How to determine home energy rating

[Quakered]

I know homes now need an energy performance certificate if they are to be sold or let together with an environmental impact rating. I assume a house in the A band is carbon neutral and G is somewhere with no attempt at insulation. The question is how do you determine where your house fits in without splashing out on a survey as I have no intention of moving or letting the place? I have googled the question and indeed searched the archive on this fine forum without success. Can anyone point me at a site that will allow you to determine where our house is in the spectrum of energy efficiency?

I hope I have got it up to C but it would be good to have something more substantial than a warm guess – might also help direct further efforts at insulation!

Thanks in advance

Patrick

[rondurrans]

Have you tried the EST website? I did something a while ago to try to understand what sort of rating my 1960's house was...try http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/est/search?SearchText=EPC & http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Publications2/Housing-professionals/Refurbishment/EST-House-types-comparison-complete-set

[A.L.]

hello,

have you tried the home energy check at - www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/In-your-home/Home-Energy-Check

it should be accurate to +/- 3 SAP points and certainly to +/- one epc category

[djh]

have you tried the home energy check at - www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/In-your-home/Home-Energy-Check

Lets me put all the data in and then says "sorry an error has occurred ..."

Also, it's posting all my personal data using http instead of https

NOT IMPRESSED!

[2807]

Hello Quakered

The question is how do you determine where your house fits in without splashing out on a survey as I have no intention of moving or letting the place?

Why would you want to determine where your house fits, if you have no intention of moving or letting the place?

The whole EPC scam is a complete waste of time - a typical nu labour misconcieved box ticking, job & tax creation scheme.

If you want to get into Band A, rip your boiler out before the inspector comes round - no heating system = 100% efficiency.

In fact, the last one I had done, was done over the phone, the EPC inspector just asked me a list of questions.

Energy saving light bulbs - check
Double glazing - check
Cavity wall insulation - no idea
Loft insualtion - it's a 1st floor flat in a block 3 floors high.
Under floor insulation - same answer

It came in at 57 - band D, with recommendations to fit energy saving light bulbs, underfloor & loft insulation (don't know what the neighbours would have said about that) & replace the boiler with a Band A condensing one.  Why would I do that when I was selling the property & the existing boiler was fine.

might also help direct further efforts at insulation!

Go on - you know it makes sense..

2807

[langstroth3]

It asks about PV but nothinh about system size etc. Neither did it ask about solar water heating.

[Ted]

You can DIY your EPC but it is not simple.

Get the SAP2009 document and work your way through it, sticking everything into a spreadsheet as you go.

http://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/SAP/2009/SAP-2009_9-90.pdf

[EccentricAnomaly]

Why would you want to determine where your house fits, if you have no intention of moving or letting the place?

At least one reason might be to see whether it's worth going for the new FITS which, AIUI, require category C or better or all the recommended steps for improvement having been taken for lower category.

I did read somewhere that the Hockerton Housing Project houses only make it to category F which is mildly amusing in a twisted sort of way.

[marshman]

hello,

have you tried the home energy check at - www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/In-your-home/Home-Energy-Check

it should be accurate to +/- 3 SAP points and certainly to +/- one epc category

Just had a quick go, usual problems:
1. no allowance for wood fired boiler and underfloor heating.
2. no questions about how thick walls are
3. no option for underfloor heating
4. PV assessed by % of roof area covered!!!!
5. no question about what % of walls are windows/glass
6. no questions about how exposed the property is
7. no basic info on how large (floor area) and how many people live there (it used to be a lot warm with 4 kids running around all day!!)

just waiting for email with results - can't wait!

[guydewdney]

yeah  - you try living in a watermill...... just entered all the tediuos details - for it to be spat out at the end. grrrr

[2807]

hello,

have you tried the home energy check at - www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/In-your-home/Home-Energy-Check

it should be accurate to +/- 3 SAP points and certainly to +/- one epc category

Just had a quick go, usual problems:
1. no allowance for wood fired boiler and underfloor heating.
2. no questions about how thick walls are
3. no option for underfloor heating
4. PV assessed by % of roof area covered!!!!
5. no question about what % of walls are windows/glass
6. no questions about how exposed the property is
7. no basic info on how large (floor area) and how many people live there (it used to be a lot warm with 4 kids running around all day!!)

just waiting for email with results - can't wait!

