EPCs - How to get a better grade.

Bongedone

Bongedone wrote: »

I don't take notice of fittings.

I will put a survey in today. One without the bulbs and then one with them and post back the resulting changes later.

I have just ran an assessment of a flat.

Without low energy light bulbs it scored 53
With low energy lightbulbs it scored 55

unless your home is on the cusp of a higher rating e.g E to D then it won't make much difference.

sparkey1

2 points! Whats the max possible score. Is it 100, wow thats 2% if so!

Bongedone

sparkey1 wrote: »

2 points! Whats the max possible score. Is it 100, wow thats 2% if so!

Yes. You need 92 points to get an A

It is possible to get a SAP higher than 100 but the EPC does not register it.

Bongedone

tbs624 wrote: »

Besides which, the standard light bulbs give off plenty of heat, so help to keep the heating bills down.;)
QUOTE]

Just spotted this. The EPC software does take this into account.

I had one property where the only suggestion was to add low energy lights. The estimated heating bill went up whilst the lighting cost came down. There was still a ££ saving though. Also you don't need the heat in the summer remember.

sparkey1

92 for an A. What about the other grades?

Bongedone

sparkey1 wrote: »

92 for an a. What about the other grades?

1-20 = g
21-38 = f
39-54 = e
55-68 = d
69-80 = c
81-91 =b
92+ = a

Each band very roughly reduces fuel cost by a third compared to the previous band. Obviously a 54 E property would not be 1/3 cheaper to run than a 55 D. This is just observation of a few surveys. I don't know if it was designed like that.

silvercar

Bongedone wrote: »

I have just ran an assessment of a flat.

Without low energy light bulbs it scored 53
With low energy lightbulbs it scored 55

unless your home is on the cusp of a higher rating e.g E to D then it won't make much difference.

On here a while ago, an assessor said that an (ordinary) light fitting with no light bulbs scores worse than the same light fitting with dead energy efficient light bulbs. He said that the assessors weren't required to check whether the light bulbs worked, just their type.

The thread went into a bit of a joke with people sugesting collecting dud energy efficient light bulbs and fitting them immediately prior to being assessed, then whipping them out and scurrying to the next property, to instal them there before its assessment.

Bongedone

It is true they are not tested. It will be listed on the certificate that they are installed though. If they where removed prior to the sale then the buyer may comeback on the seller as the EPC would not be accurate anymore. I am not sure what would happen in that situation.

I am sure most people would remove them if they had paid for them. Especially some of the more expensive types.

As somebody else said. They should not really take them into account full stop. The old SAP assessment does not. Anything that can be removed had to be ignored. They changed that when they brought out the EPC.

davethetaller

silvercar wrote: »

Dead energy efficient light bulbs count for more than having no light bulbs fitted. So keep old ones to put in just before an EPC!

Old ones ?!!! Thought it said on the pack that they last 12 years !

Okay,...average 12 years, before someone nitpicks. :rotfl:

silvercar

Bongedone wrote: »

It is true they are not tested. It will be listed on the certificate that they are installed though. If they where removed prior to the sale then the buyer may comeback on the seller as the EPC would not be accurate anymore. I am not sure what would happen in that situation.

I am sure most people would remove them if they had paid for them. Especially some of the more expensive types.

As somebody else said. They should not really take them into account full stop. The old SAP assessment does not. Anything that can be removed had to be ignored. They changed that when they brought out the EPC.

Doubt there is any comeback as the EPC is only designed to reflect a property status at that point in time. For a rental they are valid for 10 years, in which time a lot could change.

Comparison to a car's MOT, it shows you everything is in order but doesn't cover you if the car fails two weeks later.