Domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)

Domestic EPC

A licensed domestic energy assessor (DEA) carries out the assessment for issuing the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for a property. This certification will be a comprehensive document highlighting not only a house or business’s ratings in terms of energy efficiency, but also recommendations on improving the ways for improving this efficiency. It can be easily said that only a certified, accredited assessor can produce such a document and that’s where auditing of Home Inspectors (HI) or DEAs comes into play.

The Green Deal and Domestic EPCs

The Green Deal is an innovative policy initiated by the UK government to encourage households and businesses to adopt green technologies in their properties. By adopting green technologies, such as cavity insulation, underfloor insulation, etc., homeowners will improve the energy efficiency of their homes and get a higher rating on their EPCs. That’s how domestic EPCs and the Green Deal can be linked to homeowners in today’s context.

Need for DEAs for Domestic EPCs

It’s no wonder that the demand for DEAs has increased significantly to assess domestic properties. Domestic EPCs are different from non-domestic or commercial EPCs and therefore their assessors are trained differently. Because any home that is being sold, rented or built needs to have an EPC, DEAs’ employment opportunities have mushroomed significantly over the past year as properties cannot be put up in the market without an EPC. This is also the premise on which the entire Green Deal policy has been framed.

All of this means that approximately 65,000 new jobs are bound to be created in disciplines where training is required. This means a significant jump in opportunities for anyone who has been trained and accredited to become a DEA.

Accredited DEAs and their Importance

It is extremely important for DEAs to be accredited and certified. They will need to become a part of an accrediting organization which will evaluate their skills and knowledge and train them if required. Going through this rigorous process, one can become a domestic energy assessor. Following this, they also qualify as Green Deal Domestic Advisors in just a few days.

The Domestic EPC for Homeowners’ Advantage

Under the green deal scheme, homeowners can install green technologies within their premises, without paying any upfront costs incurred in the installation. Thereby, the payment installations for the cost will be deducted from homeowners’ energy bills. This is a unique loan such that the responsibility for the payment gets transferred to the property owner and not the bill payer if the property is sold. Thus, the need to get domestic EPCs issued for a house is mandated to help smoothen the process and improve your home’s marketability. And let’s not forget the further advantage of reduced maintenance costs and energy bills over the long-term for property owners. Overall, the Green Deal and associated requirement to possess an EPC for one’s property means that both homeowners and the government benefits, while the demand for EPCs and DEAs springs up as another brilliant opportunity for installers and assessors.