Why do people do this?

FreeBear

Krakkkers said:

Any idea what installing 4kwp of solar panels does to an EPC? My 4 bed house was 65D before solar panels.

Based on an EPC recommendation I'm currently looking at, about 10-12 points.

Netexporter

Also better than the wind turbines that EPCs are apt to cite as viable solution, despite them being entirely unsuitable in about 99% of cases.

Gerry1

RHemmings said:

ArbitraryRandom said:

Scot_39 said:

For those rubbishing importance of lighting in old EPCs.

Is anyone actually doing that? 

Though I would suggest that even then the cost of a bulb at £5 vs the amount of electricity that £5 would buy you would not be insignificant if one were on low income and if one were doing it solely for the certificate (as implied by the OP), given the tiny difference it makes to the final score, then it's easy to see why the existing bulbs might be retained. 

£5? I bought some of these when they were similarly marked down in store. 
https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-bayonet-cap-b22-7-2w-806lm-a60-warm-white-led-light-bulb-pack-of-10/5059340455556_BQ.prd
That's £7 for 10, or 70p each. They seem to be working fine in places where I just need a regular bulb. Not a super-powerful one. I'm sure that compared to not-low energy lighting that 70p will be paid off quite quickly. 

They're being remaindered cheaply for a reason; they're old technology, using 20% more electricity than modern 6W 806lm filamentary lamps.  The narrow beam angle may not look good when suspended from a ceiling rose.

ArbitraryRandom

RHemmings said:

ArbitraryRandom said:

Scot_39 said:

For those rubbishing importance of lighting in old EPCs.

Is anyone actually doing that? 

Though I would suggest that even then the cost of a bulb at £5 vs the amount of electricity that £5 would buy you would not be insignificant if one were on low income and if one were doing it solely for the certificate (as implied by the OP), given the tiny difference it makes to the final score, then it's easy to see why the existing bulbs might be retained. 

£5? I bought some of these when they were similarly marked down in store. 

https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-bayonet-cap-b22-7-2w-806lm-a60-warm-white-led-light-bulb-pack-of-10/5059340455556_BQ.prd

That's £7 for 10, or 70p each. They seem to be working fine in places where I just need a regular bulb. Not a super-powerful one. I'm sure that compared to not-low energy lighting that 70p will be paid off quite quickly. 

Yes... you can get cheap ones now (of varying quality) but the certificate you're criticising is from 2014 - the price has come down quite a lot since then. You can't (fairly) use today's prices to judge the choices of people 10 years ago. 

When LEDs first hit the market in the UK, consumers could be expected to pay as much as £9 per bulb – something that is quite unimaginable now with the advent of £1 LED light bulbs. The price drop was so fast that consumers could expect a bulb to be as much as £1 cheaper in the space of just a year... the price of an LED light bulb has dropped from around £4.50 in 2014 to £0.78 in 2019, just five years later. 

https://rapidtransition.org/stories/the-lightbulb-moment-the-rapid-shift-to-leds-and-ultra-efficient-lighting/

Spoonie_Turtle

Perhaps more meaningful would be rating whether the existing light fittings are suitable for LEDs to simply be put in as a straight swap if not already containing low energy bulbs, or if they're not suitable and would have to be changed to make that possible.

But that would take an actual close inspection by people with good knowledge … not something EPC assessments are known for.

markin

FreeBear said:

Netexporter said: There are still a few small filaments in ovens and other kitchen appliances. I wonder if they'll ever be supplanted by LEDs?

I have replaced the bulbs in my fridge and freezer after the old ones blew. The oven light requires a bulb rated for high temperature - I don't think there are any LED bulbs available.

RHemmings said:

Just as a minor comment, while there may be lights that are used occasionally such as the loft lighting mentioned above, I feel less annoyed when I wake up and find that my family has left every single light in the house switched on again, than I would be if they were 60/100W incandescent bulbs. 

A case for smart light switches and a bit of home automation that turns the lights off after a set time. Have a light in the utility room that often got left on. It now turns off in conjunction with the kitchen light (but not on). Same for the hallway light, that will turn off automatically at 2AM.

Motion detection bulbs are cheap and easy.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elrigs-Beweugungs-Detector-Adjustable-Threshold/dp/B07F2CR4ZV/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brisplen-Multi-Mode-Adjustable-Waterproof-Warehouse/dp/B09JFS1KF7/

markin

A D66 to C76 is good jump for just fitting LEDS, The same points as spending £4-6K on solar hot water, Its a very easy way to boost the score, And better saving per year than spending £1K on floor insulation. Numbers from a 2014 cert, and energy costs.

They updated the method used last year, so everything could be scored differently now. 

ArbitraryRandom

markin said:

A D66 to C76 is good jump for just fitting LEDS, The same points as spending £4-6K on solar hot water, Its a very easy way to boost the score, And better saving per year than spending £1K on floor insulation. Numbers from a 2014 cert, and energy costs.

They updated the method used last year, so everything could be scored differently now. 

Where are you getting panels installed for £4-6k? 

I had a quote a couple of months ago for one of my properties and a 'basic' system (mostly with cheap Chinese parts from what I could tell) was closer to £12k.

Any recommendations for an installer in the NW (manweb area) appreciated. 

Netexporter

Where are you getting panels installed for £4-6k? 

The quote is for solar thermal, not solar PV.

markin

ArbitraryRandom said:

markin said:

A D66 to C76 is good jump for just fitting LEDS, The same points as spending £4-6K on solar hot water, Its a very easy way to boost the score, And better saving per year than spending £1K on floor insulation. Numbers from a 2014 cert, and energy costs.

They updated the method used last year, so everything could be scored differently now. 

Where are you getting panels installed for £4-6k? 

I had a quote a couple of months ago for one of my properties and a 'basic' system (mostly with cheap Chinese parts from what I could tell) was closer to £12k.

Any recommendations for an installer in the NW (manweb area) appreciated. 

Any good quote for a pv (electric ) system without a battery should be under £ 6k for a 4kwh peak system.

If you did mean thermal for hot water, as the are a very small number of installers I'm sure they can name thire price now, and the price quoted on the Epc in 2014 could always have been wildly off.