Monthly Archives: January 2012

The Golden EPC

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The revised EPC is now going to be relevant to a whole new audience. Albeit some would argue it was never relevant before just another regulation that landlords or homeowners had to comply with. Things are about to change.

From April the EPC is going to change to factor in the Green Deal which enables homeowners to apply for a loan of up to £10,000 to undertake energy efficiency improvements and is repaid by via payments collected through the property’s electricity bill. In order to qualify for a Green Deal loan, the  improvements  will need to create savings higher than the loan repayments. This is known as the ‘Golden’ rule.

In order to qualify an  EPC will be carried out to determine what efficiencies can be made and it will calculate the cost savings that can be achieved if the improvements are carried out. However, this epc will have to be the Revised 9.91 version that will be available from April, if you are eligiable for the loan.

Renewable technologies such as biomass boilers, ground and air source heat pumps, solar and pv panels, as well  insulation improvements are just some of the options that will be open to homeowners or landlords.

 

 

 

The Revised RdSAP – The Truth

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There seems to be a contradiction at play – on the one hand we are being told that the changes to RdSAP are not really significant and will not have a big impact on most surveys.

On the other we are being told The New Revised RdSAP will be used for the initial discussion for a Green Deal package and it is therefore important to work in a methodical manner, adhere to conventions and research any areas where there is uncertainty.

This reminds me of clamping and parking in London only being for to control the traffic and not about revenue! Lets be honest and transparent – to carry out the revised RdSAP is going to involve significantly more work if the assessor is expected to be thorough and make sure all the boxes are ticked and unknown questions are answered. If assessors are being asked to do this then say so and don’t cloak it in double speak by saying “it is not time consuming”, because it is and if it is not, then it is not being done properly.

The changes and updates to RdSAP methodology and software have increasingly made the EPC for existing dwellings more consistent and accurate.

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The changes and updates to RdSAP methodology and software have increasingly made the EPC for existing dwellings more consistent and accurate. The energy rating of a property calculated using RdSAP 9.91, to be introduced in April 2012 will differ from an energy rating previously carried out on the same dwelling. The main reasons for this are as follows:

RdSAP 9.91 is more sophisiticated with data entry on issues previously ignored eg insultaed doors and floor insulation.

RdSAP 9.91 will provide an option to include a precise U-value of construction enements if known.

Additional items will be added to the Product Characteristics Data File (PCDF) in the new release of RdSAP 9.91. For example, flue gas heat recovery and waste water heat recovery systems are to be included.

 

The New RdSAP EPC

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I read with interest that “changes to RdSAP may at first seem daunting but the additional data collection items for the standard dwelling are not diffucult or particularly time consuming”.

This does not seem to be the case if what is being asked it done properly. I am interested to hear what other DEAs think and whether they think it will be necessary to reflect the additional work required in their pricing.

The Green Deal Revolution?

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The Green Deal Revolution is on its way or not? The Green Deal is the government’s flagship for changing the way we use energy within builidngs. The scheme will make loans available, at no upfront cost, to home owners and businesses to implement energy saving measures.These loans are then repaid using monthly savings in energy bills.

The Green Deal is set to lauch in October 2012 and it is estimated that it will impacto on 14 millions homes – time will tell.  The idea is that there will be no capital expense in the real sense at it will be offset by the savings – thereby encouraging us to make use of renewable technologies like pv and solar panels, chp, ground and air source technologies.

The Energy Oracle

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All construction projects should engage with energy efficiency at the design stage to ensure that the project is viable and will meet Parl L Building Regs. Building Control Officers at Councils are becoming a lot more insistent that properties comply with current building regulations.

It ensures that the project is in tandem with current guildelines and is not going to encounter any delays due to non-compliance.

It is also vital to ensure that the project benefits from the credits available from Breeam codes as this can be the difference between achieving a ‘Very Good’ rating.