Heating and cooling controls and your commercial EPC rating
Updated 19 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial
Heating and cooling controls affect a commercial EPC because the assessor records the controls on each heating, cooling and ventilation system, zone by zone, and the software credits capabilities such as time control, optimum start/stop, local temperature control and weather compensation. A complete monitoring and targeting system with alarms for out-of-range values can attract a further adjustment. What counts is what is installed and can be evidenced, not how carefully the building is run.
Why do controls matter in a commercial EPC?
When an assessor gathers data for a commercial EPC, the government guide to EPCs for non-dwellings lists the heating and ventilation services for each zone, including the type of system, metering, controls and fuel used, alongside what each zone is used for and its occupancy profile. Controls are an input in their own right.
They matter because the model fixes how the building is used. The NCM website, which hosts the government's SBEM calculation tool, explains that the parameters and schedules for each activity are standardised and cannot be changed for energy certification. So the calculation credits what your controls are capable of against a standard pattern of occupation, rather than how well they are used in practice. Controls also feed the auxiliary energy figure, which the same site says covers the energy used by fans, pumps and controls and depends partly on the control provision entered.
The recommendation report makes this visible. On the GOV.UK register, reports use standard wording such as "Add time control to heating system.", "Add optimum start/stop to the heating system." and "Add weather compensation controls to heating system." If one of these appears for a feature the building already has, the assessment probably did not record it.
What do zoning, time control and temperature control mean?
The clearest description is in Approved Document L, Volume 2 (2021 edition incorporating 2023 amendments), the government's Building Regulations guidance on energy for buildings other than dwellings in England. It says heating systems should be split into separate control zones wherever areas differ significantly in solar exposure, pattern of use or type of use, and that each zone's timing and temperature should be controllable independently of the others. Central plant should only run when the zones need it, with off as the default, and where heating and cooling are both provided the controls should stop them running at the same time.
Take a hypothetical two-storey office with gas heating, a ground-floor reception open six days a week and first-floor offices used on weekdays only. With one programmer and one thermostat, both floors are heated to the same times and temperature. Split into two zones with their own time and temperature control, each floor can follow its own pattern, which is the arrangement the guidance describes.
| Control feature | What it does | Recommendation wording if it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Time control | Runs the heating to a timetable | Add time control to heating system. |
| Optimum start/stop | Starts plant at the latest time possible to reach the required conditions when occupancy begins | Add optimum start/stop to the heating system. |
| Local time control | Lets individual zones run to their own timetable | Add local time control to heating system. |
| Local temperature control | Lets individual rooms or zones hold their own temperature | Add local temperature control to the heating system. |
| Weather compensation | Varies the operating flow temperature of the heating, using an external sensor | Add weather compensation controls to heating system. |
How are cooling and ventilation controls treated?
The same principles apply. Approved Document L expects multiple cooling units to have controls that keep the combined plant operating in its most efficient modes, and mechanical ventilation to be zoned like heating, with timing and, where appropriate, temperature, ventilation rate and air recirculation rate controlled zone by zone.
For the EPC, one ventilation control has a specific definition in the Non Domestic EPC Conventions for England and Wales, which accreditation schemes issue to their assessors. Demand-controlled ventilation is supply or extract ventilation modulated to match the actual occupation of each zone, rather than running at the constant level set by the activity database, and is typically controlled by presence detectors or carbon dioxide sensors.
Mixed systems need care. Where two different heat sources serve the same zone, the assessor enters the share of the heating load each provides, but can only select one set of control options, chosen to suit the system supplying the greater heating load. Any system that provides cooling must be entered as the main system.
Where do a BMS and energy metering fit in?
Metering is recorded as part of each system, but the bigger lever is a full monitoring and targeting set-up. The NCM website explains that an adjustment factor is available for automatic monitoring and targeting with alarms for out-of-range values, which Approved Document L defines as a complete installation that measures, records, transmits, analyses, reports and communicates meaningful energy management information so the operator can manage the energy the building uses. Approved Document L sets the adjustment factor for this feature at 0.050, and says a building automation and control system specified in line with its paragraphs 6.66 to 6.73 would meet the definition.
