Why Your Business Needs An EPC

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a document required by businesses that construct a building, sell or rent to outside parties and it provides information on the energy efficiency of the property, as well as the carbon dioxide emission levels of the premises. You can obtain an EPC by contacting a professional EPC company such as EPC London or EPC Glasgow. The certificate is similar to those that can be found inside many household appliances, such as your washing machine and refrigerators. It is a part of an on going government programme, put in place to help reduce the UK’s carbon footprint and green house gas emissions.

What Is Involved?

Only a qualified accredited Commercial Energy Assessor can carry out the energy performance certificate that will remain valid for a total of 10 years. During the length of the inspection the assessor will survey your property and collect the required information that they need. They will analyse the ways in which the building has been constructed, inside and out, serviced and maintained in the past. Also, what levels of insulation exist and what type of fuel the building runs on.

They will need access to every room in the building, especially to the boiler and attic area – you can lose up to 35% of your heat energy through poorly insulated loft areas, floors and walls, costing you up to £175 a year. Not only that, around 60%of your energy costs are spent through the use of your boiler, so it is vitally important for your energy efficiency rating and that you have an efficient running boiler.

Each commercial energy performance certificate has a unique number that is entered on to a national register by the Energy Assessor who carried out the evaluation. The certificate can be used time and time again throughout the 10-year period, but if a new one was to be obtained within this time, the most up to date one becomes the most valid. An EPC is not required for any property that was occupied before 1 October 2008.

A commercial EPC will display the following:

• Your energy efficiency levels which are rated on a scale ranging from A, the most efficient level, to G the least efficient level. This rating is based on how much your business would cost to run efficiently.
• The floor area, address of the property, the name and address of the Energy Assessor and the date in which the certificate was issued, complete with a reference number.
• A commercial energy performance certificate helps to effectively highlight the ways in which you can improve your building’s energy rating and help to reduce the cost of energy bills overall – although, as the owner of the property, you are not obligated to make these changes, though they are highly recommended if you are looking to go green and become more energy efficient. Commercial and residential buildings such as office, shops, flats and houses all require a commercial energy performance certificate if you are selling, buying or renting to an outside party.
• The certificate also suggests recommendations on how your energy rating could be improved in the short, medium and long term; conveying exactly what your energy efficiency rating could be if you make the suggested changes, and what cost effective measures to take to achieve these improvements.

Its intended use is to inform new buyers of the energy performance of the building, so that they can make an informed decision on whether or not energy efficiency is part of their investment/future business in that building.

The energy efficiency rating is based on factors such as the layout of the property and building, your heating and lighting systems, what levels of insulation are present and the age of the building.

A commercial EPC can be used to estimate the average costs of running a particular building, although the running costs will depend and vary on the fuel costs at that time of the evaluation and lifestyle of the people inside the building.

With spiralling energy bills, it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to seek out advice from business energy solution companies. They can obtain information on their building’s energy efficiency, as well as regularly keep up to date on their energy consumption levels. Not only that, the more energy efficient your building and property is, the more attractive it is to potential outside investors, buyers or leasers – ultimately having a positive impact on the local economy.

Benefits of obtaining an EPC

A commercial energy performance certificate is a great way to reduce your energy bills by up to 10-15% as it helps to highlight the steps you need to take in order to increase your energy efficiency rating. Not only that, it will offer recommendations of the measures you could take to go fully green and invest in a bigger project such as installing solar or wind power.

It can highlight ways to reduce your energy costs, such as switching to light saving light bulbs and help to save you up to 50% on your lighting costs. Switching to motion sensitive lighting is another great installation to carry out. Also, how by making simple adjustments, you can save up to 10% on your heating costs.

From a business point of view, branding yourself as an energy efficient company can be great for your credibility, reputation and networking database. Being ‘a green business’ can give you access to a whole other market, target audience and like-minded businesses. Other businesses will seek out the advice and services of companies with morals similar to their own – this will help to expand and develop your business.

A  can open up the possibility of a potential green installation in your building.

The EPC highlights which avenues you could take, and you can in turn determine if there are any government schemes or grants your building might qualify for. With green energy investments, you can see a quick return after installation in 1-2 years, when you will then begin to save more on your energy costs.

