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What is an Energy Performance Certificate?

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are part of a series of measures that have been introduced across Europe to reflect legislation which will help cut buildings’ carbon emissions and improve their energy efficiency. If you are selling your home you now need a certificate by law and, since October 2008 all buildings, whenever they are built, sold or rented out, will require one.


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What information does an EPC contain?

Homes are energy rated into one of seven bands from A to G, where A is the most energy efficient and G the least. This is a similar system to the energy rating of domestic electrical goods and new motor vehicles. The EPCs energy rating is linked to the cost of heating, lighting and hot water per square metre of the property and the current average rating for a property in England and Wales falls within bands D and E. New build homes built to current building standards are likely to achieve a high C or low B rating.

View a sample Energy Performance Certificate in a new window ...  sample EPC

The certificate also includes:
• A summary of energy use, CO² emissions and the cost of providing lighting, heating and hot water within the property for 1 year.
• Recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of the property, from relatively small changes such as fitting low energy light bulbs, to measures that will boost the energy rating more significantly, such as cavity wall insulation or a new boiler.

Grants are available to help finance energy efficiency improvements - please visit the Energy Savings Trust website to find out more.


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What does an EPC actually look like?

View a sample Energy Performance Certificate in a new window ...  sample EPC


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How long is an EPC valid for?

EPCs are valid for ten years and can be reused as many times as required within that period. If another EPC is produced within the ten year period, only the most recent one is valid. A common reason for obtaining a new EPC whilst the current one is still valid is to show the increased rating of a property following substantial energy efficiency improvements.

For sales of homes where a Home Information Pack (HIP) is required the EPC contained in the HIP must be no more than three years old when the property is first marketed.


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What should I expect on the day?

When your assessor calls, they will be happy to produce identification.
The assessment should take between 30 and 60 minutes. This is dependent on the size of the property and the features to be recorded.

The energy inspection itself is non intrusive, however the assessor will need access to:
The heating system to establish it's make, model and fuel type
The hot water cylinder if you have one
Heating system programmers and thermostats
Gas and electricity meters
The roof space if possible

If you have any documentation relating to the following, please have this ready to show your assessor:
The addition of cavity wall insulation, loft insulation or under floor insulation after the original build
Double glazing - year of installation
Heating system manuals
Documents relating to date of build for the main house and any subsequent extensions

Your assessor will take measurements of the floor area and make a sketch of the floor plan on which individual measurements and features can be noted.

Finally, your assessor will be looking at:
Window types
Thermostatic radiator valves
Any low energy light bulbs currently fitted in the main light fixtures (but not in lamps, garages and out-buildings)

For more information about the extent of the survey and how the collected data is used to generate your EPC... click here

What happens next? Your assessor will submit the information gathered during the course of their visit and generate an Energy Performance Certificate that is unique to your property. The EPC will then be sent as a PDF to the email address you have provided.


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How long will the energy assessment take?

The assessment should take between 30 and 60 minutes. This is dependent on the size of the property and the features to be recorded.


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EPCs for rented properties

It is the responsibility of the person renting out a property to have a valid EPC to show to prospective tenants. A copy of the EPC must be given to the eventual tenant.

An EPC is valid for ten years, except for sales of homes which are subject to the Home Information Pack Regulations 2007, where a Home Information Pack (HIP) is required. In these cases an EPC must be no more than three years old when the property is first marketed.

The certificate is only required for a property which is self-contained. It is not required when a tenant rents a room and shares facilities, where a tenant has a separate contract with the landlord.

Every EPC also has a recommendations report showing how you could improve the rating and make the property more attractive to tenants.

The EPC and recommendation report must be made available free of charge by a landlord to a prospective tenant at the earliest opportunity and no later than:

• when any written information about the building is provided in response to a request for information received from the prospective tenant; or
• when a viewing is conducted; or
• if neither of those occur, before entering into a contract to let.

EPCs are valid for ten years and can be reused as many times as required within that period. If another EPC is produced within the ten year period, only the most recent one is valid.


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Why should I order my EPCs from Wholesale EPCs?

Our 'Multi-EPC' discounts will save you £££'s

We offer a free key collection service for vacant properties within 3 miles of the property.

Wholesale EPCs has fully qualified and accredited energy assessors working throughout the Manchester and Lancashire areas.

We keep our overheads low and pass the savings on to you.

