DEA / EPC Accreditation - Training, Costs, Providers etc

[whinmoor]

I thought it might be useful to have a thread dedicated to this subject away from the main forum. It seems like a few of us are thinking about becoming DEAs so it might be useful if we could share experiences of training providers, facilities, the course itself, costs, software, ongoing support and so on. It may be once you have qualified, a training provider will offer a discount for a second person and we could share referral codes/fees. I will go first in explaining my situation and thinking:

I am looking at becoming the accredited DEA for my small company. Having to rely on an outsider isn’t great and there’s always the risk he will do the dirty on you. I am looking at using Stroma for my training as they are reasonably local to me – Castleford, Yorkshire. Their website says the course lasts 3 days and costs £750 (plus VAT). You then have to take an ABBE exam costing £290 + £90. So, the total cost seems to be £1130. You then have to pay a small amount (about £5-£6) to “lodge” each EPC but that’s not critical as we’d only be doing a handful each month.

Are other people thinking along similar lines or does someone have a masterplan I've missed?

 

[SRE]

Mmm well you all got me thinking about this even though I'd decided to use a local guy to do it.

I've just been in touch with a company who does online epc training for £395. He reckons they don't do the exam anymore (which I'm sure can't be right) just the portfolio of 5 properties for assessment and it only takes 30 mins to do the EPC + the office time to add it to the software and generate the certificate. It is 4 years since I did my training so it could have changed - I guess we maybe need to ask someone who's trained recently - maybe MEP?? My background is energy efficiency so I'm happy to do it online - might not be an option for others, but at that price it's possibly worth me doing.

My reservations are around what you used to have to do to get the EPC - I'll list what I can remember it might help others to decide if it's for them or not.

For the property:
age, type of build, construction of walls & roof,
For each elevation:
Height to eaves, width, size of windows, size of doors, loft construction and insulation
For each room:
width, depth & height of walls, construction of internal walls, size of internal doors, ceiling construction
Heating:
Specific boiler, heating controls, boiler interlock, secondary heating, ventilation
Lighting
% of low energy lights

I think that's it :-( I remember why I didn't like doing it now ....

I hope it's been simplified :hurray:

 

[SolarCity]

Did I hear something about the EPC rating having to come from a third party?

 

[SRE]

DECC has clarified - it can come from the installer FITs Frequently Asked Questions - Department of Energy and Climate Change
seems like there's a conflict but I'm not arguing. I thought the Green Deal had to be seperate and the EPC would be the same.

 

[Energetic]

We looked at doing the training but as there was such a rush to get qualifications a few years ago for the HIP we can get them done by a local guy for £50. Given the costs of accreditation and the hassle of doing the EPC we're inclined to outsource it.

There's also the problem of the customer thinking that you might be adding to the price by recommending things that need not be done, which is why we'll recommend a local spark for a board change if required rather than add it to a PV quote. For a small company like ours it seems the easiest option. That said we are not an electrical contractor but a renewables firm and for the last year we've wanted to stick to PV and keep the distractions to a minimum.

 

[whinmoor]

I'm thinking about going to Ecobuild next month. It may be possible to negotiate a deal with a rep for a discount. I know Stroma will have a stand there. It is, however, cutting it a bit fine in terms of getting the qualification before early April.

 

[SRE]

Watch the timeline - it takes a while to ge the portfolio of properties pulled together and when you do if you wait until mid March there could be a mad rush for everyone to get theirs in. I'm going to make my decision next week and get on with it.

 

[morpheus75]

Same as OP i have been looking into it. Im a small company and being careful on having the dirty done by external assessors have enrolled onto the course offered by PPL york. Im based in Leeds. A tad on the expensive side but a years membership with a body, software provided but importantly i dont have to hunt for my portfolio properties as they source them for you. Total 6 day course with 2 days onsite doing assessment. I reckon the quickest way to register as assessor. Im on the course 19 march


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[whinmoor]

Could you tell us the cost Morpheus? The price on their website is £1920 (incl VAT). Did you manage to bag a discount? The course looks comprehensive but rather more expensive than Stroma.

 

[morpheus75]

Thats what i paid. On balance £1100ish is the going price for a few places and this is £1600 both plus vat but for the extras i thought it was worth it. Trying to find properties that fall into the required bands and type to submit in your portfolio would take a while to do and they have done that for you. Hence why i went with them


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[TedM]

If anyone wants to dabble to see what is involved you can download the SAP2009 software from Stroma free of charge.

Stroma - FSAP Software | Certification - Energy Assessment

You have to register a few details and they send you a link by email to get the software.

Where they ask:

Who are you accredited with? *

just select 'None'.

 

[whinmoor]

Noticed in the small print on the PPL website:

"ATTENTION!! - UP TO 50% OFF COURSE FEES available for eligible businesses and sole traders located in the Yorkshire and Humber region"

Did you enquire about this, Morpheus?

 

[SRE]

Whinmoor have you tried the Stroma software - it's even worse than I remember!

 

[whinmoor]

No, I haven't. I don't have much experience with this kind of thing actually. I'm sure I'll be the one wearing the dunce's hat on whichever course I attend! I've never even studied an EPC in much detail so I'm sure I'll be miles behind guys like you on the course who've been there, seen it, done it but not got the right T-shirt!

I'm visiting a pal over the weekend who moved house last year so I will ask if I can see his EPC. Hope I can keep my eyes open long enough to read it cos I expect it's full of drivel and mostly stating the bl***y obvious.

 

[SRE]

Its not difficult - just time consuming, best demonstrated by trying the demo. If you can find 5 minutes I'd really recommend it