A first step towards reducing consumption
The Energy Advice Procedure audit enables you, if you wish, to find out about the quality of your energy installations and your daily habits. It provides you with personalised advice backed up by figures on ways of using energy more rationally.
You can opt for a full audit or one that just covers certain elements.
The three stages of an energy audit
- Preparation: before the auditor’s visit, gather information on your home: year of construction, energy bills, type of heating, heating service certificate, plans of the building, etc.
The audit: first of all, the information that you have gathered about your home is analysed. After this, when conducting a full audit, the auditor checks:- the quality of the insulation of the outside walls
- the proper functioning of the heating installation, the hot water system and the ventilation system
- the proper use of your various pieces of equipment (thermostats, thermostatic valves, etc.)
- The report: All the data collected during the audit are encoded into a specialised software program. This application is used to attribute a label from A to E to all the elements analysed. The auditor then makes recommendations and draws up a projection of the way your home would be if you were to follow these recommendations. In the last stage, the auditor draws up a final report and adds any observations he may have.
Who are the energy auditors?
The energy auditors approved by Bruxelles Environnement/Leefmilieu Brussels (website in French) have to follow a theory and practical training course in addition to their basic training and their experience on the ground. They then have to take an examination on the various elements of the energy audit and the use of the Energy Advice Procedure software program.
How much does it cost?
An energy audit usually costs between EUR 300 and EUR 700, depending on the auditor chosen and the scope of the audit. The good news is: the Region gives you an energy grant via Bruxelles Environnement/Leefmilieu. The amount of this grant is equal to 50 % of the amount of the audit, whatever your income. However, the maximum amount of the grant is EUR 400.
Not to be confused…
The energy audit is not:
- the EPB certificate (energy performance of buildings). This certificate, which allocates homes a consumption label similar to that applied for household electrical appliances, is compulsory when you sell or rent out your home.
- the heating audit. This is compulsory for boilers that are more than 15 years old. Depending on the capacity of your boiler, this has to be carried out either by an approved auditor or by a heating engineer who is approved by Bruxelles Environnement/Leefmilieu or has a Cerga label.