Does anyone EVER look at EPCs..?

[Deleted User]

I did look at EPCs and took them as read, thought they were valid information about a property.., until I moved into this rental. It said the property had insulation in the roof.., only a small portion of it was insulated (there was more rubble than insulation in the roof space from chimney removals).., there was an uninsulated extension, part of the roof you couldn't even get to with a big uncapped chimney hole that caused the third bedroom to be too cold to use in winter even after I sorted the other two bedroom roof spaces that we could easily get to.

But the EPC said the house had quite a good energy rating lol. We couldn't sleep upstairs til I sorted the insulation when winter hit (and I live in Kent, one of the warmest areas of the country).

So another time, if buying or renting a property I'd rather believe the evidence of my eyes rather than an EPC report.

EPC's tend to recommend cavity insulation as well, which can be a cause of dampness if there is any connection between the inside and outside wall. So I now take them with a pinch of salt.

bmunky7

I think they can be useful but don't seem to be especially relevant to buying or selling a house - ie a poor EPC rating would never put me off a house I really liked.

kitty_kins

We looked when renting - what's the point in spending all your money on rent if you can't then afford the bills? We were only given an estimate of the house we've just bought (new build) but we were pleased that it was a high B rating.

dimbo61

I bought a 1930,s semi with wooden single glazed Windows, electric night storage heaters and about 50mm of loft insulation.
Within three months of buying we had replaced all the Windows with A rated double glazing, ( Improved insulation, security, fire safety, noise reduction), New gas central heating with A rated combination boiler + new radiators with thermostats. All new energy saving bulbs ( Now want LED )
Local council Manchester were at the time offering Cavity wall insulation and loft insulation for £50 each. ;-)
Team installed the loft and cavity insulation in one day.
House was an F rated and is now a C rated on EPC register.
Need Solar Panels to get B rated
All this work cost us thousands of pounds but means smaller bills and cosy house with better security and fire safety as Windows now big enough to escape through.

pinkteapot

The only thing I read on them is the size (square meters) of the house. That's quite interesting.

The estimated utility costs for the house we've bought are miles off - we're spending far less than they suggested. We're two people in a five-bed house so I assume the EPC person based the figures on more people living in it.

DRP

It's a box-ticking exercise for a house that isn't newish. I think an educated guess is more informative for old houses tbh.

(I don't think the surveyor really does anything more than take a generalised guess at it either).

pinkteapot

DRP wrote: »

(I don't think the surveyor really does anything more than take a generalised guess at it either).

Our surveyor was wonderfully thorough. His report said that one of the shower heads needed descaling.

needabed

Everyone looks at them... whether they understand is another matter, most probably look to check it's at least a C or has potential for increase.

I also looked at my neighbours houses via this site:

https://www.epcregister.com/reportSearchAddressTerms.html

I found my terrace house has a better rating than my neighbours terraced houses even though they are the same...

AdrianC

oystercatcher wrote: »

Definitely look at them, approaching retirement we want somewhere energy efficient, warm and cheap to run.

...and you think they'll tell you that?

This house, the place we sold, and the place we rented for a few months all had exactly the same score.

* This house is incredibly well insulated and cosy.
* Our old place wasn't bad, but had a few draughts, and we'd deliberately gone back to single glazing on several main windows, for cosmetic reasons.
* The place we rented was a fridge. The wind blew through it. The boiler worked flat out, and the minute the heating clicked off, you could watch the thermostat drop. We got through £250 of mains gas in one month.

...yet they all had the exact same score.

The theory is sound, the execution sucks.

mgarl10024

I was surprised by a lot of the figures for savings that could be made - i.e. I thought they were very low. (Originally quoted from my post here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4752204)

I've a 3 bed, 1950's, mid terraced property which is about to be let out. As a result, I've had to get an EPC done, and I found some of the "typical savings a year" quite surprising (too low IMO).

So, for example, the loft insulation is about 100mm.
"Increase loft insulation to 270mm"
"Indicative cost: £100-£350." Sounds fair - grants available etc.
"Typical savings per year: £24". Really? That's all? At the £350 price, that's 14.5 years before a return is seen.

"Replace boiler with new condensing boiler" - the property has a Baxi back boiler.
"Indicative cost: £2,200 - £3,000" - a little on the cheap side, given the pipe re-routing. Depending on boiler etc. should be nearer £4,000 IMO.
"Typical savings per year: £75". Again, really? Let's assume the Baxi is 60% efficient and a new boiler is 90% efficient. On an assumed £800/yr heating bill, a 30% saving (ok, the maths is rough here) should be around (800*30%) £250/yr, not £75?

My favourite:
"Solar water heating"
"Indicative cost: £4,000-£6,000" - Really? It's vacuum tubes and a pump. Maybe that is the market rate - I don't know.
"Typical savings per year: £37". The back of the house is South Facing - absolutely ideal, and throughout the whole year, including the Summer, you're only going to see a saving of £37? Taking the £6000 price, £37/yr means you'll see a return in 162 years!

As someone who likes to think they are pretty up on energy saving measures, these figures just seem too low.

It makes no difference to the letting - the tenants are very happy - it is just more out of interest.

Has anyone else got an EPC done, and what did you think of your figures?