Why do you think that any of the above would be included in the "tick box" input forms - all the points you raise require decision or judgement making -much to complicated for the oiks who pass for "assessors".

At least one reason might be to see whether it's worth going for the new FITS which, AIUI, require category C or better or all the recommended steps for improvement having been taken for lower category.

I don't think the owners of the flats above & below the one I sold would have taken kindly to me stuffing their properties with insulation to get a lower category

2807

[EccentricAnomaly]

I don't think the owners of the flats above & below the one I sold would have taken kindly to me stuffing their properties with insulation to get a lower category

Yes, but I don't imagine the EPC would recommend that. For "odd" cases the system is obviously too simplistic but for a "normal" flat or semi or whatever it seems broadly sensible. E.g., when I sold my semi in High Wycombe the in EPC, done in April last year, the "recommended" improvements were:

1 Increase loft insulation to 270 mm £32
2 Hot water cylinder thermostat £24
3 Upgrade heating controls £127
Higher cost measures (over £500)
4 Replace boiler with new condensing boiler

and the "further measures to achieve even higher standards" were:

5 Solar water heating £25
6 Replace single glazed windows with low-E double £56
glazing
7 Solar photovoltaic panels, 2.5 kWp £172

Pound values are estimated savings. None of these seem like silly suggestions to me.

[2807]

Hello EA

I don't think the owners of the flats above & below the one I sold would have taken kindly to me stuffing their properties with insulation to get a lower category

Yes, but I don't imagine the EPC would recommend that. For "odd" cases the system is obviously too simplistic but for a "normal" flat or semi or whatever it seems broadly sensible. E.g., when I sold my semi in High Wycombe the in EPC, done in April last year, the "recommended" improvements were:

1 Increase loft insulation to 270 mm £32
2 Hot water cylinder thermostat £24
3 Upgrade heating controls £127
Higher cost measures (over £500)
4 Replace boiler with new condensing boiler

and the "further measures to achieve even higher standards" were:

5 Solar water heating £25
6 Replace single glazed windows with low-E double £56
glazing
7 Solar photovoltaic panels, 2.5 kWp £172

Pound values are estimated savings. None of these seem like silly suggestions to me.

The EPC assessor didn’t visit the property I sold, the assessment was carried out over the phone.  It seems to me that your assessor carried out a “proper job”.  But – did you learn anything at all - anything - that you didn’t already know?

1 Increase loft insulation to 270 mm £32 – why stop at 270mm – the thicker the better.
2 Hot water cylinder thermostat £24 – did it not already have one?
3 Upgrade heating controls £127 – cost/benefit
Higher cost measures (over £500)
4 Replace boiler with new condensing boiler – why on earth would you consider replacing a boiler – providing the current one was working properly.

and the "further measures to achieve even higher standards" were:

5 Solar water heating £25 – that would take some time to break even wouldn’t it!!
6 Replace single glazed windows with low-E double £56 – ditto!!
glazing
7 Solar photovoltaic panels, 2.5 kWp £172 – wow, I have no experience at all of PV but reading threads in here, with a 4 kWp costing around £11k surely a 2.5kWp system – costing say £7k is gonna take 40 years to break even, under the FIT last April, that will be the best part of 80 years from next month.

Pound values are estimated savings. None of these seem like silly suggestions to me.

Please don’t take my criticism to be of you – it is meant to be criticism of the EPC system.

2807

[M]

2807 - I assume the PV savings bit only related to electricity bill reduction and excluded FITs and export income.

Personal question - If I said something odd like, 'I'm a Leo' might that mean we may have something in common, or am I way off the mark?

Martyn.

[A.L.]

if you are willing to give up your name/address/telephone number you should be able to get a two week free trial of real epc software

here - www.nesltd.co.uk/content/epc-online