Scottish Government looks to reform Domestic EPCs
The Scottish Government has released a consultation which proposes changes to the format of Domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)
The release of this consultation comes as no surprise with Scottish Government highlighting the need to reform the EPC within its Heat in Buildings Strategy Consultation.
The consultation underlines the importance of the EPC both for those involved in the buying and letting process when comparing energy performance and also for the country to achieve its net zero carbon targets.
Currently the Domestic EPC displays an Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) and an Environmental Impact Rating (EIR). The EER is rated in terms of energy costs, while the EIR is rated in terms of carbon emissions (this is shown as CO2/M² /year on the EPC).
The Scottish Government is proposing that a third metric is added, which would inform dwelling owners about the energy use of their property; this metric would be called ‘Energy Use Rating’ and would be based on kWh/M²/year.
The other two metrics would be retained, but would be renamed as Energy Cost Rating and Carbon Emissions Rating to provide better clarity to building owners.
An indication of what this could look like has also been provided by Scottish Government:
Elmhurst’s Technical and Operations Director, Stuart Fairlie, comments: “We are delighted that Scottish Government are looking at improving the look and feel of Energy Certificates. As our members will already know, we have long campaigned for a document that gives all the metrics (energy, cost and carbon) in an easy to understand manner. It is great to see a new push on ensure that Energy Certificates remain the bedrock of government policy on improving the energy efficiency of all our buildings in Scotland.”
The closing date for this consultation is the 8th of October. Elmhurst will now spend some time reviewing the consultation in full and as always will be releasing a response in due course.
Link to consultation: https://www.gov.scot/publications/domestic-epc-reform-consultation/
Response deadline: 8th October 2021