What is an Energy Performance Certificate?
All buildings consume energy. For homes this is principally to heat the living space and to provide hot water. How efficiently they do that depends on how the energy is produced and how well it is conserved through insulation.
Less wasted heat means less generated to maintain a given room or water temperature.
The EPC process uses a detailed database of the insulating properties of building construction materials, coupled with the information about its specific heating systems, to calculate an overall energy efficiency rating.
This rating is presented in the A (excellent) to G (very poor) format already used to rate electrical goods. The report then highlights good and poor features, notes where possible improvements might be made and details their potential to reduce both emissions and fuel bills. Installing loft insulation where there is none, for example can pay for itself in less than two years.