It is no longer enough to just get a decent EPC rating for your commercial property. Due to MEES regulations, it is illegal to let properties with a rating lower than E. With the increased focus in on the operating costs of a building, the energy performance of your building is why it matters.
The positive side is that when it comes to improving your EPC score, electrical improvements provide you with the best value for your money. Unlike major structural work, replacing an entire heating system, a lot of electrical improvements are straightforward and give immediate results to your assessment.
You Would Not Believe The Difference LED Lighting Makes
The most cost-efficient upgrade to your building is most likely switching to LED lighting. The assessment looks at all of your installed lighting throughout the building, and older fluorescent tubes or halogen fittings drag your score down a lot.
Modern LED systems use about 75% less energy than traditional lighting, and the assessor can see this straight away during the survey. If you have a warehouse or retail unit with a lot of lights running all day, the cumulative effect on your rating can be significant.Installing these systems is incredibly simple. Most systems only take a day or two to install with minimal disruption. Many businesses find that within a couple years they eliminate the cost of installation from their expenses due to the decrease in electricity expenses that they are billed.
Heating Controls and Building Management Systems
Even if you have a gas fired heating system the controls are electronic and they have a real impact on your EPC. When a building only has simple on/off thermostats it scores very poorly compared to the buildings that have better systems with zone control and programmable systems.
Simply adding thermostatic control valves to the radiators and including a few room sensors along with a building management system lets the evaluator know that you have real control and oversight of how much energy you’re using. They energy point rating system is much more favorable to buildings that are better able to control heating and cooling in individual spaces.
For large buildings it makes a big difference to your end EPC score to have a building management system installed that integrates heating, cooling, and ventilation. It’s not enough to just have the equipment installed, they will look to see that it is functioning.### Optimisation of Equipment Voltage
Reducing the voltage supplied to your building to a more efficient level is not the obvious to most, yet it can still help raise your rating. Voltage optimisation units provide a much higher degree of control over the voltage supplied to your building. The UK grid usually provides just over 240 volts. However, most pieces of modern electrical equipment run optimally at just over 220 volts.
It is detrimental to the functionality of your electrical equipment to run at excess voltage. You end up wasting more energy. By setting up a voltage optimisation system, overall electrical consumption in the building will be reduced. This is also factored in by the EPC assessment especially in higher electrical load properties.
These systems can deliver remarkably beneficial results. However, for your particular building self-evident logic is not usually enough. It is worth getting proper advice to determine if the systems would deliver a net positive outcome.
Correction of Power Factor
If you have large enough electric loads, such as in the case of running a piece of industrial equipment or even a motor, poor power factor will end up costing more. It will also have a negative impact on your EPC rating. Reactive power is power that cannot be used. However, by installing a power factor correction system, lost reactive power on your electrical system will be reduced, thus making it more efficient.
Your power factor can be measured during the assessment survey. Generally, power factor correction systems are a factor in EPC rating improvement. This is especially true for properties that are classified as_STORAGE_FACTORIES or are expected to have heavy machinery. In this case, it is worth doing the EPC assessment benefits.
Emergency Lights and Exit Signs Efficiency
It may not seem like a big deal, but most commercial buildings have emergency lights on and running 24-7. Older emergency light systems that have incandescent light bulbs or basic fluorescent light fittings use a lot more power than modern systems that utilize LEDs.
More modern systems use less power and save money, but the emergency lights and illuminated exit signs constantly draw power, and the systems cannot be shut off. Switching these lights to LEDs can lead to significant power draw savings. Not only for the illuminated exit signs, but the savings certainly add up for other LEDs as well. In the EPC calculation, all of these power-drawing systems on the load profile account for all of the buildings overall EPC score.
Solar Panel Systeming
How the electrical infrastructure is set up goes into your EPC score, and for solar panel fittings this is also important. Panels themselves help the score for the EPC, but it also considers how the generated electricity is controlled and distributed to the building.
Better systems improve the EPC score. The assessors need to see that the building is effectively using renewable energy being captured and not kept feeding excess energy back to the grid without control to the building.
Getting the Timing Right
One of the most important things here is that any upgrades must be finished before your EPC assessment. You will not receive credit for any upgrades that are planned but not completed. The assessor is only able to report on what is installed and operational on the day of the survey.
If you are doing several electrical upgrades, it is most efficient to complete them all before scheduling your EPC assessment. Otherwise, you will likely incur the costs for a new assessment that won’t be necessary for several years due to the new ten-year validity period.
Another thing to consider is whether the upgrade is a like-for-like replacement or an actual improvement. Simply swapping out broken lights for new lights of the same type does not positively impact your score. Upgrading to new and better lights that are more efficient does.