Estimated energy cost on EPC on rental property seems unachievable

TGP99

Ive just moved into a flat where the estimated energy cost is £500 a year based on a C rating on the EPC but the daily costs are exceeding £7/day at times.

I appreciate more energy will be used in the winter months but the estimate seems way off.

Was I being naive to expect to pay something like this estimate?

hazyjo

What sort of heating does it have?

What sort of property? Modern flat, Victorian conversion, etc?

PS  also, is it on an economy 7 type system? (Not sure if that's still what's used, but you know what I mean.)

princeofpounds

£500 a day would be remarkably low. I wouldn't have thought it was realistic. Can't account for why it's that way however, EPCs are often not worth the paper they are written on; they involve so many assumptions and the assessors are sometimes incompetent in my experience.

£7 a day in winter is relatively high however, I think. I am paying about 9 a day at the moment but that's in a big house.

davidmcn

Probably, yes. It's only ever going to be an average, which will vary a lot depending on how many hours it's occupied, what temperature you like to have it up to, how much hot water you use, whether you ever open the windows, increases to prices of fuel, etc. Are any of the assumptions in the EPC actually wrong?

Bluebell1000

We have a 3 bed house and pay just under £600 a year but we have solar panels and a new boiler.... I guess £500 is potentially possible in a flat but there are so many variables. especially now if you are having heating on more with working from home. Also if the EPC is older then they'll be working to older energy costs.  

Thrugelmir

What's consuming the energy?  Was the flat empty for a while before you moved in? 

MaryNB

Whether it's duel fuel or electricity is going to be a big factor. What temperature do you find comfortable? Are you at home all day?

I used to live in a 2 bed E-rated flat in a recently converted 1920s building with electric heaters and an immersion heater for water. There were flats either side and above and below. Based on our annual usage then and today's electricity cost we would be paying about £800 a year. I had a look at a month when I remember heavy snow (office was shut, we had to work from home for a week) and it was still only about £3 a day. Other than that week nobody was at home during the day on weekdays. Also, I was stingy with the heating and my housemate was never cold. However, she didn't know how to set the immersion heater properly so for the first few months it was on like 9 hours a day. Lots of factors to consider. 

ProDave

The energy estimate on an EPC is ONLY the energy needed to heat the property.

I find I use twice as much powering "stuff" like washing machine, dishwasher, tumble dryer, Fridge, tv's etc etc,  as I do heating the house.

TBagpuss

The EPC only relates to estimated heating costs. 
Also, those costs can vary hugely depending on your personal usage, what temp. you set your thermostat at etc. 
I live in a 3 bedroomed house and my total energy bills are under £700 a year, so I wouldn't have thought £500 was necessarily unrealistic for a flat (depending on size and type) BUT it depends hugely on your personal usage. I would also think that in the current circumstances the estimates may be off - for example if you are currently furloughed or working from home, you may use more heat than if you were out at work all day  - I know when I was working from home last March I turned the heating on for an hour or so around lunch time, while normally it would be off during the day as I'm out at work.
£7 a day sounds quite a lot - do you know how that's being built up? And if you are on a pre-pay meter have you checked to make sure that you aren't paying off someone else's arrers?  

trex227

As MaryNB says, it could be the immersion heater. I lived in a flat a while back and when we first moved in loads of electricity was being used. We eventually worked out the immersion heater was on pretty much all the time. We adjusted it so it came on in the morning so hot water was ready for our showers then for shorter amounts of time throughout the day to keep the heat topped up for other use.

greatcrested

princeofpounds said:

£500 a day would be remarkably low. I wouldn't have thought it was realistic.

Blimey prince how much do you pay a year where you are....?

OP - EPCs ar such a waste of paper that they should not even be looked at, let alone relied upon.

Just look into what the current heating/water systems are and improve them, switch providers, insulate, and do what can be done to reduce bills.