If you’ve enquired for solar panels before, or are looking for more information before investing you might have heard (or be tired of hearing) about the Energy Performance Certificate. So what is it? And more importantly, why is it necessary?
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) simply put measures how efficient a property is. They have always been compulsory for people who were looking to rent or buy a property, much to the dismay of estate agents who probably just saw it as an extra bit of paperwork. However, it does make sense to get an EPC, especially with the forever rising energy bills, the grade your property gets is a great indication of how much the building will cost to run. Unarguably, when regarding money, necessary steps must be taken.
This brings us nicely onto the next money saving point – solar panels. As you probably already know the government added a little bit of an incentive in an attempt to make more people install solar on their property with the Feed-In Tariff. Understandably, it is this little pay out that convinces many people to install solar onto their property. Conversely, in order to be eligible for the Feed-In Tariff you must have an EPC.
If you already have an EPC and it is sitting comfortable at a level D or above, you can consider yourself lucky and relax as you don’t have to do anything. On the other hand, if your EPC level is lower than a D or if you don’t have one at all, you must provide an EPC of D or above along with your MCS certificates.
Does this sound a little daunting? Don’t worry you can improve your energy efficiency rating just by adding a few energy saving lightbulbs. Here are some more tips on how to improve your energy efficiency, it is definitely easier than you think and worth getting out the way, whether you decide to have solar installed on your house or not. Here at Contact Solar, we will help you through every step of getting an EPC and once your panels are installed, we will complete your MCS certificates so you can easily adjust with your new solar panels.