BLACKDOT is a registered and certified EPC Practitioner company.
We can assist with your EPC Certification of your buildings
What is an Energy Performance Certificate?
An EPC is a certificate that shows the energy performance of a building as a rating from A to G, with A being the most efficient and G the least efficient rating. According to legislation that was gazetted in December 2020, all privately owned buildings with a net floor area of more than 2 000 sqm and all public buildings with a net floor area of more than 1 000 sqm, belonging to specific occupancy classes, must have an EPC rating by 7 December 2025. The EPC must then be displayed in the building, visible to the public.
What is the purpose of the EPC?
An EPC is intended to inform potential buyers or tenants about the energy performance of a building, so they can consider energy efficiency as part of their investment or business decision to buy or occupy that building.
Not all buildings are required to get an EPC. The following occupancy classes, as defined in SANS 10400 XA that must be displayed in the building, visible to the public are:
Class A1 – Entertainment and public assembly: Occupancy where people gather to eat, drink, dance, or participate in other recreation. Typical examples include restaurants, nightclubs, sports pubs and gyms.
Class A2 – Theatrical and indoor sport: This is an occupancy where people gather for the viewing of theatrical, operatic, orchestral. Choral, cinematographical, or sports performances. Some examples include movie theatres and live theatres.
Class A3 – Places of instruction: These are where school children assemble for the purpose of tuition or learning. This will include primary or secondary schools, colleges, universities and technikons.
Class G1 – Offices: Large multi-storey office buildings, banks, consulting rooms, and similar buildings that feature lifts and energy-consuming services that operate on a typical daytime occupancy. This includes stand-alone blocks or a campus of buildings that form an office park but operate separately.
The application criteria of an EPC are as follows:
- Buildings have to be more than two years old and should have not been subjected to any major renovations.
- Buildings with a net floor area of over 1000 m² for government buildings and 2000 m² for privately owned buildings must follow the certification requirements.
- An accredited body must issue the EPC under SANS 1544:2014.
The steps involved to get the Energy Performance Certificate include:
What are the consequences of non-compliance or non-certification?
The regulations for the mandatory display and submission of energy performance certificates for buildings was made by the Minister of Energy under the section 19(1)(b) of the National Energy Act, 1998 (Act 34 of 2008). In terms of the regulations, “Failure to publicly display the energy performance certificate in terms of these Regulations in an offence in contravention of the Act.”
The National Energy Act clearly stipulates that “A person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of the Act shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on conviction to – a) a fine not exceeding five million rand; b) imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years; or c) both such fine and imprisonment”.
Deadline for EPC Compliance.
Building owners must ensure they are fully EPC compliant according to the EPC legislation by the extended deadline of 7 December 2025.
Despite the deadline extension, property owners must register the size, type, and energy performance for those buildings requiring EPCs to the National Building Performance Register by 25 November 2023.
Below are some EPC websites for reference:
