Thermal Wallpaper and EPC

yksi

Hi all, I have my eye on a tiny studio flat which is part of an old, cold building in the south west of England. The EPC is an eye-watering 4 (G). It suggests expensive and/or impractical interventions like outside insulation/stud wall internal insulation or floor insulation.

I'm trying to learn about thermal wallpaper. I do understand it's not terribly effective in terms of energy efficiency, but my main goal here is just to get a flat up into the E bracket. The scoring system doesn't really indicate whether it's linear and whether I would score 22 points for the jacket and 11 points for the storage heaters, which would bring me to 37. I would presume I can then make it over 39 and into the E bracket by way of thermal wallpaper, can anyone make an educated guess or clue me in if the points system works some different way? Thanks all.

FinallyStoppedLurking

What's your reason for trying to increase it?

ProDave

If you are thinking of this for rental, walk away and find a better flat.

In fact I would walk away, the building must be rubbish to get such a low score so look for something better.  Unless it is VERY cheap to cover the cost of properly upgrading it.

[Deleted User]

I have used thermal wallpaper in a room with cold external walls.  It was a very effective remedy, stopped the heat escaping and the mould problem.  But I wouldn't expect an EPC to recognise its existence.

moneysavinghero

EPC's are useless. Does it even cost £606 a year to heat a tiny studio flat, let alone be able to save that amount.

yksi

Thanks all. In answer to the questions yes the flat is dirt cheap. I'm not looking to let it out, it will be for me to live in, I'm just thinking in terms of resale down the line. I did actually walk away at first - until the price went down to a number I think is worthwhile

Other flats in the building have E and F ratings, so I suspect that the person who did this rating was also having a cranky day!

NinjaTune

I don't think I've ever seen an EPC rating as low as 4  for it to be that bad I'd expect the roof to be missing.

dimbo61

The EPC rating for a property is only going to get more important every year.
The requirements for renting are now E and better and they are talking about C and better by 2025.
So as others have said Walk away even if you think you would be happy living there yourself.

FreeBear

Insulating the walls internally is certainly doable, and if done right (paying proper attention to the detailing) can make a huge difference to heating bills. Gut it is very dirty work, you'll lose a minimum 100mm of floor space along each external wall, and you'd probably need the freeholder's permission. If the walls are solid brick/stone/concrete, that will cause a few additional problems such as trapping damp in the walls.

Thermal wallpapers are only a short term solution and will not save much on heating costs.

And yes, EPCs really are a waste of time - A virtually identical property to mine has a claim of £200 over three years for lighting if LED lights are fitted throughout. I have LED lamps in all fittings, and I'm unlikely to spend more than £10 per year - Have an energy monitor on the lighting circuit to record usage.

[Deleted User]

I have to disagree with the above, I don't know on what research it is based.  The bedroom I used thermal wallpaper on went from very very cold compared to the rest of the property to the same as the rest of the property.  Even a qualified inspector noticed the temp. drop in that room, it wasn't my imagination. I have heard this scepticism before.., I did use the proper glue and a good thermal wallpaper and it definitely insulated the walls (they went from feeling cold to not feeling cold to the touch as well).  I am quite analytical, had never used it before, no idea if it would work so I did check. As I couldn't do external insulation, this was a the only option.

I actually intend to use it on some external facing walls in this property as well next year.

Doozergirl

I'm sure the paper does something like when you put carpet onto a stone floor, it won't be cold to the touch anymore.  It will help with mould because the temperature of it will be above that of the wall itself so it won't hit dew point on the room side.  It's probably still forming on between the wall and the paper though because there's no still no protection from the cold outside and the wall hasn't changed temperature and it isn't reserving heat.    

It won't change an EPC and it won't make a marked effect on heating bills across a
whole property.