EPiC Surveys NW Limited

22/08/2026

🔎 Help me test EPiC’s new Commercial EPC FAQ search.

I’ve recently been rebuilding the EPiC Surveys website, gradually updating both its appearance and the information it provides. As part of that wider work, I’ve created a completely new FAQ section designed to provide straightforward answers to many of the questions people ask about commercial Energy Performance Certificates.

Rather than simply presenting a long list of questions, the page includes a search facility. You can type a question in ordinary language, and it will try to identify the most relevant answers.

I deliberately decided not to use artificial intelligence to operate the search. Doing so would raise questions about how visitors’ searches were processed, transmitted and stored. Addressing those privacy and data-handling concerns properly could become complicated and potentially expensive for a small business like ours.

Instead, the search works entirely through a large set of rules that I have provided. These rules help it recognise different words, phrases and ways of asking what is essentially the same question. It works fairly well—but it isn’t perfect.

The difficult part is no longer fixing the problems I know about. It is finding the searches and unusual ways of phrasing questions that I haven’t thought of. Having spent so much time developing and testing it, I’m probably now too familiar with how it works to uncover every weakness without help.

That is where I would really appreciate some help.
Please visit the FAQ page and try the search facility to destruction. Ask sensible questions, vague questions, badly worded questions, incomplete questions or the same question in several completely different ways. Try anything you think might confuse it.

If the search gives you the wrong answers, fails to find something that ought to be there, or behaves unexpectedly, please use the Report a search issue feature on the page itself. That will give me the information I need to investigate the search and, where necessary, write some new rules.

You do not need to know anything about EPCs to help. In fact, testing by people who do not already know the terminology may be particularly valuable.

You can try it here:
https://www.epic-surveys.co.uk/faqs.html

Thank you—and please don’t be gentle with it. The more ways you can find to break it now, the better it should work for everyone who uses it.

Answers to common questions about Non-Domestic EPCs, including pricing, when an EPC is required, preparing for an assessment, ratings and MEES.

13/08/2026

Dalton-in-Furness yesterday for a commercial EPC.

This one was a fairly straightforward assessment of a retail unit in a former industrial-style building, probably dating from the late 1970s or early 1980s. The property is currently trading as a shoe shop, and as far as I can tell it has long been used in connection with shoe retailing, even though the business name has changed over time.

What made this visit a little different was that I was also asked to provide floor plans for marketing purposes.

Although I don’t get asked to do this very often, it is an additional service I can provide on some instructions. The plans are to scale and accurate for marketing use, but they are not a substitute for architects’ drawings.
It was a useful reminder that, alongside non-domestic EPC work, there are occasions where a client needs a little more supporting information to help move matters forward.

📍 Dalton-in-Furness
🏢 Retail unit / former industrial premises

10/08/2026

📍 Blackpool

A Non-Domestic EPC survey today took me to a small guest house formed by joining two former houses together.

This is quite common in Blackpool. Over the years, many guest houses and hotels have expanded into adjoining properties, sometimes combining two, three or even more original buildings.

One thing that needs particular attention is what happened to the heating and hot-water systems when the properties were joined.

In some buildings everything has subsequently been combined onto a single system. In others, much of the original arrangement remains.

Today’s property still had two boilers. Each served the central heating and hot water on its respective side of the building. There was another small difference too: the showers on one side were supplied with hot water from the boiler, while those on the other side were electric showers.

It is a good example of why a Non-Domestic EPC survey involves more than simply identifying what equipment is installed. Where the information isn’t readily available, the systems need to be traced carefully to establish exactly which parts of the building they serve.

05/08/2026

🏭 A trip over to Widnes today for an urgent Non-Domestic EPC.

Every now and then an enquiry comes in where an EPC is needed at short notice, and today was one of those occasions.

The property itself was a straightforward industrial building, but because much of my week is spent analysing buildings and preparing EPCs back at the computer, it’s always good to get out on site and visit another commercial property.

Although urgent surveys aren’t the norm, having a flexible workload means I’m usually able to accommodate them when there’s a genuine need.

Every building is different, and it’s that variety that continues to make the job enjoyable after all these years.

04/08/2026

📍 Today’s survey took me to Premier Inn, Squires Gate Lane, Blackpool.

Blackpool is certainly in full holiday mode at the moment, with plenty of visitors making the most of the summer season. Although today’s weather was rather more typical of Lancashire than August sunshine, it was another busy day carrying out a Non-Domestic EPC.

Hotels are always interesting buildings to assess, with guest accommodation, circulation areas and back-of-house facilities all contributing to the final assessment. Every building has its own characteristics, even when it follows a familiar design.

It’s always a pleasure working across the North West and meeting businesses in such a wide variety of commercial properties.

If you need a Non-Domestic EPC for a hotel, office, shop, industrial unit or other commercial property, I’d be pleased to help.

🌐 www.epic-surveys.co.uk

03/08/2026

🏢 Does your commercial property already have an EPC?

Before arranging a new assessment, it is worth checking whether a valid Energy Performance Certificate already exists for the property.

Non-Domestic EPCs are normally valid for 10 years, although a newer assessment may be advisable if the building or its services have changed significantly.

Existing EPCs for properties in England and Wales can be checked online through the government’s Energy Performance of Buildings Register.

Need help establishing whether your commercial property requires a new EPC? EPiC Surveys provides experienced, thorough assessments throughout the North West.

02/08/2026

Need a Non-Domestic EPC for a commercial property?
EPiC Surveys provides thorough, reliable assessments throughout the North West.
Request a fixed-price quotation below.

https://www.epic-surveys.co.uk/get-a-quote.html

19/06/2026

it’s always nice to sample a local delicacy when you go further a field to undertake an EPC.

05/06/2026

The festivities kick off with the grand parade at 12 noon, a vibrant display of community and joy. Participate in the procession or cheer from the sidelines as it makes its way around the town, culminating at Cottam Hall Playing Fields around 13:00 – 13:30. It’s an experience not to be missed, embodying the spirit of Poulton.

05/06/2026