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One engineering firm that went to assessors for quotes on a 15,000m2 building said they ranged from 拢2,000 to 拢15,000. 鈥淭he building was around 20 years old with a more-than-average amount of ready information for that age,鈥� said a senior engineer within the consultancy who did not wish to be named.

鈥淚t appears that some assessors are putting out quotes on a purely speculative basis with no real thought in it. Assessors at either end of the spectrum probably don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e doing.鈥�

Steve Barlow, senior manager at environmental and energy consultancy Environ said the large range for a quote is because the market trying to understand what clients expect and how much time assessors need for the job. 鈥淎s-is drawings will definitely lower the price,鈥� said Barlow who is himself gaining an assessor qualification. Environ, which does EPCs, can quote from as low as 拢1,500 to more than 拢10,000 depending on what drawings and information is available.

鈥淎lso, as more and more software packages become available and people become more familiar with them, time taken to do an assessment will fall as will prices,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an embryonic market at the moment and we probably need around 1,000 assessors. The question is where is the tipping point when supply of assessors exceeds demand for EPCs.鈥�

Steve Desormeaux, a director of the building consultancy at CB Richard Ellis, said there鈥檚 no reason to think that the price will go down soon. 鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 mean it won鈥檛 happen in the future as more buildings come up for sale or rent.鈥� CBRE has around 拢1.5m in EPC quotes out with clients but as yet a strike rate is only 8%, says Desormeaux.