Energy Performance Certification (APE)

The A.P.E. (before the modifications of Decree 63/2013 was called A.C.E) is the document that provides the assessment of the energy consumption of a building, house or apartment. It is a control tool that synthesizes the energy performance of buildings with a scale from A4 to G (10 letter scale).At the time of buying or renting a property, besides being mandatory, it is useful to have information about energy consumption and to clarify the real value of high energy saving buildings

We are an engineering company active in the realisation and certification of high energy efficiency buildings, if you want to get an APE you can click to certify your property

Download a fac-simile of the Energy Performance Certification (APE)

When should certification be made?

Fac-simile di APE APE must be realised from 1 July 2009 in the case of commercialisation of buildings and from 1 July 2010 in case of renting. Since January 2012, energy performance indices (indici di prestazione energetica) (value in kWh / sq. per Year) have to be included in real estate ads. In addition, APE is one of the most useful documents for obtaining a buildingcertificate of practicability. 9/2013 law was further clarified when the certificate was to be drawn up.
Energy Certification is required in the following cases (August 2017 update):

Commercialisation: onerous transfer of property (ie. deed, exchange)
Donation: free transfer of property
Renting: renting of buildings or single units
Selling or renting advertisement of building or single units (to determine the energy performance index)
New buildings at the end of construction
Important renovation on over 25% of the construction surface (walls and roofs) of the entire building.
Public building open to the public
For all new or renewed contracts for the management of thermal installations or air conditioning of public buildings

The certificate must be updated in the case of redevelopment or refurbishment that modifies the energy performance of the building, such as replacement of fixtures, boiler, insulation, etc.
If a property has been provided with an ACE (Energy Certification Certificate) before 06.06.2013, it is not necessary to replace it with the APE (Energy Performance Certificate), while the AQE (Energy Qualification Certificate) cannot replace APE.
The validity of an APE is, in most cases, 10 years.
Exclusion cases for APE
The cases when an APE is not required for a property are identified by Article 3 paragraph 3 of D Lgs. 192/2005 (art.3 comma 3 del D. Lgs 192/2005) and also referred to in the Appendix A of DM 26/06/2015.

industrial and handicraft buildings when the rooms are heated for the needs of production process or by using energy waste of the production process which is not otherwise usable or when their use and / or the activities carried out inside them do not require heating or air conditioning systems;
rural and agricultural buildings without air conditioning system;
isolated buildings with a total usable floor area of less than 50 square meters, excluding portions which may be used as offices and assimilable, provided that they can be disassembled for the purposes of energy efficiency assessment.
Buildings that are not included in the categories of buildings classified on the basis of their use as referred to articolo 3 del d.P.R. 26 agosto 1993, n. 412, the standard use of which does not include the installation and use of air conditioning systems, such as cellars, garages, multi-storey car parks, storage facilities and seasonal structures for the protection of sports facilities.
Buildings used for places of worship and the carrying out of religious activities;
Ruins, provided this condition is expressly declared in the notarial act;
Buildings under construction "as rustic" or in the state of "structural skeleton" provided that such condition is expressly stated in the notarial act;

Who draws up the APE?

The APE is drawn up by an "accredited subject" called energy certifier that has specific expertise in the field of energy efficiency applied to buildings. About half of the Italian regions have not yet adopted their own regulations, in this case the law in force is the national law (Legislative Decree 192/05).
The energy certifier is usually an enabling technician capable of designing buildings and installations such as an architect or an engineer
The certifier has very important civil and penal liability

How is it drawn up?

With the help of specific software, an energy analysis of the propertywill be carried out. It will beevaluated the characteristics of the masonry and fixtures, the geometric characteristics of the building, the production of hot water, the cooling and heating of the premises, the type of installation, any renewable energy production systems.Subsequently, the Certifier processes the calculations, compiles the document, and releases the energy label that summarises the energy characteristics of the property. The APE must be kept with the boiler booklet and delivered to the new owner or tenant.
The inspection of the property is compulsory

How much does an APE cost?

The cost of a certificate, as with other professional services, is not subject to a minimum charge. The price of an energy certification for an apartment varies between 150 € and 250 € depending on the city and the features of the unit. For properties different from apartments such as villas, terraced houses, shops, offices, etc the cost is higher.
Advice to get good service (and avoid scams) at a fair price are:

Ask for more estimates by evaluating the reliability of the certifier;
Make sure that the cost estimate includes VAT, shipping, expense, and other costs;
Mistrust too low prices;
Mistrust those who do not carry out a compulsory inspection;
Mistrust intermediaries who propose their own technician at an overprice

If you need an APE you can contact us directly through the cost estimate page. Our offer is clear, simple and without surprises: we have a standardised method, with no intermediaries, that allows us to offer a complete and effective service at a fair price
Why asking for the energy certificate?
As previously stated APE certification is compulsory by law. Its main purposes are:

Tool for assessing the economic convenience of buying and renting a property in relation to energy consumption
Tool to advise on effective energy redevelopment interventions

Nonetheless, even if for existing buildings it could be considered only a bureaucratic practice, the APE is a document that will bring considerable benefits in the following years. In particular, there will be:

Increase in the value of low-energy consumer properties at the time of sale or rent
Incentives to build High Energy Performance Buildings and energy restructuring with clear reduction in pollution by Carbon Dioxide CO2.

APE and digital signature

The certificate can be signed by the technician even with digital signature, some Regions exclusively use this method to receive APEs in their energy inventory. Citizens or Notaries, can verify the accuracy of digital signatures by use this link: Check Digital Signature
The digital signature has full legal validity and can replace paper copy
How to determine the energy classes
The energy classes are 10 (since October 1, 2015): G, which represent buildings with high energy consumption, up to A4, assigned to the most efficient properties. The classes have intervals that depend on the overall energy performance and a physical value measured in kWh / sq per year.
Energetic label

The energy label indicates the energy efficiency class of the building that quickly shows how much a building is paying attention to energy saving issue. Classes are 10, ranging from G (low saving) to A4 (high saving).
The energy label is now used to indicate the consumption of household appliances, light bulbs and most of the energy-consuming equipments. The APE also introduces the energy label for the overall building.
Next to the energy label is the value of the energy performance referred to as "energy performance index"
Sanctions
The sanction (as result of the modifications of Decree 63/2013 converted with Law 90/2013) are serious for owners, tenants or sellers, such as agencies if, at the time of negotiation, sale or rent the property is not equipped with an energy performance certificate.

If the property is sold without an energy performance certificate, the seller is subject to a penalty ranging between 3000 and 18000 euros;
If the property is rented without an energy performance certificate, the tenant is subject to a sanction of between 1000 and 4000 euros.
If the announcement of a property to sell or rent does not contain energy parameters, the administrative sanction varies between 500 and 3000 euros.