EPC-NR: Cheap today, expensive tomorrow
The application of the EPC-NR legislation described in this article applies to Flanders.
Energy Performance Certificates for non-residential buildings (EPC-NR) are currently being sold at dumping prices, as if they were standard documents you can “quickly have issued.” In a context where companies have been legally required to hold an EPC-NR since 1 January 2026, this may seem attractive.
As a result, Label X (undetermined) certificates are issued cheaply and in large numbers. However, rather than solving the problem, they merely postpone it. This label simply indicates that no valid assessment of the building’s energy performance could be made for example, because not all required measurements were available.
An EPC-NR follows a very different logic than a “standard” EPC
Anyone who assumes that an EPC-NR is comparable to a residential EPC, a fairly straightforward process that would yield roughly the same result regardless of the expert, is mistaken. An EPC-NR goes far beyond a simple checklist. It requires substantive choices that directly affect future investment decisions. And that is precisely where the risk lies.
Poor decisions today mean costly obligations tomorrow
With low-cost EPC-NRs, we often see that the absence of measurements is used as a convenient excuse to issue a Label X. This can be arranged quickly and cheaply.
However, legislation imposes a minimum energy label by 2030. In practice, this means companies will be required to produce a minimum amount of renewable energy themselves by that date. A piece of paper with a Label X offers no clarity on how far you are from that target.
You may already have sufficient renewable energy capacity, but it might not be taken into account due to an unfortunate scope definition by the expert. The result: unnecessary additional investments in renewable energy to meet the 2030 requirements.
More often, however, companies remain completely in the dark:
- Do we have too little renewable energy?
- How much are we short?
- What will it cost to comply with the legislation by 2030?
A Label X is of little value unless it comes with a thorough analysis and a clear roadmap. And this is not something you want to rush through six months before the deadline.
In other words: a cheap EPC-NR today can force investments tomorrow that could have been entirely avoided.
EPC-NR compliance is a strategic exercise
An industrial EPC should not be treated as an administrative formality, but as a strategic analysis:
- Which measurements are absolutely necessary to move beyond a Label X?
- Which assumptions can be reasonably defended towards 2030?
- How do we avoid over-investing in “green energy” simply because the starting point was defined incorrectly?
This requires expertise.
At Enprove, we do not treat industrial EPC’s as off-the-shelf products.
We deliver:
- no EPCs without a future-oriented vision
- no labels without context
- no compliance without a plan
Because an EPC-NR without strategic choices is not a solution, it is a risk.
Contact Enprove to handle your EPC number correctly from the very beginning and make the right investment straight away.
