How to Improve an EPC Rating
Investing in your property’s energy efficiency not only lowers bills but can also boost your home’s market appeal and value. If you’re thinking about selling your home, improving its Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating can be a worthwhile investment. An EPC certificate rates a property’s energy performance through a grading system of A to G, with A the most efficient and G the least efficient. An EPC rating of C or above is considered good, and the average home in the UK has a rating of D. New-build homes have higher scores, as they tend to be around 60% more energy efficient than older homes. Another potential advantage of a higher EPC rating is that it can unlock green mortgages, which offer better interest rates and make remortgaging cheaper.
With so many benefits linked to a healthy EPC, the good news is that improving yours doesn’t necessarily mean spending thousands of pounds on major renovations. There are several practical ways you can improve the rating and lower your bills at the same time:
1. Look at your current EPC
The most important first step is to dig out your property’s current EPC (they’re valid for 10 years) and review the recommendations for improvements that could potentially increase energy efficiency. If you’ve done improvement works to your home and want to have your EPC rating reassessed, you can book an assessor through the government’s website gov.uk/get-new-energy-certificate if you live in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland. If you think your EPC rating is wrong, you can contact the assessor who gave the home its rating, their name will be on the EPC certificate that was issued for the property.
2. Improve loft insulation
Getting on for half of the energy used in a typical home goes on heating, and according to the Energy Saving Trust, uninsulated homes can lose up to 25% of their heat through the roof. As one of the most effective ways to boost your home’s energy efficiency, loft insulation can potentially add around 10 to 16 points to your EPC rating, depending on the specific insulation material you use and its depth. Fibreglass and renewable wood fibre are popular insulation materials, or you could choose sheep’s wool, mineral wool, or recycled materials, depending on your budget and how environmentally friendly you want to be. Plus, loft insulation is quite straightforward to install, so many homeowners do it as a DIY project.
3. Upgrade your boiler
Another significant part of your home’s EPC calculation is your heating system, and an old, inefficient boiler can significantly drag your score down. Replacing an old boiler is costly but can have a significant impact on energy efficiency. Biomass boilers are the cheapest to run and the heat they produce is carbon neutral. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers property owners £5,000 towards the cost of buying and installing an air source heat pump or biomass boiler. Grants averaging £10,000 are also available to certain households to make energy efficiency improvements under the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme.
4. Install a smart thermostat
Smart heating controls are something every EPC assessor checks for when they inspect your property. Using a smart thermostat allows you to heat your home more efficiently, as you can control the temperature in individual rooms instead of just heating the whole house. Some smart thermostats, like Hive, can even sync with your phone’s GPS, meaning they’ll turn off the heating when they detect you’re away from home, and then switch it back on when you’re getting nearby. Smart thermostats usually require a new energy-efficient boiler to work properly and cost between £120 and £220 plus installation, depending on your choice of brand and model. Depending on the system and property, a smart thermostat can be an affordable upgrade compared with replacing the entire heating system.
5. Switch to solar power
Solar panels increase a home’s EPC rating by around 18 points, but unfortunately, they do involve a high upfront cost. The average cost of a 4.5kWp solar and battery system for a typical property with up to three bedrooms is about £10,300, including installation. If you’d like to get solar panels without that hefty outlay, Sunsave Plus could be an option. It’s the UK’s first solar subscription which means you can switch with just a fixed monthly fee plus 24/7 monitoring and maintenance, free replacement parts, downtime cover, and insurance.
6. Consider double glazing
Replacing single-glazed windows with double glazing can be a significant expense. If a full window replacement isn’t practical, secondary glazing may provide a more affordable alternative in some properties. It can help reduce heat loss and draughts while potentially improving noise insulation too. Getting double glazing will add around five to 10 points to your home’s EPC rating and make your home more insulated. Period properties with a listing will make secondary glazing options more expensive, if even possible at all.
7. Draught-proof doors and windows
Draught-proofing is cheap and easy and can involve fitting seals around doors and windows, adding a draught excluder to external doors, and sealing obvious gaps around the property. Unused fireplaces in period properties benefit from a chimney balloon to prevent heat escaping that way.
8. Insulate hot water pipes and tank
Insulating hot water pipes can help reduce heat loss from the hot water system, meaning less energy needed to keep water hot. This small improvement is particularly worthwhile in properties with older or less efficient hot water systems. If your property has a hot water tank, an insulating jacket is a low-cost way to reduce heat loss from stored hot water.
9. Green mortgages and green home rewards
A higher EPC rating can unlock green mortgages, which reward you for purchasing or remortgaging an energy efficient home by offering a reduced mortgage rate on a 2 year or 5-year fixed rate mortgage. Some green mortgages also provide cash rewards, giving eligible mortgage customers up to £2,000 to fund energy efficiency improvements.
10. Before you spend money, get advice
An EPC rating is not a measure of how much energy your household uses. It is based on the property’s characteristics and the methodology used for the assessment, so the best improvements can vary a lot between, for example, a thatched cottage and a Victorian townhouse. Before committing to costly work, consider having your EPC reviewed by qualified professionals and find out if your property is eligible for a grant.
Thinking of selling?
At Michael Graham we know first hand from our buyers that the EPCs of the properties they’re looking at are impacting their buying decisions. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly home or have a home to sell and would like advice on how to increase its appeal, we would love to help. Contact us today or book a free valuation online.
