Your Furbnow Privacy Settings
In order to give you the best experience, we use cookies for performance, analytics, personalisation, advertising and to help our site function. Want to know more? Read our Privacy Policy.
The Service is the Home Energy Assessment & Plan (“Service”) laid out in part 2 of this document.
The Consultants who provide the Service will be competent persons who have sufficient knowledge and are suitably qualified to carry out and provide the Service.
The term “Home Energy Assessment/Survey” referred to in these terms is not a Building Survey. Though a condition report is undertaken as part of the PAS 2035 process and thus the Home Assessment, the Plan will not report on the condition of the fabric or structure of the building being surveyed or provide options to the client for remediation for any identified defects. If you require a ‘Building Survey’ it is advised that a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), who is competent to survey, value and report upon the property, is engaged.
The Home Assessment & Plan does not include a Heat Loss Survey or Thermographic Assessment. However, these activities can be incorporated as part of a Home Assessment & Plan upon request by the client or as an additional bolt-on service for an additional fee, subject to supplier availability.
The success of the Service is contingent on the assessment/survey data and findings, and client input. When it is not feasible to get access to a part of the property, assumptions will be made on the construction of the inaccessible portions based on the Consultant's expertise and experience as well as client-provided information. No liability is accepted for any assumptions made or client-supplied information.
The client agrees to pay the agreed-upon fee for the service and any additional charges. The Home Assessment & Plan cost must be paid in advance of the Service. It is possible that the survey was conducted on short notice at the client's request, and the fee was not paid in advance. In this instance, payment must be paid within 10 days following the assessment/survey, and the Plan will not be released until payment has been received. Upon payment, the Plan will be issued.
In accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act of 1998, we have the right to impose interest on invoices not paid within 15 days, at a daily simple interest rate of 8% per year + the Bank of England's reference rate. The late payment charge is only applicable if the fee is not paid in advance of the home assessment/survey.
While we make every effort to get your quote right, we reserve the right to adjust your property up or down a price band.
We use three tiers of pricing, small, medium and large. We categorise homes based on the number of bedrooms: 1-2 being small, 3-4 being medium and 5+ being large.
This keeps things simple, but sometimes it doesn't quite work, particularly if your home is large but has few bedrooms. We will always contact you before we make any changes to your quote.
The client may cancel this contract by alerting the Consultant's office at least 1 full bank working day prior to the home assessment/survey, i.e. if a survey is scheduled for Monday, the cancellation must be received in a timely manner by Friday. We have the right to charge £100 for cancellations within 1 working day of the date of the survey to cover Consultant time and costs.
In the event of cancellation by the Consultant, an alternative date or full refund will be offered. If cancellation occurs due to symptoms of COVID-19, a new date for the survey will be arranged.
In rare circumstances, the Consultant will not continue with the provision of the Service (and will promptly notify the client) if, upon arrival at the property site, the Consultant determines that they
possess inadequate expertise to offer the Service competently for the type of building or construction. In this circumstance, an additional Survey will be offered to the client.
The Plan is entirely for the client's use, and no responsibility is assumed for anybody else or for any other intended use other than to inform the client of the options for a property. We are not responsible for any design or installation work conducted based on the guidance provided in the Plan documents or the online dashboard.
The client should contact Furbnow Customer Service at hello@furbnow.com should they wish to make a complaint. If further escalation is required to reach a resolution, the CEO, Becky Lane, will preside over the Dispute Resolution Procedure to reach a resolution.
Furbnow is financially autonomous from suppliers and manufacturers. In general, the Plan documentation or dashboard does not feature or promote any specific brand names.
The Home Assessment & Plan Service comprises:
Home Assessment/Survey of the property (Section B);
Plan based on the Home Assessment/Survey (Section C);
The primary purpose of the Consultant in providing the Service is to provide the client with a holistic plan outlining a pathway to attaining environmental or energy efficiency improvements by enhancing the property by:
Identifying areas of the property where substantial improvements may be made to minimise energy costs and CO2 emissions through the use of energy-saving systems and equipment, such as the installation of insulation, heating, and energy-generating equipment.
Providing advice on the most recent (usually unbranded) systems and materials available on the market, as well as the provision of indicative cost of installation.
Recognising the client's priorities by the recommendation and ranking of options or alternatives that are appropriate to the client's needs to support the client in making a decision for the efficiency improvements at the property.
The Home Assessment/Survey is a comprehensive examination of the accessible portions of the Property. Access is described as being visible and easily attainable for investigation from ground and floor levels, without danger of property damage or Consultant injury.
During the Home Assessment/Survey, safety, due diligence, and the limitations of being a visitor to the property (which may be occupied) are deployed with due care and attention. Hence, no furniture, floor coverings, or other items should be expected to be moved or lifted by the Consultant. Prior to the Home Assessment/Survey, the client may offer inspection holes etc. in different areas of their home at their own risk, such as removing recessed lighting to enable view behind, cutting sections of plasterboard out of sloping ceilings or roofs, and lifting floorboards. Further, a loft or attic hatch without safe access or a ladder by the discretion of the Consultant may not be physically examined, and therefore, an assumption of the existing insulation will be made in lieu.
The building services of the property are examined (public areas outside the property are excluded in the case of apartments), and an evaluation of the in situ heating system and the efficiency of the annual electric usage are undertaken for the property.
Where required, portions of the Home Assessment/Survey are conducted on surrounding public land. Recreational amenities and outbuildings are excluded from the Home Assessment/Survey. Clients who desire an examination of several structures may contact Furbnow to discuss alternative service options for this requirement.
The following, whilst not required, should be made available on the agreed date of the survey to be most effective:
Access to loft or other roof voids (if applicable).
Access to the boiler systems and other major components of the heating system (tanks, timers, valves etc)
Access to the annual consumption or estimated consumption kWh of energy usage for the property via documentation of a recent energy bill.
The plan will provide the client with adequate information to make well-informed judgments on the future utilisation of their property, the installation of energy-efficient heating and electrical systems, and the application of insulation to minimise energy consumption and CO2 emissions, where feasible and appropriate to the Consultant's discretion. The Plan will outline and identify:
Suitable renewable technology/microgeneration as well as estimations of their potential savings and revenues.
Recommendations for the property that will save money on a variety of charges.
While there are a number of possible interventions, the Consultant will utilise their discretion and client-specific information and or priorities to assess a limited number of suitable measures for the particular scenario and context.
All examined interventions should not be seen as recommendations; in fact, certain measures may be reviewed to demonstrate that they are suboptimal or, in some cases, harmful in terms of cost or CO2 emissions.
If any major measure(s) are considered to have been excluded and are capable of being reviewed by the Consultant and our energy modelling software, they will be examined at no additional expense to the client. If the major measure in question is considered to have a significant influence on the plan, the plan will be republished and provided to the client. If the measure(s) in question are minor, they will be provided to the client over email or an alternative agreed medium.
The Plan is in a format of an online dashboard arranged in the following sequence:
The Home Assessment outputs / technical documentation are available to the client upon request.
Recommendations will be made based on the latest available quantifiable information, software, and knowledge of materials and systems.