Use our service to make the greatest impact on energy ratings
By Stan Rayfield
Professional evaluation can take many properties out of MEES – but don’t rush into the wrong efficiency improvements.
The first wave of the new minimum energy standards came into force on the 1st April 2016 and lots of customers have enquired about which changes they should make to future proof their property portfolio. What this has highlighted is that of the regulations overall, most clients are only aware of the need for an ‘E’ rating or better.
As it happens, this view misses much of what the regulations contain. In our experience, professional evaluation at the outset can considerably reduce the need to carry out upgrading works on many properties.
How can we help avoid unnecessary compliance works?
- Asses your properties against the regulations and create an out of scope register
- Assess all remaining properties and create an exemptions register
- With those out of scope and exempt removed, we identify those with a rating of F or G
- Careful re-calculation of F or G properties can often improve the rating
- Of those that still have poor ratings, we’re able to use our knowledge of the assessment process to select the lowest cost measures that have the biggest impact on the energy model
- And for commercial properties, we then carry out a payback calculation and again exempt any buildings in line with the regulations.
Are there other reasons not to rush into improvements too quickly?
Yes. It is the case that lots of improvements – such as insulation – don’t always have a significant effect on the rating. The best remedy differs from building to building.
In short, our service can much reduce clients’ exposure to MEES (The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015), and savvy clients that get a professional evaluation ahead of any works, can reduce the cost of compliance considerably.