On 1 August, residential energy performance certificates finally came into force, along with Home Information Packs, in Britain, as Simon Napper reports. But even then, more controversy arose

The introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) on homes with four or more bedrooms will, the Government hopes, at last break the logjam that has developed over the last year or so. And in an effort to make the process more appealing, the Government is offering subsidised energy efficiency measures to new homeowners in possession of EPCs.

The introduction of these certificates
was already well behind the timetable set down in European legislation. The legal challenge by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) then delayed it even further. The 1 August start date for larger houses does now – finally – get the process rolling.
 
However, within a week of the launch, the whole process came under fire again as the National Audit Office revealed that consultants hired to develop the packs had a financial interest in one of the firms bidding to run an accreditation scheme. The NAO said that the Department responsible, Communities and Local Government (CLG) “fell far short of appropriate practice” in developing and publishing the accreditation standards and should have taken “more robust action” when it became aware of
the problem.

The programme has been mired in controversy for some time. It was delayed from an earlier start date as a result of a legal challenge by RICS. This currently remains ‘stayed’ – i.e. not resolved – and the surveyors’ organisation reserves the option to go back to court if amended proposals from the Government, particularly in regard to the lifespan of both EPCs (up to 10 years under the EPBD) and Home Information Packs (currently three months).

A shortage of assessors

However, the main reason given for delaying implementation was the lack of accredited assessors. The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) argued that in fact it was the uncertainty over the introduction timetable that was the main problem. They produced figures indicating that at the end of May, over 3,000 had already completed training but only 500 had received accreditation. The Department commented: “While more than enough are in the system, the current uncertainty caused by this legal challenge and the campaign of misinformation by opponents have had an impact on the numbers of energy assessors who are waiting before paying out for accreditation.”

Now that the process is finally underway, it is hoped that trained assessors will be confident enough to apply – and pay for – accreditation. However, assessors also need Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance and this is reported to be another bottleneck in the system.

The Government is also to focus more closely on getting new homeowners to act on the energy efficiency recommendations on the EPCs. The six major energy companies have agreed that when buyers move into their home and sign up to an energy contract they will get immediate access and information about ‘green’ grants and the offers to consumers that are channelled through the Energy Efficiency Commitment. This follows talks with the Government and will help householders make their home more environmentally friendly and cut fuel bills.

In addition, the scheme will include a new portal on the Energy Saving Trust’s website where consumers only need to tap in their postcode to find details of offers available. The Government estimates that, once rolled out, the energy certificates would save nearly a million tonnes of carbon per year by 2020.

Consumers who choose to give details from their EPC to suppliers will also receive targeted offers related to the improvement recommendations in their certificate.

The offers are funded by energy suppliers and other partners, with their investment in ‘green grants’ increasing to £2.5bn over the next three years from April 2008, compared to £1bn over the last three years.

Although this will help the new owner, it will not make Home Improvement Packs any more palatable to the seller who has to pay out for the Packs, including the EPCs. However, while opponents of the Packs quote figures of £600 or more, the Government said as the programme went live that “a snapshot of leading estate agents shows that most will offer a HIP for around £300-350 plus VAT – £200-250 of which is already paid for in the current system.”

Most inefficient properties first

The process of issuing energy performance certificates has now been started – and
with the homes the Government regards
as the most energy inefficient. And with good cause, it seems. Writing in the
Guardian at the end of July, Andrew Warren, deputy chair of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, described how the Partnership had employed scientist from the Building Research Establishment to visit 100 occupied homes “Armed with details of the local council official specifications, they checked what had been installed. And what had not. Or had been installed partially. Or wrongly,” wrote Warren.

And the results? “The bigger the home, the more energy saving errors were found – and of course our inspectors realistically could not dig up the floors or open up external walls to check insulation levels,” he added.

So far as four-bedroon houses and above were concerned, it was almost the exception where the builders had actually complied with even the minimum standards,” he concluded. It is understandable then that EPCs should be introduced for this group first.
For the non-domestic sector, no such problems of implementation are foreseen although, as certificates will not be required for these until next year, problems may yet surface.
 
 http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home_improvements/home_information_packs/energy_performance_certificates