Energy Performance Certificate Course

Lesson 1 • Regulatory Framework and Compliance Obligations

Outlines mandatory triggers for certification, enforcement mechanisms, and assessor obligations. Students understand when certificates are required and the consequences of non-compliance.

Lesson 2 • What Is an Energy Performance Certificate

Defines the certificate's purpose, legal basis, and scope across building types. Anchors the entire course by clarifying what assessors produce and why.

Lesson 3 • Roles and Responsibilities of the Assessor

Defines professional duties, ethical standards, and liability boundaries for certified assessors. Sets behavioral expectations that underpin every practical chapter.

Lesson 4 • Energy Rating Scales and Bands

Explains how numerical scores translate into letter bands and what each band signals to building owners. Connects rating output to practical recommendations.

Lesson 1 • Insulation Types and Performance

Surveys insulation materials, installation positions, and performance characteristics. Assessors must distinguish insulation types to assign correct thermal values.

Lesson 2 • Thermal Resistance and U-Values

Explains U-value calculation logic and how material layers combine to resist heat flow. Accurate U-values are the primary input for energy calculations.

Lesson 3 • Building Envelope Components

Covers walls, roofs, floors, windows, and doors as the primary thermal boundary. Understanding each element is prerequisite to measuring heat loss correctly.

Lesson 4 • Air Permeability and Infiltration

Addresses how uncontrolled air leakage degrades energy performance and how it is measured. Links fabric quality to ventilation strategy in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Cooling and Air Conditioning Systems

Introduces split systems, chillers, and passive cooling strategies and their energy implications. Cooling loads are increasingly significant in commercial and mixed-use assessments.

Lesson 2 • Controls, Zoning, and System Integration

Explains thermostats, programmers, weather compensation, and smart controls and their efficiency credits. Proper controls data prevents underestimation of system performance.

Lesson 3 • Heating System Types and Efficiency

Covers boilers, heat pumps, district heating, and direct electric systems with their efficiency metrics. Correct system identification directly determines the heating energy calculation.

Lesson 4 • Heat Distribution and Emitter Systems

Examines radiators, underfloor heating, and warm-air distribution and their effect on system efficiency. Distribution losses are a required input in standard assessment methods.

Lesson 1 • Solar Photovoltaic Systems

Explains PV panel types, orientation, shading, and energy yield estimation for assessment inputs. On-site generation reduces net energy demand and improves the certificate rating.

Lesson 2 • Other Renewable and Low-Carbon Technologies

Addresses wind turbines, biomass boilers, combined heat and power, and battery storage. Assessors must recognize and correctly input each technology to avoid rating errors.

Lesson 3 • Lighting Systems and Energy Consumption

Covers lamp types, luminaire efficacy, and lighting controls relevant to energy assessments. Lighting contributes significantly to commercial ratings and must be recorded accurately.

Lesson 4 • Metering, Sub-Metering, and Energy Monitoring

Covers meter types, sub-metering configurations, and smart meter data relevant to assessments. Metering evidence can support or override default values in the calculation.

Lesson 1 • Services Inspection and Data Recording

Covers locating, identifying, and recording all heating, cooling, hot water, and ventilation plant. Complete services data prevents the software from defaulting to worst-case assumptions.

Lesson 2 • Measuring and Recording Building Dimensions

Teaches floor area measurement conventions, gross vs. net area, and sketch plan production. Accurate dimensions are the geometric foundation of every energy calculation.

Lesson 3 • Fabric Inspection and Evidence Gathering

Guides assessors through systematic inspection of walls, roofs, floors, and openings. Photographic and documentary evidence justifies non-default values in the assessment.

Lesson 4 • Managing Uncertainty and Assumptions

Addresses how to handle inaccessible areas, conflicting evidence, and missing documentation. Transparent assumption management protects assessor credibility and certificate validity.

Lesson 1 • Entering Services and Renewables Data

Covers inputting heating, hot water, cooling, ventilation, lighting, and renewable system data. Complete services entry ensures the software reflects actual building performance.

Lesson 2 • Overview of Standard Assessment Methodology

Explains the calculation logic, input categories, and output metrics of the approved methodology. Understanding the method prevents data-entry errors that distort ratings.

Lesson 3 • Running Calculations and Checking Outputs

Teaches how to execute calculations, review intermediate outputs, and identify anomalies. Output checking is a professional quality-control step before certificate lodgment.

Lesson 4 • Generating and Lodging the Certificate

Covers certificate generation, mandatory fields, lodgment procedures, and post-lodgment corrections. Correct lodgment completes the assessor's legal obligation and creates the public record.

Lesson 1 • Heating System Upgrades and Fuel Switching

Addresses boiler replacement, heat pump installation, and switching from high-carbon fuels. System upgrades often deliver the largest single improvement in the energy rating.

Lesson 2 • Renewable Energy and Low-Carbon Additions

Evaluates adding PV, solar thermal, and heat recovery ventilation to improve ratings. Renewables can push buildings into higher bands when fabric and systems are already optimized.

Lesson 3 • Fabric Improvement Measures

Covers insulation upgrades, window replacement, and airtightness improvements with typical savings. Fabric measures deliver permanent reductions in heat demand and improve all ratings.

Lesson 4 • Principles of Energy Improvement Prioritization

Introduces cost-benefit logic, payback periods, and fabric-first principles for ranking measures. Structured prioritization ensures clients receive the most impactful advice first.

Lesson 1 • Quality Assurance Frameworks for Assessors

Explains accreditation body audit processes, desktop review criteria, and compliance expectations. Understanding audit triggers allows assessors to maintain consistently defensible work.

Lesson 2 • Insurance, Liability, and Risk Management

Addresses professional indemnity insurance requirements, liability exposure, and risk mitigation strategies. Adequate insurance and risk controls are non-negotiable professional obligations.

Lesson 3 • Handling Complaints and Disputes

Covers complaint procedures, evidence preservation, and escalation pathways within accreditation schemes. Structured dispute management protects professional standing and client relationships.

Lesson 4 • Staying Current with Methodology Updates

Explains how to monitor regulatory changes, methodology revisions, and software updates. Assessors who stay current avoid issuing certificates based on superseded data or methods.