Sustainability
Non-domestic EPCs and energy assessment
Level 3, 4 and 5 non-domestic EPCs, lodged by an accredited assessor, with the recommendation report and the Scottish Section 63 action plan where it applies.
- Discipline
- Sustainability
- Typical timescale
- Usually within a week of the survey or of receiving the design information, depending on assessment level
WHAT IT IS
A non-domestic Energy Performance Certificate rates a building's asset performance on a standard basis so that two buildings can be compared. It is required when a building is constructed, sold or let, and it is produced from the same National Calculation Methodology engine as Part L and Section 6 compliance — but it is a different output, produced at a different point, and one does not substitute for the other.
Assessments are carried out at Level 3, 4 or 5 depending on the complexity of the building and its services, and must be lodged on the national register by an assessor accredited at the appropriate level. SDE carries out and lodges the assessment.
In Scotland, buildings over 1,000 m² additionally trigger the Section 63 regime on sale or lease, which requires an action plan setting out the improvement measures to be carried out.
WHEN YOU NEED IT
On construction, before the building is occupied; on sale or lease of an existing building; and where a lease renewal brings a property into scope of minimum energy efficiency requirements.
Worth commissioning early on a refurbishment: an EPC produced before design decisions are made will show which measures actually move the rating, and which are expensive and change nothing.
OUR PROCESS
The assessment level is confirmed first, because it determines both the method and the cost, and an assessment produced at the wrong level has to be redone. The building is then surveyed or modelled from the design information, the certificate and recommendation report are produced, and the certificate is lodged on the register.
Where the rating matters commercially — a letting threshold, a funding condition — the model is used to test improvement options before the certificate is lodged rather than after.
DELIVERABLES
What you receive
- Level 3, 4 or 5 non-domestic EPC, lodged on the register
- Recommendation report
- Improvement options tested against the model before lodgement
- Section 63 action plan where the Scottish regime applies
STANDARDS
Standards applied
The editions in force at the time of design. Where a standard is amended mid-project we confirm which edition the appointment is based on.
- Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012as amendedlegislation.gov.uk
- Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2008as amendedlegislation.gov.uk
- Assessment of Energy Performance of Non-domestic Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2016Section 63 action planslegislation.gov.uk
- NCM Modelling GuideNational Calculation Methodology, non-domesticBRE / NCM
QUESTIONS
Common questions
What level of non-domestic EPC do I need?
It depends on the building and its services rather than on preference. Level 3 covers buildings with straightforward services that the simplified method represents fairly. Level 4 covers more complex services and systems that the simplified method can still handle. Level 5 is a dynamic simulation assessment, used where the building has features the simplified method cannot represent. Assessing at too low a level invalidates the certificate.
How long is a non-domestic EPC valid for?
Ten years from the date of lodgement, unless a newer certificate replaces it. A valid certificate does not have to be renewed at sale or lease if one is already in place and still within its ten years.
Is an EPC the same as Part L compliance?
No, although they share the same calculation engine. Part L or Section 6 compliance demonstrates that a design meets the Building Regulations, and is assessed against a notional building at design and as-built stage. An EPC is an asset rating on a comparative scale, produced for construction, sale or letting. A building can hold a valid EPC and still fail a Part L as-built assessment, and the two are commissioned at different points for different reasons.
What is a Section 63 action plan?
In Scotland, non-domestic buildings above 1,000 m² that are sold or newly let can fall within the Assessment of Energy Performance of Non-domestic Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2016. Where they do, an accredited advisor produces an action plan identifying improvement measures, which must then either be carried out within the period allowed or have operational energy use reported annually instead. There is no direct equivalent elsewhere in the UK.