Most people have never watched an EPC being done, which is why the twenty-minute visit still gets away with it. Here is what a proper assessment involves.

Before the visit

Nothing is required of you, but three things help: clear access to the loft hatch, the boiler and the meters; any paperwork for insulation, glazing or a loft conversion; and someone over eighteen present to let the assessor in and answer questions.

On site — usually 30 to 45 minutes

  • Measuring. Every room, to establish floor area and heated volume. Extensions are measured separately because they are often built to a different standard.
  • Walls. Construction type and thickness, and whether there is a cavity — established from the brickwork, the age of the property and the reveal at doors and windows.
  • The roof. Insulation type and depth, measured rather than estimated. If the loft is a room, the assessor records what can be evidenced instead.
  • Heating. Boiler make and model, its age, the controls, the cylinder and its insulation. The model number matters — it is looked up against a database of tested efficiencies.
  • Windows. Since the method was overhauled, every window is measured individually rather than a typical one sampled and applied.
  • Photographs. Evidence for audit. Your accreditation scheme can and does check.

What the assessor is not doing

An EPC is not a survey. It does not assess condition, damp, structural soundness or safety. An assessor cannot tell you whether the roof needs replacing. If you need that, you need a building survey, and the two are frequently confused.

Why photographic evidence matters to you

Every recorded value has to be defensible. Where evidence is absent the software applies a default, and defaults assume the worst reasonable case. That is the mechanism by which a rushed visit produces a poor rating: not malice, just an assessor who did not look hard enough to record something better.

After the visit

The data goes into approved software, the calculation runs, and the certificate is lodged on the central government register — usually within 48 hours for us. You get the certificate, a recommendation report, and it is valid for ten years.

If you think the result is wrong

Ask. A good assessor will talk you through which inputs drove the rating, and if something was recorded incorrectly it can be corrected and re-lodged. If you get nowhere, both major accreditation schemes operate independent complaints procedures.

Ready to get it done properly? book online and we will call the same working day to arrange a time.