Life at Bluewire Hub

Today we hear from John Allen, owner of Bluewire Hub Ltd talking about becoming a Domestic Energy Assessor and what life is like at Bluewire Hub.

Why did you become qualified as a DEA?

In 2013 I was working for a property services company in Milton Keynes and they needed some DEAs to carry out EPCs for ECO work and renewable energy installations. As I was carrying out all of the ECO and renewable surveys at the time it seemed sensible that I became qualified to do the Energy Performance Certificates as well. Green Deal was in its infancy at the time so I also became qualified to carry out Occupancy Assessments at the same time.

Why Bluewire Hub?

I set up Bluewire in 2014 as I wanted to create a more professional image to any potential clients. It is important to me that we are recognised as a reputable, reliable, professional yet friendly and flexible company to do business with. We agree service level agreements with our corporate clients and will always work hard to meet these. In the last 4 years we have grown our customer base from 1 to 18 corporate clients across Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire as well as a number of individual homeowners and landlords who find us via on line searches and social media interactions.

What is a typical day like as a DEA?

One thing for certain is that no two days are the same, we visit such a range of properties, from bedsits to mansions it keeps things varied and interesting. On average we carry out 5 surveys in a day, this ensures that we spend sufficient time at each property to gather all of the information we need to produce an accurate report. 

How long does a typical assessment take?

The time spent on site can vary greatly dependant on the size of the property, complexity of construction and number of extensions but on average it takes around 1 hour. Prior to the site visits we will carry out some research on the property as it can tell us a lot before we even leave the office. This can take around 30 minutes but may be more, again each building is different.

The internet is a great tool and we use various websites to look up information, you can read more about that here. 

What happens during the assessment?

When we are at the property we follow a pattern that works for us gathering information about the building such as wall types, insulation, heating and hot water etc, we have covered this in depth here. There are a number of pictures that we need to take to satisfy our auditing requirements such as the exterior of the property, heating systems and light bulbs. We will also produce a floor plan to highlight any heat loss or party walls and identify habitable rooms. There is also the option to use this floor plan for estate agents brochures if we add some more detailed information.

All of the evidence from the property is gathered and recorded using an app on a tablet which really helps with audits and ensures we have all the relevant information required to produce the EPC.

Once we have recorded everything on site we return to the office where everything is sense checked before we lodge the report on the EPC central register. Our aim is to have the report sent to our clients on the same day as the assessment is completed.

What else do you do?

As well as producing the report we are always on hand to offer advice on how to improve the energy rating of your building and can often recommend local reputable companies and tradesmen to carry out the works for you.

As mentioned earlier we can produce both 2D and 3D floor plans for estate agents and homeowners which can help with the marketing of your property, just ask about this service when you book your EPC. 

For Letting Agents and landlords we offer Legionella Risk Assessments, you can read more about this here or get in touch and we will be happy to have a chat with you.

There are plans for us to venture into the world of fully immersive 3D floor plans and virtual reality property tours if you would like to know more about this please get in touch with us hello@bluewirehub.co.uk