Energy Performance Certificates come to Spain

 JohnCarter

I have never given any information on Spanish EPCs, only UK EPCs. Chrisinspain gives info on Spanish EPCs.

 UK architects produce EPCs direct from the data from their plans (autocad), I dont know what Spanish architects do. I dont know any UK local authorties who communicate in Spanish so my English is fine.

Cbrammeld.

Sorry to correct you ....  As it turns out my brother is a epc assessor in UK and also a Building Enginner ( also he has a desgree in astrology and a further degree in science.....quite a smart chap ) . i have asked him and his response is the same as in my post...THEY ARE NOT COMPATABLE SOFTWARE and have to be input in a direct manner ( NOT WITH AUTOCAD )

Thank you for your understanding

We do not get information automatically from autocad. In every case we have to visit each property and the information we record is entered manually into which ever programme is relevent to the type of property we visit.

This is not for new builds, new builds are built to comply. Assessors, normally architects, advise how the project should be done, and what needs to be done at every stage of consrtuction. 

This is the EPC for exisiting buildings. They are different things.

 JohnCarter

Spoke with my architect friend, he says “I automatically provide an EPC for my client from the drawings” Sorry I didn’t ask him if he is clever. Your post on 26/3/2013 15:48 says virtually the same. . I find it a strange case , as normally the arquitect includes this in the building project at no extra cost. I advise the original arquitect provides a epc for the homeowner at no extra cost

The “automatic” in my post was dealing with the production of the EPC as opposed to physically going out and measuring a building. I think my post on 26/3/2013 mentions data being imputed by a human; I have never said they are compatible software.

As for Local Authorities, who knows how they work/bully. The legislation does state an EPC is valid for 10 years but it is not up to date if any energy efficient measures have been carried out.  I have recently completed EPCs on 3 new build detached country properties. Council required new EPCs before they would grant completion certificates. It did take about 3 years for the properties to be completed though. The developer told me council wanted up to date EPC. Same scenario with a conversion from garage/workshop to 6 flats, council wanted new EPCs as the ones produced and submitted to the council were of no good.

If you are a developer with £1m tied up just waiting on an EPC, would you argue with the council and drag it out or commission a new EPC? Makes a lot of sense to me.

Real life examples of how EPCs are working in the UK and different interpretations of the same piece of legislation. I think Spain will have similar issues.

Dear Cbrammeld .

I could not care less about your opinions . Arguing with ignorants is a complete waste of my time .

This will be my last post to you , as it appears you just like to argue and invent your facts

As i said before.....a complete waste of my time

So I can expect to see the Bad Bank dumping properties onto the market before 1st June to avoid paying for the energy certs.

I can't see the banks worrying too much about paying for these certificates, they don't worry too much about paying community fees or anything else they are legally obliged to do.

 The so called Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is an a amendment to the Royal Decree 47/2007 brought into force by the Spanish government in 2007 to encourage the construction of  "Green Buildings". Therefore any building constructed from 2007 has to conform to this new green building law. The amendment was introduce to now include all buildings but with the following exceptions.

1. Any property of under 50m2.

2. Any property being let for a period of less than 4 months per year.

The new Certifcado Energetica de Edificos Existentes (CEE) will be mandatory and come into force probably 1st June 2013 subject to the Boletin Oficial del Estado Madrid.

So if you are a property owner who's property falls outside of the exclusions above and want to sell your property or rent it for more than 4 months, you will need a CEE.

Prices will be driven by market forces but will probably start from around €250. The CEE remains valid for a period of 10 years.

Ecosave is in the process of becoming an Authorised Assessor and is preparing to provide this service to it's clients from the official enforcement date which as stated above will probably be 1st June 2013.

Warning. If approached by any online "agents" or otherwise pertaining to be CEE Authorised Assessors, make sure that you ask to see their accreditation and DON'T make any online purchases via credit card!

Regards,

Ecosave.

Ecosave why is the cost at least five times higher in Spain?

 Hi Camposol,

The CEE is basically a tax on homeowners designed to raise money by the government. The Authorised Assessor will be obliged to pay a fee to the government for each CEE. The cost of the fee is yet published and the fee is not set. The advice given by the specific goverment department is that the price will probably start from €250.

Bobaol.

I have also read Susanas website .

When she mentions 40 Euros , she means for each flat and only if the whole block is done ( that means all the flats in the block at the same time ) .