A few sub-meters read by hand are not the same as an automated system that raises alarms, so before assuming a benefit, ask the assessor whether your metering and building management system (BMS) meet that definition and what evidence they need to see.
The Building Regulations add their own trigger. Under the 2021 edition of Approved Document L, a new building with a space heating or air-conditioning system rated above 180kW should have a building automation and control system, and in an existing building of that size, a system being replaced or installed should follow the specification in the guidance.
What evidence will the assessor look for?
Controls are easy to miss on a walk-round, because a programmer in a plant room or a BMS screen in an office cupboard says little about how the system is zoned. The government guide says the assessor must validate information through a site inspection, and the conventions only allow documents to be relied on where there is a demonstrable link between what was seen on site and the paperwork. Acceptable evidence includes technical design information, manufacturer's technical data sheets, installation and maintenance records and operation and maintenance manuals, and the conventions specifically mention as-built answers from the design team on BMS details.
Useful things to have ready before the survey:
- a zoning drawing or schedule showing which areas each heating, cooling and ventilation circuit serves
- BMS screenshots or a points list showing time schedules and set points for each zone
- model numbers and data sheets for programmers, thermostats, compensators and valves
- commissioning certificates and the operation and maintenance manual
- a meter schedule and, if there is one, reports from the monitoring and targeting software showing its alarm settings
Access matters too. If plant cannot be reached, the conventions tell assessors to include a heat or cooling generator they have clear evidence for and, where specific details are not available, to work on a worst-case basis for the type believed to be present. Boiler efficiencies follow a set hierarchy of sources, and the relevant heating credits are then added following the Non Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide.
Will better controls be enough to change the band?
Sometimes. The recommendation report for your building shows which payback group each control measure falls in and its potential impact on carbon emissions, which is the best guide to whether controls alone could move the band. For buildings rated F or G, the cheapest-first order of improvements is in Rated F or G? What it means and how to fix it, and funding routes that may apply to the works are on the grants and funding page. Lighting is often reviewed at the same time, and LED lighting and your commercial EPC rating covers the evidence needed there.
The published rating only changes when a new EPC is lodged, because until then the existing certificate stays the valid one. Once the controls are installed, commissioned and documented, you can request commercial EPC quotes through this site's form.
Sources
- A guide to Energy Performance Certificates for the construction, sale and let of non-dwellings, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (GOV.UK), checked 19 October 2026.
- NCM and SBEM frequently asked questions, uk-ncm.org.uk (BRE, official NCM and SBEM website), checked 19 October 2026.
- Find an energy certificate, GOV.UK register (search page, plus the standard wording shown on non-domestic EPC and recommendation report pages), checked 19 October 2026.
- Approved Document L, Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings, 2021 edition incorporating 2023 amendments, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (GOV.UK), checked 19 October 2026.
- Non Domestic EPC Conventions for England and Wales, Issue 9, NDEPC Conventions Group, published on uk-ncm.org.uk, checked 19 October 2026.
- The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, regulation 9, legislation.gov.uk, checked 19 October 2026.
Common questions
Does turning the thermostat down improve the EPC?
No. The EPC uses standard temperatures and occupancy for each zone's activity, so settings and behaviour are not inputs. What the model credits is the control capability installed, such as zone-level time and temperature control.
Is a building management system credited automatically?
Not automatically. The assessor records the control functions it provides, and an adjustment is available where it amounts to automatic monitoring and targeting with alarms for out-of-range values. Screenshots, points lists and commissioning records help the assessor confirm what it does.
Can the assessor credit controls they cannot see working?
Only with evidence that can be tied to what is on site. The conventions require a demonstrable link between site observations and documents, such as a model number on a controller that matches a manufacturer's data sheet.
What happens if two heating systems serve the same area?
The assessor enters the share of the heating load each system provides, but can only select one set of control options, chosen for the system that supplies the greater heating load. Any system that provides cooling has to be entered as the main system.