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In the world today where energy efficiency and the environment are at the forefront of people’s mind Energy Performance certificates are becoming every increasingly more important. An EPC is an important factor of house as this will often provide you with detailed information on the house’s efficiency and how to improve it.
What is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)?
An Energy Performance Certificate, commonly referred to as an EPC, is the method used in the UK to rate how efficient your home is as well as an estimate of its carbon footprint and suggests ways in which you can increase the efficiency of your home. There is also reference to heat demand (HD), which estimates the energy needed to heat your home and based on average UK costs for gas and electricity, the cost that you man incur and what the savings could be if you improve the efficiency. It will show you how many kWh are needed to heat the property and how many kWh of energy are used to heat the hot water (hot water demand or HWD).
You may have seen the multi coloured stickers that are included on new electrical appliances, showing the energy efficiency of them. Much like those - an energy performance certificate shows the energy efficiency of your property. The rating of this will be between ‘A’ (very efficient) and ‘G’ (very inefficient). The energy efficiency rating in number form 1-99 (1 being lowest and 99 being highest).
Understand the EPC Ratings
A rated property (92-100): These properties typical tend to be new builds or properties that have been extensively renovated to optimise the efficiency in the home.
B rated property (81-91): Properties in this category tend to be well insulated properties but normally fall slightly short on the heating systems.
C rated property (69-80): These types of property will have decent insulation and efficient heating systems but there is some room for improvement. This is what you would class as an average efficient home.
D rated property (55-69): Properties rated at a D will typically have below insulation and inadequate heating systems.
E rated property (39-54): Homes with this rating will have high energy a high energy consumption and will lose a significant amount of heat meaning improvements are necessary.
F rated property (21-38): Properties in this band are likely to be older buildings with little to no insulation and very outdated forms of heating and need major renovations.
G rated property (1-20): G Rated properties are often buildings that are historical with zero insulation and very high energy consumptions. These types of building will often need extensive level of upgrades to make improvements.
Why are EPC’s Important?
Energy Efficiency Awareness and Understanding
Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) play a large role in raising the public’s awareness of energy efficiency and understand of how your house will perform form energy efficiency point of view. EPC’s provide a clear picture of the buildings energy performance enabling the public to see what changes can be made to the property to make it more efficient.
Do you Need an EPC to Sell Your Home?
In short, the answer is yes, having an EPC is a legal requirement in the UK to be able to sell your property and will also make the buyer aware of any shortcomings in the property’s efficiency.
Do you Need an EPC to Rent out a Property?
As of April 1st 2020 it is illegal to ren out a property in the UK if the property is rated below an E (39-54). The UK government proposed to change this in 2025 by making the minimum rating a property can be for rental is a C (69-80). This has been pushed back to 2028 so many landlords in the UK are looking for a solution to improve their current housing stock.
Environmental Impacts of EPC’s
The Energy Performance Certificate of buildings plays a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions across the UK. EPC’s help the public understand what improvements can be done to a property to help reduce the properties carbon footprint.
Financial Benefit to an EPC
The often-overlooked fact about EPC’s is that they can help you save money as the EPC will show you what improvement you can make to your home to make it more efficient, the more efficient your property is the less energy it will consume per year. Not only that but having a valid EPC can help you apply for funding to upgrade aspects of the property.
How is an EPC Calculated?
Wall Fabric – The assessor will examine what the walls of the building are made from a how they are insulated, this will give them the thermal properties of the wall.
Roof Insulation – The assessor will examine what the roof and ceilings of the building to see how well they are insulated.
Floor Insulation – The assessor will examine if there is any floor insulation in the property while also assessing the floors potential heat loss.
Windows – The assessor will address the quality of the windows
Main Heating – The assessor will assess what type of heating system you have and how efficient it is
Main Heating Controls – The assessor will check what type of heating controls are in the property for the operation of the heating system.
Water Heating – The assessor will also check what system is used for how water and how efficient the system is.
Renewable Energy – a check for renewable energy products will also be carried as these can make a big difference to your EPC rating.
Draught Proofing – The assessor will also check what type of draught proofing you have in the property.
Lighting – The property will be checked for energy efficient lighting
How Long is an EPC Valid For?
An EPC is valid for 10 years from date of issue. You can use your certificate to apply for government funding, to sell your home, or if you are a landlord rent your property to a tenant.
How Long Does an EPC Take?
