Everything You Need to Know About Commercial EPC Cost: Factors That Affect the Price

Commercial EPC or commercial energy performance certificate is an energy efficiency report. The law requires that all commercial buildings must apply a commercial EPC to show their energy efficiency, especially if those buildings are for sale or in construction.

The EPC survey report is considered an important report because it tells you how much your property is consuming. Whether you are buying a new property, selling, renting, or refurbishing, you must take energy efficiency surveys especially when energy costs are rising each year.

If you live in London and places nearby, your first question would be on how much it costs to have an EPC commercial certificate

How much does a commercial EPC cost in London?

Only in London, there are hundreds of thousands of buildings, properties and commercial buildings, properties and buildings of all sizes and ages. It has various assessors and companies that offer commercial EPC surveys. There is no fixed cost of a commercial EPC, only an assumption. The costs will vary depending on many factors which are, building size, condition, age, and the assessor who undertakes the EPC certificate.

Nevertheless, commercial EPC register costs will range from £45-£100+VAT, sometimes it’s more or less, as stated before, and there are factors to consider. For example, old properties with less comfortable working conditions will cost more than new and modern properties that are considered up to date.

EPC pricing

Most companies that issue EPC certificates in London work for domestic and commercial buildings. The prices will range from £45-£100+VAT, sometimes it could be less than the minimum price.

For buildings that are located in the high streets, the prices of a Commercial EPC may cost more than a normal location. Estimated to range between £130-£190+VAT.

Nevertheless, sometimes the price will fell to £90 depending on the operational buildings in the street, the buildings type, and the company who undertake the survey.

What contributes to the pricing of EPC in London?

As mentioned previously, UK laws require an EPC certificate only in case of selling, renewing a building. In those cases, the responsible person must get in touch with a certified assessor. His part is to make a complex calculation that helps him identify the building EPC rating

This calculation is considered as the factor that contributes to the pricing of an EPC. The EPC rating calculation will include assessing, analyzing, and calculating property age, size, heating, lighting, hot water system, central heating system, and the list continues.

Furthermore, the assessor will take his calculation and compare the assessed building carbon emission with other buildings that have the same characteristics including size, region, and age.

After collecting and conducting the necessary calculator the answer will come with the surveyed building EPC rating. Typically, the EPC rating depends on two factors, the amount of the used energy per m² and the level of carbon emissions.

A commercial EPC rating will range from high ratings A to low ratings G, the higher rating you get the better for you.

Collecting the information required for the EPC

Generally speaking, a typical EPC inspection requires the assessor who takes the inspection to assess, check and analyze the following:

• Property size and age
• Measure floors, walls, and the used materials that are built with
• Windows
• Look for insulation
• The property rooms and loft
• Lighting
• Basement condition
• Inspect heating system
• Hot water system
• Ventilation
• Look for any alternative heating and energy-efficient products

After collecting the required information for the EPC test, the assessor will conduct complex calculations based on the gathered data. The calculation will be made by a standard software program called iSBEM.

iSBEM: The Simplified Energy Model Interference

This software is approved by the UK government, it helps to come with accurate and precise commercial EPC rating.

How long does it take to produce a commercial EPC?

Besides collecting the data, analyzing them, and calculating them, producing a commercial EPC is expected to take 2-3 days of work. On the first day, the assessor will make a physical walk-through outside and inside the property. He must get access to all the property buildings for collecting the necessary data.

That’s the easy part, the second part is a bit complex because it includes calculating the date spent on the property size, age, and energy efficiency condition. This part usually takes more than one day, 1-2 days. On the third day, the commercial EPC certificate will be ready, it will include detailed information about the inspected property, such as address, property type, size, and energy efficiency rating.

A commercial EPC report will last over ten years unless the building owner makes massive changes such as instruction or refurbishing. Otherwise, there is no need for conducting a new EPC certificate.

Lodgment fees

A commercial EPC certificate won’t complete until it is valid and registered with a report certificate number. These are usually known as lodgment fees, paid fees to the government, and paid fees to the software license that delivers all the certificates.

Depending on the project type and the property size, the lodgment fees will vary and could be costly. To be more accurate, commercial EPC lodgment fees cost 5-10 times than domestic properties.

Yet, it may sound expensive, but it is actually beneficial because paying lodgment fees will increase your property value and energy efficiency rating.

Potential benefits of the EPC

Over the last 7 years, energy costs and bills in London and UK have increased due to the buildings’ high energy consumption. Some commercial buildings consume high energy and even more. Here is why a commercial EPC certificate matters.

It tells how much a building is consumed and whether its energy consumption is high or low, plus additional recommendations to improve your energy efficiency ratings.

Answering the EPC report recommendations will reduce energy bills and increase their property market value in case of selling them.

The EPC certificate ensures that commercial buildings are energy sufficient, efficient, and up to the regulation standards.

Who can undertake the EPC survey?

First and foremost, in London, there are three building levels, levels 3, 4, and 5. Each level requires special requirements from the assessor.

For starters, level three buildings are considered non-complex buildings with no air conditioning. For this level, you need a qualified assessor who can carry out EPC surveys for both Level 3 and 4.

Speaking of level 4 buildings, they are considered standard buildings that contain air conditioning and climate control. They require a level 4 assessor who can lodge certificates of the third and fourth levels.

Finely, the complex level, level 5 building categories are the ones with complex structure, and they require an assessor that could use a special model to ensure conditioning the complex calculation.

Commercial EPC authenticity

The assessor who carries out the commercial EPC must lodge the report in an official storage place. The storage place is known as the central register and is considered as the only source of an EPC certificate. Each commercial EPC certificate will be stored with a unique PNR number, it’s impossible to find two certificates with the same PNR number.

For security and authenticity concerns, if an assessor tries to lodge a certificate without the necessary information the certificate won’t register.

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