Author dossier · E-E-A-T

Zak Henning

Managing Director of Energy Performance Direct. Quidos-accredited Domestic and Non-Domestic Energy Assessor. PAS 2035 Retrofit Coordinator. Author of the proprietary League Table & Rafts methodology used in every DEAR and NDEAR advice report we lodge.

Based in Exeter, Devon
Practising since 2009
01392 980077

Biography

Zak Henning founded Energy Performance Direct in 2009 and has led the practice for over 15 years. Based in Exeter, he works across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset — plus the Bristol / Bath / North Somerset corridor — producing Domestic and Commercial EPCs, SAP and SBEM calculations, and structured Energy Advice Reports (DEAR & NDEAR) for landlords, developers, homeowners and portfolio holders.

Zak trained originally as a Domestic Energy Assessor in the early years of the UK EPC regime, adding non-domestic accreditation as the commercial market matured, and — more recently — PAS 2035 Retrofit Assessor and Retrofit Coordinator qualifications. That progression reflects a deliberate move away from single-service EPC lodgement toward independent building energy consultancy: modelling, ranking and staging improvement measures rather than issuing static recommendation lists.

A whole-house retrofit of his own home — improving it from D to A — provided hands-on experience with external wall insulation, secondary glazing, air-source heat pump retrofit, solar PV, MVHR and thermal-bridge mitigation. That project informed the practical, budget-realistic bias in every advice report the practice produces.

Zak was also actively involved in the Green Deal during its operation, supporting property owners through energy-efficiency upgrades — an experience which shaped the practice's current view that measure ranking must always surface £/yr, £ capital, payback and EPC-band trade-offs rather than a one-number carbon score.

Credentials & accreditations

Quidos NDEA (Non-Domestic Energy Assessor)

Accreditation QUID201039 — Level 3 commercial EPCs, SBEM modelling, MEES advice.

Quidos DEA (Domestic Energy Assessor)

RdSAP 10 assessments for domestic property, sales, lettings and MEES.

OCDEA (On-Construction Domestic Energy Assessor)

SAP-based new-build compliance and as-built EPC lodgement.

PAS 2035 Retrofit Assessor

Whole-house assessments for domestic retrofit projects.

PAS 2035 Retrofit Coordinator

Retrofit project coordination under BSI PAS 2035:2023.

All energy assessments are lodged on the government EPC Register under Quidos accreditation QUID201039.

Published work & case studies

A selection of methodology writeups and worked-example case studies authored on this site.

The League Table & Rafts Methodology

Proprietary five-criterion measure-ranking framework used in every DEAR and NDEAR advice report.

Exeter G→A period office case study

364.9 m² Grade II-listed Victorian office modelled from G189 baseline to A25 through five costed pathways.

Sticklepath SAP conversion case study

Retrospective SAP 10.2 on a 36.1 m² Devon stone outbuilding conversion — reflects on what an assessor engagement at design stage would have unlocked.

London MEES unit-split case study

How a 431 m² G242 London commercial building was staged through three units to Band B compliance.

SBEM Explained — the engine behind every Commercial EPC

Working guide to iSBEM, its inputs, fabric vs services levers and where DSM takes over.

MEES for Commercial Buildings — landlord's compliance guide

Current Band E statutory minimum (April 2023), the June 2026 DESNZ interim response (proposed EPC B by 2031 for buildings over 1,000 m², 2027 EPC C dropped), the 7-year payback test and the registered exemptions.

Work directly with Zak

Every DEAR and NDEAR report we produce is authored, modelled and reviewed by Zak personally.

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