Our buildings are responsible for almost 50 per cent of the UK's energy consumption and carbon emissions. As part of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), concerned with reducing carbon emissions, the Communities and Local Government (CLG) have introduced new legislation.

From 1 October 2008 all properties, both new and existing, will need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when bought, sold, built or rented.

An EPC summarises information about the potential energy performance of a building, its fabric and the building services utilised. The certificate shows the building owner/occupier the Asset Rating and where it fits on a scale of A through to G, based on the CO2 emissions released by the building. As part of the certificate a rating of A to G is also generated for a "typical" new and existing building for comparison with the rating generated for the subject building.

An EPC will be accompanied by a Recommendation Report highlighting measures which, if adopted, have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions and energy costs associated with the building. The certificate will remain valid for ten years unless the building is modified by means of an extension or any major changes to the building services.

Parker Wilson Sustain have trained engineers experienced in SBEM (Simplified Building Energy Model) and DSM (Dynamic Simulation Model) analysis. This allows us to model any building on the CLG complexity scale. The more extensive information provided by the DSM software allows us to give more detailed advice on how you can save energy and improve your buildings Asset Rating.

We can also undertake building surveys to produce the layout drawings to enable the SBEM or DSM analysis to be completed.