Get in touch

Submit

Thank you for getting in touch. We will be in contact shortly.

On the 1st of April 2023 new Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Regulations come into force seeking to make the UK's existing building stock more energy efficient and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the government’s target of carbon net zero by 2050.

 

For commercial landlords seeking to lease a commercial building, they will need to ensure that any leased building has an EPC rating of E or better from this date. The new Regulations apply to existing and new leases.

 

This is the first incremental tightening of energy efficiency ratings for leased commercial properties, with an EPC C rating expected to be required by 2027, increasing to B by 2030. For commercial landlords this presents new challenges and costs.

 

Some buildings can be exempted from the EPC requirements based on viability or if the building is listed and it can be demonstrated that the changes needed to achieve an increased EPC level would require alterations to the building's fabric and character which would be unacceptable from a heritage point of view. There are however strict regulations around exemptions, which only then apply for a specific amount of time. The new regulations are expected to apply to 85% of all non-domestic rented building stock. It is recommended that commercial landlords seek specialist advise as to whether any of the available exemptions apply.

 

Exemptions will not apply for most landlords, and it will therefore be necessary to understand the feasibility of meeting EPC requirements within an existing building and the associated costs at the earliest opportunity.

 

Many of the changes required to retrofit buildings to improve the EPC rating will include roof and wall insulation, glazing and draught reduction, more energy efficient heating and lighting and the installation of renewable technologies. Reducing reliance on gas, will for example, result in significant improvement to an EPC rating.

 

The energy performance of commercial properties is shown as a CO2 based index. The CO2 based rating a building receives depends on the energy used for heating, water heating, ventilation and lighting, less any energy generated from energy generation technology installed in the building. The lower the number the lower the typical CO2 emissions (based on a scale of zero to 150 +).

 

One of the primary renewable energy technologies being employed to help increase EPC ratings in commercial buildings is solar PV panels with associated battery storage. We have seen a huge increase in applications for commercial roof mounted solar schemes in the last year driven not only by the new EPC Regulations but also incentivised by the increasing energy costs following the war in Ukraine.

Solar is of course not the only renewable energy technology available with wind, biomass and heat pumps also providing benefit.

 

DHA has secured planning consent for solar PV arrays at all scales from domestic, commercial roof top installations and solar farms up to 24 MW in size. We also have experience with a full range of other renewable technologies.

Get in touch

Submit

Thank you for getting in touch. We will be in contact shortly.