Epc rating

User4search

How is ot calculated?  Is low epc rated house use more energy to run appliances and cost more? How to improve from f to c or does it matter? 

MovingForwards

1. A quick search:
http://energicert.net/see-how-a-survey-is-conducted/

2. In theory more gas / electric is used, depends on the individual user. 

3. See 1 above and make changes, if it's viable.

I'm with the expensive Big6 supplier in an old Scottish flat, my gas and electric cost just over £515 over the last 12 months, would have been less but my OH had been shredding a load of garden waste the last few months. The EPC suggested things like filling (injecting) the building structure (never in a million years), fitting the air source heating and other things which would are not compatible with the fabric of the building or would cost too much for such a tiny benefit over many years and I would probably be dead before breaking even.

Edit to add - it's D69, if I make changes it would be C77. Estimated running costs for 3 years is £1776. 

I didn't even pay attention to the EPC when buying as it wouldn't have influenced my decision.

matelodave

IMO an EPC isn't really worth the paper that it gets printed on. Over the years I've had five done (but only because I needed to have them) and in my experience they are done by someone who doesn't really know what they are doing.

They fill in a tick box form on a computer which then spews out a rough guess at how much energy the place might need, together with a list of unrealistic and costly ideas to bolster the energy saving industry.

[Deleted User]

matelodave said:

IMO an EPC isn't really worth the paper that it gets printed on. Over the years I've had five done (but only because I needed to have them) and in my experience they are done by someone who doesn't really know what they are doing.

They fill in a tick box form on a computer which then spews out a rough guess at how much energy the place might need, together with a list of unrealistic and costly ideas to bolster the energy saving industry.

The EPC database that all ‘surveyors’ use is managed by the Buildings Research Establishment. As you say, it is just a box ticking exercise. That said, you might have paid £00s for the latest energy saving device (eg; smart heating controls) only to find that they are ignored as far as the EPC is concerned. Why: simply because the BRE insists that anything from boilers through to thermostats has to be BRE tested before it is included in the database. I know this as I found out the hard way when an Evohome control system was deemed to be no more energy saving than a home with two standard thermostats and standard TRVs. ErP claims are based on nothing more than manufacturer self testing.

maisie_cat

Dolor is spot on, we moved from a 1930s brick detached to an 1900 stone cottage. The old house was a B because we did all the things that the EPC counts.
The current house is a F because it has no wall insulation and no central heating. However, the walls are 2 foot thick and south facing with a conservatory so it behaves a bit like an earth ship. 
The current house is warmer in my opinion and stays at a year round consistent temperature of 15 degrees despite no central heating.

Reed_Richards

matelodave said:

IMO an EPC isn't really worth the paper that it gets printed on. Over the years I've had five done (but only because I needed to have them) and in my experience they are done by someone who doesn't really know what they are doing.

They fill in a tick box form on a computer which then spews out a rough guess at how much energy the place might need, together with a list of unrealistic and costly ideas to bolster the energy saving industry.

I couldn't agree more except that my EPCs achieved a much more accurate estimate of my actual energy usage than a hugely thorough MCS evaluation which determined I would use much more energy (for heating and hot water) than has been the case for the two years I have lived here.