Solar PV installation to be removed from EPC calculation

zeupater

MFW_ASAP wrote: »

... Hopefully those who are considering PV post-Jan 8th will at least have read my original post and be aware that they should get their house upto an EPC D rating before they install solar ...

As has been the case since the EPC band 'D' requirement became part of the FiT application process years ago ... that of course would exclude situations where the following logic gate applies ...

EPC<"D" .AND. EPC+PV>="D" .AND. LoopholeKnown .AND. OwnerUnscrupulous .AND. AssessorUnscrupulous .AND. InstallerUnscrupulous .AND. FiTPartnerNoCheck .AND. MCSNoCheck .AND. NoAudit

... probably more of a theoretical exercise than a great issue then. I suppose that there's always the possibility that MCS will retrospectively audit the installed database for marginal EPC compliance anyway and strip the FiT access where necessary now that the issue has been highlighted through the consultation.

Z

zeupater

Martyn1981 wrote: »

In my opinion, the EPC element makes no sense.

Whilst I would like everyone to try to improve (as far as is possible) the efficiency of their households, this doesn't actually have anything to do with clean energy generation.

Who cares if a PV system is mounted on an efficient house, an inefficient house, or in a field, when it's goal is to generate clean energy. The two issues are unrelated.

That said, I kind of liked the idea of forcing folk to improve their EPC rating, though linking it to generation is technically irrelevant.

My house is now A rated (if like you I include the underfloor insulation I added, but couldn't be confirmed), which I think is daft, since there is no way my 1930's property can be up to Passivhaus standard. So the PV throws out the rating, though I was once told that the EPC not only reflects energy consumption but also CO2 impact, so perhaps it's not quite as daft as I think.

Mart.

Hi

Looking at micro-generation in isolation it's a pretty valid point, but taking a view from DECC's position it provides an incentive to look at efficiency improvements prior to accessing the FiT scheme.

There was always the opportunity to link the FiT to the EPC score, which would provide an ongoing incentive, but I doubt that DECC has anyone who'd be bright-enough to think it through, let alone administer the added complexity ...

HTH
Z

SavingFish

Regarding the EPC requirement, I can see both sides of the argument.

If PV is going to help us progress towards being a carbon neutral society then, from a technical standpoint, it doesn't matter what type of building it's on (or even if it's in a field).

On the other hand, if domestic installers have the finances to buy a PV system, it doesn't sound like a bad idea to use FITs as a carrot to make them improve their energy efficiency elsewhere. (Shame the Green Deal was clobbered.)

Placing the requirement at the low level of D with panels INCLUDED meant the requirement was kind of meaningless though. Slightly tightening up the rules around this doesn't seem unreasonable.

One question though...
Some properties may simply not be able to reach band D. Previously, if this was the case, you could obtain an exemption, but this was a grey area and applied on a case by case basis. Will this still be the possible?

(For myself, the house was fitted with the usual improvements years before PV was added. New boiler (with larger radiators, TRVs and weather compensator), LEDs, double glazing, upgraded insulation etc.)