EPCs. What is the future?

[Roger440]

7 hours ago, pulhamdown said:

The problem is there is very limited scope to use initiative.  It's a tick box system on a tablet.  The "computer says no" was never more accurate, sadly

 

Maybe you misunderstood my suggestion?

 

You simply tick different boxes. Job done. No one is ever going to check. Find the right one, they wont even visit the house.

[SteamyTea]

By the time you have used a dozen EPC assessors, to find the one that gives you the result you want, it would be cheaper to just put the house right.

I really don't think it is sensible to suggest that the assessor is asked to cheat.

I have had too many experiences recently dealing with cheating and lying customers.  No one benefits.

[saveasteading]

If you consult them early, they can assess off plan,  and that is the time to change the design or argue the niceties. 

We've done that and established that we don't have technical disagreements, and had some good advice. The assessor is highly engaged in interested, including alternative opinions.

[SimonD]

56 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

By the time you have used a dozen EPC assessors, to find the one that gives you the result you want, it would be cheaper to just put the house right.

I really don't think it is sensible to suggest that the assessor is asked to cheat.

I have had too many experiences recently dealing with cheating and lying customers.  No one benefits.

 

Of course it's not sensible. It's also unrealistic. The EPC assessor actually has relatively little choice as it's the reduced SAP so simplified and based on lots of assumptions, and of course, it's actually fairly reasonable for an assessor to have to make assumptions without invasive investigations. The EPC is cheap too, so the expectations that a fee of less than £100 is going to give you something that's really accurate is a bit like expecting an accurate air permeability measurement for £50 quid with someone licking their finger and sticking it in the air) instead of a blower or pulse test. And one of the reasons why they're so conservative is partly because I bet a lot of customers ask them to inflate the report so they benefit from it.

 

49 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

If you consult them early, they can assess off plan,  and that is the time to change the design or argue the niceties. 

We've done that and established that we don't have technical disagreements, and had some good advice. The assessor is highly engaged in interested, including alternative opinions.

 

But this isn't with an EPC assessor, rather it's for someone actually doing the fully SAP? 

 

[saveasteading]

17 minutes ago, SimonD said:

doing the fully SAP

True. 

[pulhamdown]

On 22/05/2026 at 08:31, saveasteading said:

If you consult them early, they can assess off plan,  and that is the time to change the design or argue the niceties. 

We've done that and established that we don't have technical disagreements, and had some good advice. The assessor is highly engaged in interested, including alternative opinions.

That will work fine for the original SAP, but the rdSAP precludes them from looking at documents etc, just what they can see.  No wonder it's rubbish.

[saveasteading]

21 minutes ago, pulhamdown said:

No wonder it's rubbish.

I don't think that's right. RdSAP is for older buildings with no drawings or tests.

That isn't what is being discussed, unless I'm misinterpreting.

from the briefest look at the method, it is for where drawings are not available.

 

Even then there will be different efforts made.

The £100 fee guy won't want to put any thought into it, but the thorough one can.

 

With that logic a passivhaus wouldn't get a better sap than others.