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Rogue EPC panels the battle continues
The battle against the rogue EPC panels which have been bringing the energy assessment industry into disrepute is still going on – though sadly with more losers than winners amongst assessors and members of the public at present.
Commercial EPCs – Reading The Recommendations Report (Part 1)
Every commercial Energy Performance Certificate is actually a 2-part document. The first part, fronted by a graph looking rather like a domestic EPC is the one which receives the most attention, because it look familiar, but in fact legally it must at all times be accompanied by a Recommendations Report. If the one you come […]
10 Tips When Undertaking Wall Insulation
There has been a lot written about wall insulation and the virtues of having it fitted into your property. Wall insulation can undoubtedly save money when done correctly and it doesn’t take long to claw back the initial investment, particularly in the case of cavity wall insulation. However there are some issues that you should […]
FIT Rate Cuts, Is Now Still a Good Time to Buy Solar PV
Following a review of the feed in tariff rates paid for electricity generated from small scale solar panel installations, the Government recently announced that from 12 December this year the feed in tariff rate would be cut from 41.3p per kilowatt hour to 21p. This has caused alarm among the solar sector and sparked fears […]
Consumers living in fear of their energy bills
The gas and electricity companies have done it again. Increasing their prices just before winter when everyone’s consumption will be at its highest. On average gas will be rising by 17.4 per cent whilst electricity will see a rise of 10.8 per cent. This has led to many too scared to turn their heating on […]
Little Known Energy Saving Tips
Getting into an energy efficient routine is something we are all being encouraged to do, from turning off lights in rooms, to turning down the boiler thermostat by a degree or two. All of these are well known and can make a substantial impact upon the energy used in a building. Most of us are […]
Lighting the Way: Energy Efficient Lighting
Whether you are running a household or a business it can be surprising how much energy is taken up by the most mundane aspect, that of providing light in our properties. We use light-bulbs sometimes for hours a day and it can form up to 40% of the household utility bills. So it is in […]
Commercial EPCs – What Are They?
At first glance a Commercial Energy Performance Certificate looks very similar to a domestic EPC, but underneath they are quite different creatures. Whereas the domestic EPC methodology (RDSAP) makes assumptions based on the Building Regulations deemed to have been applicable at the time of build, the commercial EPC methodology (SBEM) requires the commercial assessor to […]
Energy Efficiency to Increase Property Prices
Energy efficient homes are better. They are better for the environment, which is an increasingly important consideration for many people and they are better for the homeowners’ pockets which has always been an important consideration and always will be. So it stands to reason then that a highly efficient property, fitted with lots of energy […]
Green Deal – Opportunities and challenges
When one looks into the future for energy assessors under the Green Deal, am not at all sure it’s looking good.One thing seems certain from the information coming out about the Green Deal – over the next 18 months everyone in the energy assessment industry is going to have to raise their game just to […]
Multi-fuel Burning Stoves – A good option?
It may come as a bit of a surprise but these days burning wood or solid fuel is considered to be a very environmentally friendly way of supplementing the heating for a property. It wasn’t that long ago that this was frowned upon but now it is acceptable and even encouraged in some areas. In […]
Conveyancing and the Green Deal Scheme
The Energy Bill is currently passing through Parliament and is expected to receive Royal Assent later this year. Amongst other provisions, it sets out the legal framework for the Green Deal, the Government’s new flagship environmental policy under which it is hoped that up to 14 million home owners will be encouraged to install energy […]
Keeping Gas and Electricity Payments in Check
With gas and electricity prices rising and set to continue rising for the foreseeable future and with the state of the economy and Government cutbacks squeezing everybody’s household budget it makes sense to look at our monthly gas and electricity payments to see if they can be reduced by a few pounds.
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