Hi all

I have been roped in to help a friend with a few energy audits. We are just collecting information from the sites and passing the info on to a contractor. I went for the first one last week with no training and don't think my friend has done much. Loads of info to collect some of which is not a simple matter like what insulation type/thickness is in walls and roofs (no access to either). I was a bit taken aback by the amount of guesswork involved and recorded to be taken as gospel!

If I am going to help again I want to do as good a job as possible as I see duff data as worse than useless.

I suspect some of you good folk know what's involved in doing a proper job and would very much like to hear what you think I should know.

In all honesty, I do not think it right how we did the job last week but if I don't I suspect someone else who doesn't give two hoots would replace me.

Thanks
Beau

EPCs are done on what can be verified at the inspection. If the assessor can't see it then its not there and I believe the standard for the build date is assumed. There is probably good reasons for doing this despite the unfairness in some instances. That is how they solve the above problem. (same here BTW)

Without invasive (expensive) inspections I can't think of a better solution

I have drilled holes in walls to verify CWI and used a borescope camera if necessary
I use it thermometer, instantly tells you a lot, eg no loft trap insulation, missing insulation inadequate insulation it can even pick up and coming draughts.
Looking is best. If no loft trap, suspect no insulation.

The driver in all of it is the cost and the availability of trained, and trustworthy, manpower. If the electorate were prepared to pay for more accurate results the law could require them or at least permit them. There's an obvious unfairness possible if you allow rich people to pay for more accurate methods to be used that might e.g result in a better EPC allowing a better price for a property or even for it to be sold at all.

The whole problem with the proposed 'Scottish pasivhaus' revision is the availability of enough certifiers, apparently.

+1 for Tony's IR thermometer. V useful as I have no IR camera (and no Smart phone to plug a cheap (?) add-on into). You can even use it to 'plot' temps on plans and elevations to give you an idea of the 'shape' of the heat-loss. Also very much agree that making holes is good!

Similar over here - A new standard from January, validity reduced from 10 years to 5 years and the EPC rating must be shown in adverts for both sale and rent. (Previously it was enough to have them as a contract attachment, but not part of the contract) The price is fixed at a maximum rate per hour and the time allowed for single story house up to 100 m2 is 2 hours

In the real world of everyday folk an EPC is a nothing , the vast majority won’t use a building and its appliances to best effect and lifestyle choices will make far more difference , then is a property with an epc of x and energy use of y more efficient as it has more occupants ie) is energy use per person really more important than use per m2.

On the radio recently there was a piece about fuel poverty and a charity that distributes heat packs, saying they help those in need by providing a couple of oil filled electric radiators so that damilies can heat just 2 rooms rather than turn the central heating on fornthe whole house. No talk of using rad valves of the existing system or any talk of the relative cost of gas and electricity or how hot water would be provided.

Then another article suggesting several million smart meters needed changing as they were effectively obsolete, if the report is correct is there any possibilty that smart meters help save energy/ money overall ,on that basis by the time the costs of those changes have been added to bills. Then we’ve increased energy costs and the salt in the wound of the standing charge increases to protect the customers of failed suppliers.

Add on the other suggestion ,that now that compulsory prepayment meters were no longer allowed, of a extra on bills to protect suppliers from users that don’t /can’t pay. Throw in the energy companies eco subsidies being moved to social housing and low income users and you end up with an energy market / policy that is seemingly never going to benefit the majority of users and that instead they’ll be forever subsidising others.

An epc rating is pretty irrelevant.

An epc rating is pretty irrelevant

...and pretty jolly inaccurate in the majority of cases I have come across. That's my major gripe about them.

Do you tend to enter it all into Excel files as you go along on-site?

I don't, but I bet those more tech-savvy than me probably do. Yes, when I do do measured surveys it always takes me a huge time to 'interpret' my 'drawings' and enter everything. Always take twice or 3x as many pics as I do to 'fill in the gaps'.

If you want to enter data as you go, this is a useful SAP/EPC calculator:
https://openenergymonitor.org/sapjs/
You can install it locally, and all data stays local anyway:
Here is mine: http://wookware.org/SAPjs/

Links to docs, the source and other tools are at the bottom.

That is SAP 9.92. Is 10.1 in force now? In which case it needs an update.

Posted By: RobinBThey can't even see/evaluate triple glazing

That disappoints me, but perhaps not surprises me. It's quite easy to see triple glazing and not too difficult to see surface coatings and spacer types.

Agreed Peter, doesn't have time to see or be shown is more accurate.

Hmm, seems to be a lot of good words but I haven't found any substance yet?