be demolished within a 2 year period,
Extensions or lease renewals that were put in place before 1st October 2008.
With all of these different legislative and energy efficiency factors to consider, it is important that you hire the right energy assessment provider that you can trust to do a good job and deliver the service on time. To find out more about our Commercial EPC services along with our energy consultancy services, please contact Syntegra direct.