Why the low price ? simple...the specs are identical for each flat ( maybe AC or Heating varies ...the rest is the same ) so the work carried out when split between the flats is much less than individually.

A separate villa/apartment of 100m2 is between 250.300 Euros like ecossave said

I do know of companies that offer a big discount is you have various properties

Dear Ecosave,

I appreciate your efforts to inform about the epcs

As you are currently training ,  i will point out something that will come up in your studies and that is very important when informingn clients about the law

Its not necessary for rentals under 4 months.....only when the power usage of the property is below 25% of anual consumption.

In the case of someone renting his villa for 2 months in the summer and using it himself for a few weeks a year, it is necessary as the total usage in those months accounts for 90% or more of  yearly power use.

Imagine you tell your client that he doesent need a epc.....his neighbour denounces him for not having it and the he gets a fine of 3000 Euros.....you will not be very popular. And mark my words nearly everbody for rents their home i summer consumes a lot of energy.

And as you probably know....the goverment checks electric bills to find out who rents!!!!!

Dont take my word for it ,( its in the New law that you can find at IDAE (goverments website ) borrador del real decreto de certificacion energetica

Thanks for your comments John Carter.

We are aware of the qualification requirements thank you.

No problem ecosave

If you need any help regarding the new law , dont hesitate to ask i have memorised everything.

have read most of this thread but cannot see where i fit in

selfbuilding an eco house, well its a reform of a very old cortico in almeria

so ends up with insulated roof, mixture of wall types, inc hemp, very insulated floor and underfloor heating, solar panel  etc etc

will my extra efforts be reflected in a reduced epc bill.... not likely!

as it is an 'old' property does it need a cert or if yes , when, as the work is over a long period of time and performance will change.

i am in agreement with energy certs but not as a revenue earner for a spawning  new service industry plus more tax  for the hacienda.

the certs should be part of a strategy to encourage humans being frugale with resources that ultimately helps the country by conserving resources and national assels with  less energy imports and a slower growth of infrastructure to deliver energy but i bet that is not factored in to the final price.

if the banking world had not fleeced the rest of us, perhaps the government could have offered it as a service and got a near 100% takeup and energy costs would have dropped more than they will ever get by hijacking it and  taxing/fining us all.

not suprising that the new generation are disillusioned with politics and most of us oldies just can't be bothered.

peter

Hi Peter,

The certificate is merely a qualification of the energy efficiency of your property. You will not receive any discount or otherwise for your efforts unfortunately. We do feel though that during this time when energy prices are so high, that the better the energy performance of the property will enhance it's potential for sale thus encouraging homeowners to be more eco friendly.

Our core business is to provide our customers with advice, services and products to homeowners, property managers and businesses on the costa del sol.

If you would like to know more please visit our website which is all the w's then ecosave punto es.

Un saludo

Ecosave

The problem is we're being sold something we don't want and being given advice we don't need ('I think you should have low energy bulbs', 'Gee, thanks, I hadn't thought of that').  There's no point dressing it up.  An EPC is a piece of paper; in itself it accomplishes nothing for the person who has been forced to pay for it (with the threat of a massively disproportionate and outrageous fine if they don't).

 Hi Eggcup,

There is a bigger message here and lately due to the global economic crisis the issue of climate change and global warming has had to take a back seat and I think that's a shame. There are many ways in which one can reduce ones energy bill. I am also being told by clients and others that the energy efficiency of the property that they are considering to buy has an influence on their decision. The price of electricity in Spain has increased by over 20% in the last 12 months. So maybe in a backhanded way, in the future the introduction of the CEE will be a good thing in terms of encouraging more energy efficient buildings, reducing energy and ultimately carbon emissions.

Un saludo

Ecosave.

What is being talked about in the UK, is that properties which fall below a certain rating, maybe an F? Will not be able to be rented out. This is all about compliance and fines for non-compliance within the EU. It’s a part of a much bigger picture which goes back to the Kyoto Protocol. It will influence some people’s choice when looking to buy or rent a property, but let’s be honest if you found the finca of your dreams in Spain, would you really be bothered if it was going to cost as bit more to run? It will give you more information so you can make an informed choice, and you will also know what you can do to make things better. At some point in the future our grandchildren and their grandchildren may benefit, but in the here and now we have to pay for it.