Why are EPCs required?

Homes in the UK currently account for 27 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions, contributing to global climate change. The requirement of EPCs forms part of a programme of work that will make a difference to the 50 per cent carbon emissions from buildings in the UK.

The way in which we light, heat and use our homes all contribute to this. Even small improvements to the energy performance of our homes and the way we use our homes could have a significant effect on our fuel bills and carbon emissions.

Energy Performance Certificates have been introduced to help improve the energy efficiency of all buildings – including domestic homes. If you are buying, selling, renting or letting a home it is now law to have an Energy Performance Certificate. They are also required on construction of new homes that were built after 6th April 2008.

What is an EPC?

The purpose of an EPC is to give an indication of how energy efficient a property is as a building. In order to generate the EPC it is required that only a fully qualified Domestic Energy Assessor can carry out the report. While at the property the Domestic Energy Assessor will collect some key data that will contribute to the energy efficiency of the property. They will look at for example, the age, type and size of the property, the depth of the loft insulation, the efficiency of the boiler to name but a few. This information is then entered into the government computer software that calculates the energy efficiency report.

The Graphs

On Page 1 of the EPC there are two graphs. The two main ratings are shown as part of the overall A-G graphs, the first showing the Energy Efficiency rating and the second showing the Environmental Impact or CO2 rating, both giving a reading between 1 and 100. The higher the number, the lower your energy bills are likely to be and less impact the property will have on the environment. The graphs also show the potential rating the building could achieve if the recommendations on Page 4 of the EPC report were put in place. The current average rating achieved by properties in England and Wales is an E.

Estimated Energy Use, CO2 emissions and fuel costs of this home.

The report generates current and potential figures for the use of energy, cost of lighting, heating, hot water and the carbon dioxide emissions of the property which can be viewed on Page 1 of the EPC. These figures are worked out based on standard assumptions built into the government software regarding heating patterns, location and assumed occupancy (i.e. it will be assumed that there are more than 2 people living in a 4 bedroom house and adjust the cost of heating that property accordingly). These assumptions are introduced so that we can get an average assessment of the property itself, rather than how you, the individual use the property. This is so that we can begin to draw comparisons between homes.

Summary of the home’s energy performance related figures.

This section on Page 3 of the EPC gives a breakdown of each element of the property that can have an effect on the energy performance rating: Walls, roof, floor, windows, main heating, main heating controls, secondary heating (e.g. fire places, portable heaters etc), hot water, lighting. Each element is rated either ‘Very Poor’, ‘Poor’, ‘Average’, ‘Good’ and ‘Very Good’, with ‘very good’ relating to the most efficient options available on the market today and ‘very poor’ being the least energy efficient options available. The rating/wording is generated by the government software based on the information taken down by the Domestic Energy Assessor. A very reliable 10 year old boiler may not get a top rating because if it were replaced with a new Band A Condensing boiler, you would certainly save money on your bills.

Recommendations

This final section on Page 4/5 of the report gives a list of recommendations that could be implemented in order to improve the efficiency of the property. These are tailor made to suit the style and type of the property being assessed and are split between lower cost (under £500 to install) and higher cost (over £500) measures. You will be given an indication on Page 4 of how much each measure could save you in one year and what difference each will make to the EPC rating. The ‘Potential’ rating shown on the two graphs on Page 1 of the report is the rating the property could achieve should the Lower Cost Measures be implemented, not the Higher Cost Measures.

In order to achieve even higher standards the report may also indicate further measures that you could put in place that go beyond those high/low cost options. Internal or external wall insulation; solar water heating and photovoltaic panels are some of the options that may be considered. Although generally more expensive to install, the savings can also be considerably higher. These options are not taken into account when calculating the ‘potential’ ratings that you see on the initial Graph, so an ‘Enhanced Energy Rating’ is generated to give you an indication of how much the rating would improve if all of the listed recommendations from the report were implemented this is found on Page 4 of the EPC.