“Our homes account for 27 per cent of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions contributing to global climate change. The introduction of the Energy Performance Certificate represents a very positive step forward. It means that for the first time people will be given the kind of user-friendly information they need to reduce both the environmental impact of their homes and their energy bills."
Paul King, UK Campaigns Director of the WWF

The purpose of the EPC is to provide the home owner and potential buyers with information regarding the energy efficiency of the property. The ratings on the certificate provide a measure of the building’s overall energy efficiency and its environmental impact. The certificate specifically details the following information:

• An Energy Efficiency Rating. This is a measure of the overall energy efficiency of the property. The property is assigned a rating between 0 (G) and 100 (A). The higher the rating, the more energy efficient the home is and the lower the fuel bills will be.

• An Environmental Impact Rating. This is a measure of the home’s impact on the environment in terms of CO2 emissions. Again, this is assigned between 0 (G) and 100 (A). In this case, the higher the rating the less impact the property has on the environment.

The certificate also provides advice on measures that can be taken to further improve the energy efficiency, reduce the carbon emissions and hence reduce fuel bills.

The EPC assessment for an average property will take approximately 1 hour.

An example EPC can be viewed here.