In Belfast, Northern Ireland, the qualified individuals who produce the Energy Performance Certificates who are called “Domestic Energy Assessors” or (DEAs). There are two steps for making an Energy Performance Certificate. The first step is the site survey. In this part, the assessor surveys in the house of the client. In the 2nd part, the DEA will do the computer work to produce the certificate.

The Site Survey

The surveyor will examine the house exterior. He will take pictures of the house exterior that can prove the structure’s shape. Particularly, by these photos, the assessor will show if the house is semi-detached, detached, a mid-terrace property, or a flat. It also means that the assessor will take pictures of the house’s front elevation. 

After this, the assessor will be around the back of the property where he/she will take the pictures of the rear elevation. For example, if the oil boiler is situated in the back garden, then the DEA will take pictures of it that will show the model as well as the make of this boiler. He/she will also take pics of the oil tank.

Inside the house, the DEA will take pictures of the heating programmer, the radiators, thermostatic radiator valves, and the wall thermostat (if any). If there is any gas heating system in the property instead of an oil heating system, then the assessor will take the pics of the boiler and record the model and make of the system.

If the house contains a roof space, then the assessor will take photos of the loft insulation and also the loft insulation depth. The assessor will photograph the exterior wall’s width and also the type of the wall structure’s type, stone wall or brick wall or a timber frame wall. The DEA will also record the insulation of the wall, like internal insulation or cavity wall insulation.

In the house, the assessor will record and take pictures of the glazing, the glass thickness, the type of the window frame if it is made of timber or PVC. Finally, the assessor will record information about the light bulbs in the rooms will count the low energy bulbs.

Putting the data in the software

In the second stage, the assessor takes all records that he collected from the site and enters all that data into computer software. DEAs don’t have their own software. They all will use the same cloud software. Through a user-interface system based on approved SAP, the assessor will enter all and every data into the software that he/she has gathered in the house survey that will produce the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). 

This EPC can rate the house’s energy efficiency on a scale from 0 to 100. If it has a low rate, then it will mean that there is poor energy performance. This EPC will remain in electronic format in Northern Ireland’s EPC Record, which is the national database of EPC certificates and will be valid for 10 years.

Source: https://www.epc-belfast.net/