New Energy Report Formats
Changes to Energy Efficiency Reports September 2020
The Government is set to change several things about Energy Efficiency Reports on 20th September 2020, you can find out everything there is to know so far below…
What reports will be affected?
- EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates) of all kinds including Domestic, Commercial, and New build.
- DECs (Display Energy Certificates).
- Air Conditioning Reports.
What’s being changed
Format
The biggest change that you can expect to see after the update is that Energy Reports (including Domestic, Commercial & New build EPCs, DECs, and Air Conditioning Reports) will no longer be created and provided as PDFs, but will instead be URLs (or "links") to the EPC page residing on a ".gov" website. While a printable version will be available there after lodgement, it is the page on the online register itself that is now classed as the EPC, instead of any PDF or physical version.
Registers
Previously, the reports noted above have been lodged* to separate registers, which were operated by Landmark on behalf of the government. From the launch of the new register on Sunday the reports will all be hosted on one central register, which has been developed in house by the Government and will reside on a ".gov" website. The Government has expressed that the reasoning behind this is that Energy Performance data should remain central to government thinking and policy while they aim to meet their 2050 targets, which you can read more about in this article. Another reason behind this change is to improve the energy efficiency experience for owners, landlords and tenants by allowing them to access information beyond the actual certificates, such as next steps for improving efficiency, where to find grants and funding opportunities, and where to find quality installers.
* Lodged = the act of uploading an EPC to the register, validating it.
Draft EPC Versions
Currently, draft versions of EPCs can be provided before lodging the data and EPC to the relevant register, and this is particularly helpful for lower rated (F/G) properties and especially if they are for rental. However, after the update on Sunday creating draft EPC versions will no longer be a function, meaning that all completed EPCs will be lodged to the central register no matter what rating they receive.
We are expecting to be able to access an 'Overview' report that will allow us to see what the rating will be before lodgement, however this is a function being developed by the accrediting bodies separate to the new register, so the availability and format of this report will vary depending on which accrediting body the work is being lodged through.
Aesthetic
The final change that you may notice after Sunday’s updates is the aesthetic of each report, which will be updated to show the most important information on the first page, to make it easier to find the information you need. You can see sneak peeks of the updated versions by clicking here.
What do we know will be the same?
From the limited information that has been released by the government, we know that all reports completed prior to Sunday are planned to be transferred to the new .gov register and that Report Reference Numbers are to stay the same (20 digits long).
As always Easy EPC is more than happy to help, so if you have any queries or would like a quote for any of the above services then please feel free to contact our team on 0800 170 1201 or by emailing us at admin@easyepc.org (Office hours are Mon - Fri 9:00 - 17:30, excluding Bank Holidays). Please note that the Government has released very limited information about the imminent planned changes and this is currently all we can advise.
