EPC rant

Arthurian

Perhaps this should go on the Praises, Vents and Warnings board. Just had the EPC assessor round, who informed me that all the halogen bulbs I recently bought which were in the low energy section of the DIY stores, with lots of energy saving marketing blurb on the packaging, are to be counted as ordinary bulbs. They are the sort which look like ordinary, old-fashioned regular light bulbs, but are halogen. He said they may be "low voltage" and therefore save me money on my electricity bill, but they aren't "low energy". It would need an electrician to explain the difference to me, he said. He didn't even look at the bulbs, just switched them on to see if they flickered or not on startup. No flicker, no energy-saving. :mad:

And because I only have thermostatic radiator valves on the upstairs radiators, so I can shut the bedroom doors and not heat up unused bedrooms, then it has to go down on the form as no TRVs present. It's either all (except for the one room which contains the thermostat) or nothing. :mad:

sooz

Most people don't care. They either like your house or don't. What colour bar it has on a chart is irrelevant.

TrickyDicky101

I agree with sooz - of all the houses we looked at I never once paid any attention to the EPC. I only looked at the EPC for the one we ended up offering on because I was deciding what bits of the house data (eg photos, floorplans) I wanted to save down to my harddrive for future use (eg if we wanted to sell again). I chose not to bother with the EPC given it would have expired by the time we come to sell. They're an utter waste of effort. Well done Labour Government for introducing them - Not.

madmish00

I had the same thing. We have a lot of spotlights and you can't get energy saving bulbs for them but I got the same as you - marketed as 30% less energy halogen bulbs

He didn't even turn them on and off when he did mine! All the other lights have normal full energy svaing bulbs but he didn't notice them either.

Complete waste of time and money for all involved. I don't think there is a single person in the world that would base their decision on the EPC.

DannyboyMidlands

EPC's have their faults but when buying I would always pay attention to what it says. If it's a choice between 2 houses with one cheap to heat and one draughty and expensive, I'll buy the one with the best EPC rating. Why not? Energy is only ever going to get more expensive. From 2013 various EU green initiatives mean that prices are going to rocket. This is entirely the reason why I wont by a cute, potentially listed cottage. In 10 years time it'll probably cost 5 grand a year to heat.

sooz

But you should be able to see the difference between a newbuild and a listed cottage without the help of a colour bar chart

TrickyDicky101

Basing any kind of certificate which is valid for 10 years at least partially on transient components installed like light-bulbs is completely ridiculous IMO.

silvercar

I have a friend with a few rental properties who keeps old/ dull/ used low energy light bulbs. Just for the purpose of putting them in the fittings for an EPC. So in they go, even if they look stupid (like the coiled ones that look like kettle elements) and hang 2 inches outside of the light fitting. Once the EPC is done he swaps them back.

Apparently a dud low energy bulb counts as low energy. An empty light fitting counts as high energy.

Go figure.

daisymay2008

sooz wrote: »

Most people don't care. They either like your house or don't. What colour bar it has on a chart is irrelevant.

agreed,

complete waste of time and money! I would never pay attention to them really, hardly not going to buy the house of my dreams because it got a low rating

Doozergirl

silvercar wrote: »

Apparently a dud low energy bulb counts as low energy. An empty light fitting counts as high energy.

Go figure.

Totally true. We hadn't quite finished a house when we ordered the EPC. The super insulating windows that far exceed building regs count for nothing at all - just a tick in the 'double glazing' box. You can have crap 30 year old aluminium leaking ones or brand new super ones; makes no difference. No points for integrated energy saving appliances, but the fact that there were no light bulbs in the pendants yet meant we were marked down 6 points for not having energy savers!

As your friend shows, you get points for something which you can simply remove but none for genuine measures that can't be removed easily. You can't even see half the stuff so you could just simply lie to the assessor about things like underfloor insulation if you knew how to describe what 'very good' looks like.

OP, I really wouldn't stress about it. The only painful part is handing over the cash.

Brallaqueen

My flat got a really crap rating on the EPC (2 bed 60's ex council flat) and as it was my first ever purchase, I was worried it would be freezing and damp infested.
In fact it is pleasantly warm three seasons out of four, and pretty cheap for bills. My lodger is a tiny-winy veggie who is always cold - even she remarks on the warmth (granted, its about only needing two tee shirts and a cardi but still)