Wondering why your EPC rating might be low? Read here to find out.
We’ve carried out thousands of EPCs on every different type and style of property imaginable, but we do sometimes get questioned about why a certain property is given a low EPC rating and there are a few reasons why the rating you receive maybe isn’t what you expected, and here I want to run through some of them with you.
We need to see it to include it
An EPC is technically a very simple and usually straightforward visual inspection. There are some properties which are more challenging than others and require a little more in depth research but essentially in order to include something in the calculations we need to actully see it and document it with a photograph which is used for the purpose of auditing our work for quality assurance purposes. If we can’t see it or you can’t provide definitive documentation to back up what you say then we have to err on the side of caution and revert to what would have been there at the time of construction.
If you had insulation installed on your internal walls or in your roof room or loft insulation where we can’t access the loft and these are not apparent from a visual inspection of the area, then we will require documentation proving that the insulation is present before it can be included in the EPC. Defaults may have to be assumed for the heating and insulation if the make and model or other information is also not apparent. Again – accurate information is vital in achieving the most accurate rating possible.
Things the EPC doesn’t like..
There are a few aspects of a home that can really drag a rating down. If you have one of the following then your rating is likely to be lower than you might first expect:
No heating or electric-only heating
High amount of poorly insulated heat loss walls
Poor loft insulation or no evidence of loft insulation.
Be realistic with what you expect
For instance, An A rating is reserved for only the very highest levels of energy efficiency and are pretty rare in all honesty. To get to this level, you will probably need to have renewable technology present, very high levels of insulation, a very efficient modern heating system, and documentation for all of this (to ensure defaults are not assumed).
Not being familiar with the rating system
Although EPCs have been around for a good number of years now, there is still little knowledge outside of the energy assessors themselves as to what constitutes a certain rating level. Unfortunately, many people just don’t know what a C or an E rating actually means, which can lead to some confusion and reluctance to accept their rating as correct.
Please bear in mind the average rating of a UK property is a D-60. Anything above this is actually a pretty good rating, and there’s a whole raft of reasons why you might have a low rating. It can take just a few poor aspects of the home to bring the rating down, whilst a couple of well-performing factors can have the opposite effect.
Read the Recommendations thoroughly
If you are not happy with your rating, and want to get it higher, the best thing to do is to look at the recommendations report thoroughly. This will pick out the main reasons for a low rating and the easiest steps you can take to get the rating up, as well as the expected rating from following through with those improvements and also the approximate costs and return on your investment.
If you are looking for an EPC in Northamptonshire or Milton Keynes or would just like some free no obligation advice then please feel free to give me a call on 07851 957628 to book an appointment or to chat through anything you’d like to know.