Skipton BS Free EPC

badger09

Not exactly savings related, but in case anyone is interested, Skipton BS are offering a free EPC to members. 

https://www.skipton.co.uk/epc-plus

I’m sceptical about their value since they incorporate so many assumptions. However, the house we moved into 2 years ago has had several improvements since the last EPC was done in 2013, so I’ve booked one to see what, if any, impact they’ve had. 

MX5huggy

Have your paperwork for the improvements available when they carry out the survey. The assessor does have to make assumptions when evidence is not available. They don’t need evidence around your actual energy usage, the EPC uses typical usage to estimate costs. If you’ve not changed any bulbs to led or cfl lamps do that now, even if you didn’t use them they count on the EPC. 

badger09

MX5huggy said:

Have your paperwork for the improvements available when they carry out the survey. The assessor does have to make assumptions when evidence is not available. They don’t need evidence around your actual energy usage, the EPC uses typical usage to estimate costs. If you’ve not changed any bulbs to led or cfl lamps do that now, even if you didn’t use them they count on the EPC. 

Already got a list of docs to show & a list of the few remaining old style lightbulbs to change before assessor visits. 

eskbanker

badger09 said:

Skipton BS Free EPC

Perhaps it's just the way my mind works but I read that as saying that Skipton are offering an EPC that is devoid of any bovine excrement....

badger09

eskbanker said:

badger09 said:

Skipton BS Free EPC

Perhaps it's just the way my mind works but I read that as saying that Skipton are offering an EPC that is devoid of any bovine excrement....

Yup. I think it’s just the way your mind works😉

paul991

free or not a epc is only of any use if you are going to sell before the epc expires,Hopefully when the system is upgraded it will be in a way that makes it easier to improve a property in a straight forward way.Thimgs like having improvements in a strict order or  pv recommended at 2.5  kw seem wierd or to recommend  thermal solar

littlemoney

If you are thinking of selling in the next 10 years and not making any changes, I assume this is a good idea as you have to have one when selling.

It seems that most suggestions for improvements need at least 10 years before you see any savings. I had a free survey and wait to see what they suggest.

badger09

paul991 said:

free or not a epc is only of any use if you are going to sell before the epc expires,Hopefully when the system is upgraded it will be in a way that makes it easier to improve a property in a straight forward way.Thimgs like having improvements in a strict order or  pv recommended at 2.5  kw seem wierd or to recommend  thermal solar

BIB I disagree. 

We moved here in Feb 2021, EPC then was D (64) (potential C 78) expiry June 2023, so done in 2013
Previous owners increased loft insulation, replaced most of the DG windows in 2016 & we replaced the rest, together with the DG porch & front door. We also replaced the ageing boiler & use smart stat. EPC is now C (71) (potential B 83). 

No doubt the criteria have changed between the 2 assessments & we’re not thinking of selling but without more major expenditure we know we’ve done what we can. 

ScarletBea

I had one of those last week, not because I'm selling but to check if there was anything else I could do to improve the energy efficiency (I bought it almost 6 years ago). The assessor was super helpful and told me what would be realistic or not for my particular case, independently of all the things that he was going to include in the report.
I found it a really good thing!

littlemoney

I got my results, surprised to get a "D" rating, thought it would be worse.

The order of the suggested improvements mean  the rating will never change whilst I own the house. I could improve loft insulation but floor insulation is the next step but at a cost of £4-6,000 with a saving of £190 a year is totally unrealistic and even then it will still be a "D" rating.

I also find how they assess items as good, average etc between different properties as total incomprehensible. e.g. I have total cavity wall insulation but it is only rated as Average.