# How to improve a commercial EPC rating > Which measures move a non-domestic EPC rating, in what order, and why lighting is usually first. A practical sequence for commercial landlords. Source: https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/improve-commercial-epc-rating --- # How to improve a commercial EPC rating There is a right order to do this in, and it is not the order most quotes arrive in. This page sets out which measures move a non-domestic rating, which ones move it cheaply, and how to sequence the work so you are not paying for the expensive end before you need to. General guidance, not legal advice Energy performance rules for commercial property in England and Wales have changed repeatedly, and proposals have moved during consultation. This page describes the position as we understand it and is written to be useful rather than definitive. Check the current position and your own obligations with a solicitor or a qualified assessor before committing to capital spend. ## Start with the one fact that changes everything A non-domestic EPC is an asset rating of the building and its services, not of your metered use. The assessment models the building — its fabric, its fixed services and the controls on them — and produces a rating from that model. It does not read your bills. That single fact explains most of the confusion in this market. It is why a building can halve its energy use through better housekeeping and keep exactly the same certificate. It is why switching the lights off at night does nothing for compliance even though it does a great deal for your costs. And it is why replacing what is installed is the only thing that moves a rating. It also explains why lighting punches above its weight. Lighting is a fixed service, it is cheap to replace relative to heating plant or glazing, and replacing it typically cuts lighting energy by a substantial margin, commonly more than half. You are changing an input the model takes seriously, for the least money and the least disruption of anything on the list. ## The order to do it in Measures have an order, and the order is set by cost per rating point rather than by size of saving. A measure that saves a great deal of money and costs a great deal of capital is a worse first move than a cheap measure that moves the rating a modest amount. ## Where this goes wrong Two failure modes, and they are opposites. The first is doing nothing until a deadline is close, then discovering that the only available route is the expensive one because the lease events you could have used have already passed. The second is spending on a large capital measure early, on the strength of a saving figure, without checking what it does to the rating in your particular building. Both are avoided by the same thing: find out where the headroom is before you spend, and sequence the work against the building rather than against a sales call. Sources - A non-domestic EPC is an asset rating: it is based on the fabric of the building and its services rather than on metered consumption. [A guide to energy performance certificates for the construction, sale and let of non-dwellings, DCLG, 2014](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-performance-certificates-for-the-construction-sale-and-let-of-non-dwellings) Where this page describes costs or savings it gives a general range rather than a quoted figure, because the numbers depend on your building, your operating hours and the equipment being replaced. A contractor gives you a figure after a survey. - [Lighting Best value per rating point in most buildings](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/lighting) - [Lighting controls Often better value than fixtures alone](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/controls) - [Heating and hot water Large improvement, large capital](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/heating-hot-water) - [Commercial solar Moves the rating and the bill, higher capital](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/solar) - [Insulation and fabric Usually the worst value per pound, and the longest-lived](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/insulation-and-fabric) - [Glazing and windows High capital, and it interacts with other measures](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/glazing) - [Air conditioning and ventilation Middling cost, and it is where lighting savings show up twice](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/air-conditioning-and-ventilation) - [Building management systems Cheap to fix, expensive to replace, and routinely neglected](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/building-management-systems) - [Heat pumps Large capital, and the rating effect depends on the model, not the unit](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/heat-pumps) - [Metering and monitoring Cheap, and the only measure bought purely for information](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/metering-and-monitoring) - [EV charging Not an efficiency measure at all, and it constrains the ones that are](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/ev-charging) - [Warehouse and distribution](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/warehouse) - [Offices](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/office) - [Retail units](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/retail-unit) - [Multi-let industrial](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/multi-let-industrial) - [Cold storage](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/cold-storage) - [Care homes](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/care-home) - [Hotels](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/hotel) - [Schools](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/school) - [Gyms and leisure centres](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/gym-and-leisure) - [Listed and historic buildings](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/listed-building) - [Workshops and light industrial](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/workshop) - [Restaurants and pubs](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/restaurant-and-pub) ## Four steps, in this order 1. Find out what is actually driving the score Not what is cheapest in general — what is heaviest in your building. Two buildings on the same band can need completely different work. A pre-works assessment is the difference between a plan and a guess. 2. Do the cheap fixed services first Lighting, then lighting controls. Lowest capital, fastest payback, least disruption, and they change inputs the model reads directly. In a warehouse this is often the whole job. 3. Reassess, and see where you actually landed Before committing to anything expensive. The improvement from the cheap measures is frequently larger than expected, and occasionally smaller — either way, you now know the real gap rather than a modelled one. 4. Tie the expensive measures to an event Heating plant, fabric and glazing belong to a refurbishment, a void or a lease event. Doing them standalone under deadline pressure is how upgrade budgets get spent badly. ## Cost per rating point, in rough order Deliberately without units. The ranking is what is useful; a pounds-per-point figure would be invented precision, and your building can reorder this list completely. - Lighting (LED replacement) BEST VALUE Lowest cost per rating point in most buildings - Lighting controls RANK 2 Often better value than fixtures alone - Heating controls and zoning RANK 3 Cheap, but limited headroom on its own - Solar PV RANK 4 Moves the rating and the bill, higher capital - Heating plant replacement RANK 5 Large improvement, large capital - Fabric and glazing WORST VALUE Usually the worst value per point let alone per pound Relative ranking, not a measured scale. Bars show order of value per rating point in a typical building and carry no units deliberately. Your building can reorder this list entirely, which is what a survey is for. ## Questions about improving a rating ### What is the quickest way to improve a commercial EPC rating? ### Why did my rating not improve after I cut my energy use? ### How many bands can I expect to move? ### Do I need a new EPC after the work? ### Should I get an assessment before or after the upgrade? Next step ## Find out what your building actually needs Tell us the building type, the floor area and the rating you are on now. One commercial contractor comes back to you with a quote. No panel, no cold calls. Or call [07367 293494](tel:+447367293494). Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.