4th March 2008

Guidance Available from CLG for Energy Performance Certification

The DCLG has released the official guidance document on Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) and
Display Energy Certificates (DEC) for commercial and industrial buildings. While falling short of
explaining calculation methodologies, the 43-page guide offers a step-by-step description of the
whole process of providing and using energy certificates for non-dwellings.

The deadline for EPCs to accompany the sale, letting and construction of larger business premises
over 10,000m2 is only a month away at 6 April 2008, while smaller buildings will be phased in during
the year (over 2500m2 from 1 July 2008 and all buildings from 1 October 2008).

Despite the timetable, many of the organisations approved as accreditation bodies for EPC assessors
are still in the middle of organising and offering top-up training for consultants, prompting fears in
the commercial property sector that there could be a significant disruption to deals in the spring.

The government approved 12 accreditation providers in January, including the first schemes
covering certificates for non-dwellings.

The DCLG guidance, ‘A guide to energy performance certificates for the construction, sale and let of
non-dwellings’, is available to download at:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/guidancenondwellings