Our energy assessors call at a time that suits you.

We can arrange the appointment directly with your tenant if the property is currently occupied.

We take all major credit/debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.


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What's the order process?

Simply enter your contact and property details into the EPC order form

Make a payment  payment options

Confirmation of your order will be sent to the email address you provide.


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What are 'Multi EPC' discounts

Our individual EPCs are already priced very competitively but there is a way for you to make even greater savings!
If you are a private landlord, letting agent or property management company and need multiple EPCs, we offer discounts based on the number of EPCs required per order...

How it works:
Simply place an order for the required number of EPCs.
We'll give you a call to find out how you'd like to proceed with access arrangements.

For vacant properties we can meet the key holder at the address or alternatively, we can collect keys from any agent or third party free of charge within 3 miles of the property   read more about our free key collection service

If your properties are currently occupied, we can provide you with a template letter to send to your tenants containing information about what to expect on the day of the assessment. The letter will also contain our company details for identification purposes and will advise your tenant that a member of our team will be contacting them to arrange an appointment to suit their schedule.
If you would prefer to make the access arrangements yourself, please let us know when we call.

As with our individual online or telephone orders, payment is made up front, ahead of the assessors visit.

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What are my payment options?

Option 1 - Use any major credit or debit card or your PayPal account. Our EPC order form will take you through to PayPal’s secure payment area. You don’t have to have a PayPal account, just click 'continue' to pay by card (see screen shot below).

On completion, you’ll receive order and payment confirmation emails and one of our team will contact you to arrange for an energy assessor to call. We recommend this option if you need your EPC in a hurry!

Option 2 - Make a bank transfer. Choosing the 'bank transfer' button on our EPC order form will complete your order and our bank account number and sort code will appear, both on the screen and in your order confirmation email. When you’re ready to make a bank transfer, remember to quote your order number in the reference field to allow us to match the payment to your order (your order number can be found in your order confirmation email). On receipt of your payment we will contact you to arrange for one of our energy assessors to call.
If your bank uses ‘faster payments’ we’ll contact you the next working day.
If you pay using BACS, it may take up to 4 days to reach us.

Alliance & Leicester
Account number: 05237998
Sort code: 72-00-00

Option 3 - Send a cheque in the post. Choosing the 'send a cheque' button on our EPC order form will complete your order and our full postal address will appear, both on the screen and in your order confirmation email. Cheques should be made payable to 'Wholesale EPCs'. Remember to write your order number on the back of the cheque to allow us to match the payment to your order (your order number can be found in the order confirmation email). On receipt of your payment we will contact you to arrange for one of our energy assessors to call.
Please note that cheques must be cleared before we can process your order.

Wholesale EPCs
5 Brackley Villas
Salford Rd
Bolton, Lancashire
BL5 1BZ


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Do you offer a key collection service?

If you need an EPC for a vacant property but can't be there in person to allow us access, we can collect keys from any agent or third party free of charge within 3 miles of the property.

Our security protocol:
Assessors must show their ID cards on arrival at the collection point and sign for the keys.
The assessor will also leave full company details and a contact telephone number with the key holder.
All doors unlocked and opened by the assessor during the inspection must be closed, locked and properly secured before departure.
Keys will be returned to the key holder immediately following the assessment(s) as agreed with the property owner.
The assessor will provide a release slip to be signed by the key holder to confirm the keys have been returned.


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When will I receive the Energy Performance Certificate?

The completed EPC is usually delivered within 24 hours of the inspection. EPCs are generated in PDF format and will be sent by email as an attachment.
If you need your EPC in a hurry, we recommend you follow these simple steps to fast-track your order:
Place your order online using one of the instant payment methods (debit card, credit card or PayPal) all accessible via the PayPal     checkout button.
As soon as you've placed your order, give us a call so we can arrange an appointment for your energy assessment.


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Can I order a printed copy of my EPC?

Yes you can order a printed copy of your Energy Performance Certificate - we realise that some of our customers don't routinely use a computer or may simply prefer to have a paper copy to hand. There is a £3 charge to cover administration, printing and postage.

The most popular option is to have the EPC sent, at no extra cost, to your chosen email address as a single PDF document. You'll be free to forward the EPC document to your letting agent or to any prospective tenant with the click of the mouse.

To read your PDF document, you need to have PDF reader software such as 'Adobe Reader' installed on your computer. Follow the link below to download for free.



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