EPC rating

[Mottie]

In the early days you could pay about £35 for an EPC direct

I paid £65 for our EPC through My Builder. He wasn’t there long and I think it was just a job on the side for him. In fact I did notice that most of the appointments were for before 8.30 am or after 5.30 pm.

Sitting round my mums house watching a 12 year old carry out an EPC survey. I think he had to start at 7.30 as he has to be in school shortly…..

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

But it is needed to be able to rent out a house and as of 2030 if you do not have a C rating then you will not be allowed to rent out but it means nothing if you have a C now because The government are looking at further moving the goalposts so that it will mean any house that has a gas boiler will NEVER attain a C whatever else you do.

True, they do and always will serve a purpose legally but that's different to people paying much attention to them.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I paid £65 for our EPC through My Builder. He wasn’t there long and I think it was just a job on the side for him. In fact I did notice that most of the appointments were for before 8.30 am or after 5.30 pm.

If you look on the EPC Register you can find assessors close to you, avoiding the likes of Mybuilder.

 

[ericmark]

Sounds like a cowboy, hope you didn't pay for it.

With my old house, I found I had an EPC, but I had not paid anyone to do it, think it must have been an error, and he had put wrong house number on the form.

But the points being affected by type of bulb fitted is daft, just too easy to swap them. It is something we are forced to do, but the cost to up the rating is shown in an order no one any sense would follow.

It shows how many points, how much it will cost, and saving, so says I can gain 6 points Who would spend the money to put up scaffold for 2.5 kW of solar panels? I fitted 6 kW of panels and have a 5 kW inverter and 6.4 kWh of battery, as to saving, I am paying less than £200 a year for electric including standing charge. So the recommended size is a bit silly unless getting it for free.

 

[RrogerD]

Do these certificates ever inluence buying decision for anyone?

If intending to rent it out then yes, most definitely. I'd always read it thoroughly if borderline grading. Often it's just lagging the water cylinder or changing the bulbs that would be enough to tip it over into the next grade. Anything greater needed then no, not worth the cost vs return benefits.

 

[ericmark]

I looked at mine again.

Hot water	From main system, no cylinder thermostat	Poor

Well it also has an immersion heater which does have a thermostat, the central heating does heat the DHW in the winter, but can't see how a cylinder thermostat will really change amount of energy used?

Lighting	Low energy lighting in 23% of fixed outlets	Poor

Like to know what was in the other 77% as all are either CFL or LED.

An average household would need to spend £1,130 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 £163 per year if you complete the suggested steps for improving this property’s energy rating.

Well not far off with cost of oil but then the list.
Step 1: Floor insulation (solid floor) 83 years to break even. (2 points)
Step 2: Low energy lighting less than 1 year, but already done. (1 point)
Step 3: Solar water heating. 68 years to break even. (3 points)
Step 4: Solar photovoltaic panels, 2.5 kWp. 17 years to break even. (6 points)
But last two don't make any sense. If you fit solar photovoltaic panels then they can heat the water, so it would be pointless to fit both. I would need it seems 12 points to get to next band, and with the info it gives, that could not be done at a reasonable cost, so to try and get next band does seem pointless pun intended.

I have it would seem gained 10 points with LED lighting, and solar panels which also heat DHW. Electric wise, I am about net-zero, around £150 per year, which is in the main due to standing charge, so it is just the oil bill.

Under the main house is a flat, and the EPC for this says:-
Step 2: Hot water cylinder insulation. (1 point) but it does not have a hot water cylinder, it draws hot water from the house above it.
Step 4: Hot water cylinder thermostat. (1 point) but as above it does not have a hot water cylinder.
Step 5: Heating controls (room thermostat). (2 points) but it has a room thermostat, it was the house above it which had no thermostat.
Again no way would it pay to do any improvements, and can't understand why anyone would have treated the flat and main house as seprate abodes, both the oil and electric is common to both.

 

[aveatry]

Like to know what was in the other 77% as all are either CFL or LED.

Lighting	Low energy lighting in 23% of fixed outlets	Poor

Could this refer to non replaceable bulbs/ fittings that have low energy lamps and although the rest (77% ) have cfl or led you can still fit a halogen bulb so you get marked down.

 

[denso13]

Again no way would it pay to do any improvements

That's fine, just don't do them, probably no one would. It's just an information sheet.

 

[jj4091]

That's fine, just don't do them, probably no one would. It's just an information sheet.

A bit pointless then.

 

[denso13]

A bit pointless then.

Not really, some might want to carry out improvements to lower their carbon footprint/utility costs, some might not. The EPC gives you that information, but of course, you don't have to do anything in a domestic private home.