What is an EPC? Energy Performance Certificates Explained by an Expert

what is an epc? an ipad displaying an epc rating
(Image credit: getty images)

You might find yourself asking 'what is an EPC?' for a number of reasons, as it's required whether you're building, buying, selling or renting a house. An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) outlines a property's energy use and potential energy costs, as well as how improvements can be made. 

In this guide to EPCs, we take an deeper look at the roles Energy Performance Certificates play in the process of selling, buying and building a home, alongside how useful they are as indicators of your home's energy efficiency. 

Tim Pullen

Tim is an expert in sustainable building methods and energy efficiency in residential homes and writes on the subject for magazines and national newspapers. He is the author of The Sustainable Building Bible, Simply Sustainable Homes and Anaerobic Digestion - Making Biogas - Making Energy: The Earthscan Expert Guide.


His interest in renewable energy and sustainability was first inspired by visits to the Royal Festival Hall heat pump and the Edmonton heat-from-waste projects. In 1979

this initial burst of enthusiasm lead to him trying (and failing) to build a biogas digester to convert pig manure into fuel, at a Kent oast-house, his first conversion project.


Moving in 2002 to a small-holding in South Wales, providing as it did access to a wider range of natural resources, fanned his enthusiasm for sustainability. He went on to install renewable technology at the property, including biomass boiler and wind turbine.


He formally ran energy efficiency consultancy WeatherWorks and was a speaker and expert at the Homebuilding & Renovating Shows across the country.