IS YOUR HOUSING COMPANY’S ENERGY CERTIFICATE VALID?

Benefits of the energy performance certificate

The current energy performance certificates are based on comprehensive energy calculations that take into account the characteristics of the building’s structures and systems.

A housing company will achieve the best results by combining the energy performance certificate and a Raksystems condition evaluation. This way, you will obtain an overview of the housing company’s technical condition and energy efficiency, as well as any proposed repairs or improvements.

A carefully prepared energy performance certificate includes recommended actions for the housing company to improve its energy efficiency and allows a prospective buyer of an apartment to compare housing companies based on their energy consumption.

Content of the energy performance certificate

The energy performance certificate service includes a site visit. The calculations will be prepared after the site visit, and the energy performance certificate will be delivered to you in the agreed manner. The energy performance certificate calculations are based mostly on decrees, regulations and floor area data obtained during the site visit or submitted construction drawings and HVAC/electricity/automation plans.

• You will receive a service description for the energy performance certificate, preparation instructions for the site visit and an interview form.
• The site visit will take approximately 1–8 hours, depending on the size of the site.
• Before the site visit, the expert will interview you to determine the site’s initial data.
• The site calculations will be performed after the site visit. The calculations take into account the regulations and guidelines of the Ministry of the Environment and the local building regulations.
• The energy performance certificate will be delivered to you in accordance with an agreed schedule.
• The price of the energy performance certificate includes one visit to the site, and the site will be surveyed to the extent possible during that visit.

Energy performance certificate reporting

The energy performance certificate includes the following, for example:

• Basic data of the building: name, address, real estate register ID, year of completion and intended use
• Energy efficiency comparison figure (E figure) and the energy efficiency class on a scale of A to H using the grading scale for new buildings
• Calculation bases, such as information on the building structures, their characteristics and heating methods
• Actual energy consumption (if available)
• Volume of purchased energy using an energy form factor
• Contact details and qualifications of the assessor who prepared the certificate, certificate date and validity period
• Proposed actions and their calculated impact on the E figure

Preparing for the energy performance certificate process

• Read the preparation instructions with care and make sure that the expert has all the necessary documents at their disposal.
• The documents required for the certificate are:
  • Master plans (to scale; floor plan, profile drawing and exterior face drawings)
  • Heating, water, plumbing, ventilation and electricity system drawings and specifications (initial data)
  • Structural drawings, list of structures and/or building specifications (if available)
  • Maintenance records and other documents on ventilation units and air source heat pumps (if available)
  • Building energy consumption data for a full calendar year (electricity, water, any fuels, such as wood, oil or pellets; if available)

In addition, the following information is useful:

• • Maintenance records and any similar documents
  • Information about any repairs and any documentation on the repairs (property manager’s certificate)
  • Reports on any previous humidity surveys or condition evaluations, or any similar surveys performed

Make the expert’s job easier

• The existence of ladders, catwalks, etc. to the roof should be ensured and they should be made safe to use so that the roof structures can be inspected.
• The possibility to open any manholes leading to the space below the roof should be verified and safe access to the space below the roof should be ensured.
• If there is a crawlspace below the base floor, we recommend ensuring that there is proper access to the crawlspace so that all the accessible parts of the space can be inspected.
• There must be catwalks or other safe access routes in the attic so that the entire attic can be safely inspected.

Other issues to be considered

• You must ensure that you have the necessary authority to place an order and that the site can be inspected. If the site is a housing company, you must obtain a permission to have the site surveyed, and possibly also inform the housing company of the site visit. In the case of a semi-detached house, permission for the survey must be obtained from the owners of both apartments.
• We will trust that the initial data you provide is correct and will not separately verify it.
• The purchased energy figures in a calculated energy performance certificate may be significantly different from the building’s actual consumption level due to consumption habits of the residents and the energy factors used in the calculations. The purpose of the energy performance certificate legislation is to make all energy performance certificates comparable by ensuring that the calculations for all certificates are performed in the same manner.
• The recommended actions are based on Raksystems’ own databases and experience of the person who prepares the certificate on similar renovations or actions. The costs of the repairs or renovations may experience significant changes when offers are requested from a variety of parties with an invitation to tender prepared by competent structural, HVAC and electrical engineering experts.

Recommended additional services

• Energy saving survey (measuring U-values and applying for a subsidy from the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland ARA)
• Air leak measuring
• Thermal imaging
• Housing company energy survey
• Housing transaction condition inspection
• Condition evaluation

These will provide important additional information to support the energy performance certificate. We warmly recommend combining these services.

Downloadable materials

Energy Certificate service description