How to read your EPC report and what it really means..

 

To find your properties current EPC rating go to the government website here

 

Energy performance certificates (EPCs) tell you how energy efficient a building is. They are different from energy ratings, which are the multi-coloured labels you find on new home appliances.

EPCs rate a home from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient). They’ll tell you how costly it will be to heat and light your property, and what its CO2 emissions are likely to be.

An EPC includes:

  • cost effective ways to improve your EPC rating
  • information on what the energy efficiency rating could be if you made the recommended improvements
  • Even if you rent your home, you could still implement some improvements noted on the EPC, such as switching to more energy efficient light bulbs.
  • EPCs are valid for 10 years from the date of issue.

 

 

This first table you will see on page one is a quick visual comparison of property performance similar to the energy labels you get on home appliances.

Your property has a current energy efficiency rating. These range from A-G, with A being the best. Some EPCs also have a similar chart for a property’s environmental performance.

It also shows the potential rating if you carry out all the suggested improvements. In this example, you can see that the home could jump from band C to B with the recommended energy efficiency upgrades.

 

 

 

 

The next page gives you a detailed breakdown of each element of your property.  This example is from scotland so it looks slightly different from an England version, but the concept is the same.

Each element includes a description and an energy rating from one to five stars (with five being the best). This is to help you understand the effectiveness of:

 

  • your home’s construction
  • your current heating and hot water system
  • your lighting
  • This can be especially useful for comparing with other properties when you’re looking to buy or rent.

 

 

It will then give a recommended improvement for that property, for example -

 

Additional information about this property:

Cavity fill is recommended

 

It will then tell you in its current state how much this property will cost on its energy bills. Example -

 

How this affects your energy bills

 

An average household would need to spend £1,167 per year on heating, hot water and lighting in this property. These costs usually make up the majority of your energy bills.

You could save £650 per year if you complete the suggested steps for improving this property’s energy rating.

 

It will then show you your carbon footprint for your property. If you improve your EPC rating and take energy saving action this will lessen your Carbon dioxide output

 

EPC improvement recommendations

 

Now we arrive at perhaps the most important section of the EPC: the recommendations.

Here you get a detailed breakdown of the recommended measures including:

  • an idea of how much it would cost to install
  • how much you could save on your energy bills
  • how much it could improve the property’s energy efficiency rating

The recommended measures are shown in order of importance. The energy efficiency improvements figures are based on making the improvements in that order. Of course, you might not be able to complete them all, or in the order listed, but it’s a good guide.

The number of recommended measures will vary, depending on which ones are applicable to your property. In this example, the main priority is wall insulation. 

The table shows the updated performance ratings after improvements are made. However they only assume the improvements have been installed in the order they appear in the table.

 

It will then suggest further places to go for advice and help

 

Get detailed recommendations and cost estimates

 

Help paying for energy saving improvements

You may be eligible for help with the cost of improvements:

 

Free energy saving improvements: Warm Homes Local Grant (WHLG)

Heat pumps and biomass boilers: Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Help from your energy supplier: Energy Company Obligation