Business Energy Solutions

Controlling your energy consumption can have an incredibly positive impact on your business with you seeing a huge reduction in your energy costs. Changes that you could make today will have an immediate impact on the costs of your energy bills. It is beneficial to promote yourself as a green business and become environmentally aware and begin to contribute to social change. There are several small changes you could make today and you will begin to cut your energy costs:

1. It is useful to conduct an energy audit of your business, along with obtaining a commercial EPC, and understand fully how much energy you are actually consuming. If you have a clear understanding of your energy consumption levels, you can make better, well-informed decisions on exactly how you are going to reduce these energy levels.
2. You can turn the thermostat down on your heating system by as little as 1 degree and cut costs by up to 8%. Your heating and cooling systems account for up to 40% of your energy consumption. Learn how to operate your heating system properly, schedule times for the heating to come on and off and don’t leave the system running overnight as it is highly unnecessary.
3. By switching to energy saving light bulbs, you can save up to 10% on your lighting system. Making the switch is a small but highly effective change as your lighting system accounts for around 30% of your energy consumption. Not only that, you can take an even bigger step and install motion sensitive lights. This helps to ensure that no lights are ever left on, forgotten about and cause your lighting costs to sky rocket.
4. Ensure your employees are on board with your green initiative and encourage them to remember to switch of any lights, appliances, printers and computers when they are not in use. You can save up to £50 a year by turning off all computers at the close of business each day and weekend; this is a small, but very unnecessary cost that you could be avoiding.
5. It is a good measure to check the levels of insulation in your building – by increasing insulation in your floors, walls and ceilings you can begin to see a reduction of up to 5% in your heating costs. Even replacing old insulation will have a positive impact on heat loss levels in your building.
6. Installing double-glazed windows can help to reduce loss of heat to the outside by up to 50% and so this is a very beneficial step to take towards cutting down on your energy bills.

Why Your Business Should Go Green

Implementing green strategies within your business can greatly reduce your energy costs and consumption, ultimately reducing your carbon footprint. It is important to think about investing in renewable energy sources in the near future and become more environmentally conscious. The UK is leading the way in renewable energy sources having installed more solar power capacities than any other European country in 2014.

Understanding the benefits of going green with your business and the importance of energy conservation will help you to reduce your energy consumption in the long run. Possessing this understanding will help the UK to secure the future of businesses across the country and for generations to follow. Learning to use sustainable forms of energy will help to reduce the depletion of our finite natural resources.

As you can see above, you will save a substantial amount of money on your lighting, heating and energy costs if you understand your levels of energy consumption.

Not only are we dedicated to the development of renewable energy sources and reducing the country’s energy consumption, we specialise in commercial EPC’s, helping businesses to go green and offer business energy solutions. We also offer free energy evaluations, surveys and free energy advice to help determine how your business can reduce its energy costs and increase the energy efficiency rating of the building.

Free Energy Surveys

You can complete a form that clearly details your energy consumption levels, which then in turn, allows us to give you some practical advice on how to help you reduce your energy costs. The questions asked in the survey are aimed to directly highlight where you can make changes. When you come in to Nexus Energy Solutions, it is practical to bring your latest energy bills as they can help to give us an indicator on your current levels of energy consumption.

We can then carry out an evaluation of the building and determine which course of action should be taken. Contact us today to arrange your free energy survey and audit.

Free Energy Advice

Once we have the completed survey and evaluation report in hand, we can offer our expert, unbiased opinion on the most effective steps your business should take towards going green.

Taking you through each stage of the report, we will highlight your current energy costs and consumption levels, explain what changes and steps you could take to help cut down on your energy bills and suggest possible future green installations you could carry out. When speaking to any of our energy consultants at Nexus Energy Solutions, you are receiving specialist advice from highly qualified professionals.

So, contact us now at Nexus Energy Solutions for a free consultation, energy audit and free advice from our highly qualified and informed professionals. Our knowledge within this industry, as an energy survey and advice company, is second to none, with experience working along side the Housing Associations, Letting Agents and Renewable Installation companies.

We will offer our expert, unbiased opinion on the best ways for you to reduce your energy consumption levels, carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.

Taking you through each step, we will help find any available funding and a reliable installation company to carry out the construction on your building.

Our friendly team of professionals are here to offer their time and services and fully dedicate their efforts to each individual client, providing only what they believe to be the best possible energy solutions for your business.