A domestic energy assessor can provide you with an EPC on your property, which should take less than an hour from start to finish, depending on the property.
What Else is Involved During The EPC?
A domestic energy assessor will draw a floor plan to check the volume of the property and mark out which wall is a party wall (attached to another property) and which is a heat loss partition (not connected to any other building. Depending on the property type, each property can have a mixture of heat loss partitions and party walls. Once they have done that, they will check the structure of the ground floor by tapping their foot to see whether it’s solid or timber. And if it is solid they will investigate whether it is solid concrete or block and beam. They will then measure the ceiling height.
Once that has been established, they will measure the thickness of the external walls and take a picture of evidence. This can usually indicate the fabric of the property if there is any render which obstructs the brickwork. If there isn’t the domestic energy assessor will look at the brick patterns to determine whether it is solid or cavity if they are normal bricks and if not, the brickwork will identify whether it’s solid stone/granite etc.
They will also look at the windows and determine whether they are pre or post-2002 (usually from the Fensa certificate or dates in Windows). This will identify whether they have a coating to deflect heat into the room. If they are PVC the assessor will measure the gap between the glazing.
Another thing the assessor will do is look at the current heating system(s) and record all information on that, such as boiler brand, boiler type, boiler fuel and any paperwork associated will be photographed for evidence. They will need photographic evidence for every conclusion they come to, so any type of insulation that is hidden or unable to be measured, won’t be recorded without documentation to show it has been installed.
Once the domestic energy assessor has all the information needed, they will input the data into the software they use. This should take less than an hour once all information is recorded and the EPC will be available online from the governments register and you will be able to compare your results with any other properties on there.
How to Improve Your EPC Rating
You can increase the efficiency of your home by increasing the heat retention in the walls, such as internal or external insulation or cavity wall insulation. The same is true for the loft, with increased insulation in the joists or rafters. Other things include new windows, a boiler upgrade scheme to the use of an energy efficient air source heat pump (ASHP), installing solar panels or even using energy efficient light bulbs.
List of Improvements to Make to Increase Your Energy Performance Rating
Upgrade Insulation
One of the most effective ways of improving your EPC rating is by insulating your property there a few different approaches to insulation.
Cavity Wall Filling – This is filling the gap in the wall cavity with certain types of insulation to make the wall more insulated.
External Wall Insulation – This is often installed on the outside of your property and come with the added benefit of making the house look brand new again.
Internal Wall insulation – This is where the external walls of the property are insulated but, on the inside, this can often make the room slightly smaller.
Loft Insulation – Loft insulation can be installed in in the loft to help trap the heat in your home.
Floor Insulation – You can insulate your floor to stop the heat from escaping through the ground.
Installing more Efficient Windows
Installing more modern double or triple glazing window can greatly reduce the heat loss of your property and make it more efficient.
Upgrade your Heating System
Upgrading you heating system can have a massive impact on your properties EPC there are different types of heating systems that you can upgrade to.
Modern Boiler – upgrading to a modern boiler can increase your efficiency
Air Source Heat Pump – upgrading to an ASHP will increase your EPC rating and if you have a valid EPC currently you can receive £7500 towards the cost of this under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Ground Source Heat Pump – upgrading to a ground source heat pump will increase your efficiency but this often requires quite a bit of land to install the ground loops so is only suitable for larger size properties.
Upgrade your Lighting
Upgrading the light bulbs in your property to energy savings ones will also have an impact on the rating of your EPC. Upgrading your lighting is also the cheapest way of increase your EPC rating.
Installing Solar Panels
Installing solar panels on your property will not only save you money every year by allowing to produce your own electricity but they will also greatly increase your EPC rating. Solar panels also come with SEG payments allowing the property to be paid for any excess energy sent back to the national grid and can also increase the value of the property itself.
Improve Draught Proofing
Improving the draught proofing on a property can lower the amount of heat escaping the property making the property more efficient, draught proofing is one of the cheapest methods of improvement you can have installed on your property.
What Properties are Exempt from Needing an EPC?
Places of Worship – Like a church or places that perform religious activities
Temporary Building – buildings that are built as a temporary structure and will not be in place for over 2 years
Standalone Buildings – small outbuildings and garages that are under 50 square meters.
Building Due for Demolition – if a building is due for demolition, then no EPC will be required
Holiday Accommodation – Holiday accommodation that is rented out for less than 4 months per year are except from EPC’s
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