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Under the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), it is now a legal requirement for all commercial property to have a Commercial Energy Performance Certificate(Commercial EPC) upon construction, or prior to sale or lease of the property.

The commercial EPC, similar to the ones that are required for certain residential properties from August 2007, contain information on the property’s energy efficiency and provide advice on how to make the cost effective improvements to the building to make it more energy efficient.

he Commercial EPC energy rating is similar to that used for white goods, ranging from A to G, with the G rating being the worst.

From October 2008, the requirement to have a commercial EPC rating covers all buildings with a useful  floor area greater than 50 square metres.

In addition, from January 2009, air conditioning systems over 12kW will be subject inspection every five years.

Commercial Energy Performance Certificates are be required upon construction, sale or lease for all non-dwellings, covering everything from small retail units to offices, industrial units and large scale commercial premises such as airports and public buildings.

(Public buildings also require Display Energy Certificates which we won’t cover here).

There are exemptions to the requirement for a commercial EPC however. These include:

• Places of Worship
• Temporary Buildings In Use For Less Than 2 Years (Site Buildings for example)
• Low Energy Demand Buildings (e.g. Barns)
• Stand Alone Buildings Less Than 50 sq m. (Sheds and Summer Houses)

A Commercial EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) is valid for 10 years and must be made available to a prospective purchaser or tenant at the earliest opportunity before entering a contract for sale or lease and no later than the release of marketing material or the request for a visit to the property.

There is no requirement for a Commercial EPC for existing tenancies.

The Directive only affects newly built commercial properties and those being placed for sale or lease.

The EPBD affects landlords and property managers who will become repsonsible for ensuring that their property being offered for sale or lease has a commercial EPC available in good time.

Responsibility for enforcement in newly built properties will fall to Building Control, whilst Trading Standards departments will enforce certification of existing buildings.

The EPBD has potentially serious implications for commercial property landlords and property managers if they are to be able to successfully let or sell their properties, with increased costs, delays in getting a property to market etc.

The Commercial EPC survey is carried out (In England & Wales) to a methodology called the Simplified Building Energy Method (SBEM) which is also used for part L of the Building Regulations.

Unlike the method used for domestic premises (SAP), there is no reduced data version for use on existing property and therefore, a full survey and calculation must be carried out each time.

The basic outline of the methodology:

• The building must be zoned, meaning that a set of up-to-date plans is required
• Each zone is treated as a cube & a u value determined for each face
• All services must be determined – eg boiler type, output etc., and the runs of services around the building
• The software compares the building to a benchmark property.
• Cost effective improvement recommendations are produced to suit the individual property

Only accredited commercial energy assessors can carry out the assessments and produce the Commercial EPC.

There are three levels of commercial property energy assessment:

• Level 3 - This covers smaller properties with less complicated heating, lighting and ventilation systems. Most commercial properties will fall under a level 3 survey requirement.
• Level 4 – A level 4 property is typically a larger building with more complex heating, lighting and ventilation, typically those buildings with centrally controlled systems and complex air handling for example.
• Level 5 - A level 5 building would be a very large office block, hospital or university campus with extremely complex heating, lighting and ventilation systems, often controlled by a building management system.

Please note that this page is for background information only. We no longer offer Commercial EPC surveys for individual properties, but will be pleased to discuss requirements for larger commercial property portfolios.