On construction Energy Performance Certificates (OCEPCs)

From 6 April 2008 it will be law to provide an On construction Energy Performance Certificate for all new and newly built homes that are completed after that date.

An On construction Energy Performance Certificate (OCEPC) gives information on the building’s energy efficiency.

What does this mean in practice?
If you are a builder, you will most likely be working to the Building Regulations that were revised in 2002 and amended in 2006. As part of this you will be providing an energy rating to building control for your new homes using SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure).For all homes that are physicallycompleted on or after 6 April 2008, there will be a requirement to provide an EPC to the owner, with evidence shown to Building Control.If you do any building work to a home which creates (or combines) a separatedwelling* that has heating, hot water or air conditioning, then you will need to provide an EPC for the home(s). When you finish your building work, Building Control ask you to submit a notice which includes
an energy rating to demonstrate your building complies with the Building Regulations. By the same date on the notice, you must get an EPC from an accredited On ConstructionEnergy Assessor, give the EPC to the owner of the building and tell building control that this has been done.
This is what you have to do under the Building Regulations, Approved Inspector
Regulations and the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations, and Building
Control will not give you a final completion certificate until they are sure that
everything has been done.If the completed home is being advertised for sale, the EPC is available to include in a Home Information Pack for potential buyers, for the next 12 months.
*A separate dwelling is one which is suitable for separate occupation by an independent household and may have its own front door and its own cooking and washing facilities. Applies to work under 2006 Building Regulations.

In 2006, the Government in England and Wales introduced new Building Regulations which raised the energy efficiency standards which new homes must meet. New homes that are built to meet these regulations save more energy, have lower carbon emissions and cost less to run. In order to meet the Building Regulations, builders need to make sure that any new homes they build meet a minimum target
for energy performance.

Providing information about energy for homes that have not been built yet (off-plan sales)
If you are selling a home before it has been built, you will need to provide information about energy efficiency in a Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA). This is simply the predicted SAP and Environmental Impact (CO2) rating from the SAP calculations you do at the design stage, to check whether you will meet energysaving targets.
You can use a spreadsheet template to create the graphics from the SAP rating. There is no need for PEAs to be produced by an accredited On Construction Energy Assessor and they do not need to have a Recommendation Report. If the home is completed on or after 6 April 2008, you will need to give the owner a full EPC and Recommendation Report once the property is completed.