Media Centre

 01.08.08 Energy Performance Certificates: Are they really working?

Householders are not using the information from the Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in the way intended by the Government. For this reason they may not implement its recommendations and do not consider that the energy performance of a house affects its value. These are some of the conclusions highlighted by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) "Implementation of Energy Performance Certificates in the Domestic Sector" report issued today.

Energy Performance Certificates have been a requirement on sale of all domestic property since December 2007 as part of the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs). The EPC is intended to allow buyers to make choices based on knowledge of the building's energy efficiency performance.

While the legislation states that a full EPC has to be available to the prospective buyer once marketing starts, the current practice is that the EPC report is kept at the estate agent's office, but there is no obligation to draw attention to it. This might result in the buyer never actually seeing a copy of the report. The role of estate agents and solicitors could then be crucial to the success of the scheme.

The study highlights the need to include clearer information to allow an informed choice by customers. At the moment the asset rating that is required by the legislation is often not included in written particulars or fails to give a clear assessment of the energy used by the building. The asset rating is not fully explained and has omissions that could be easily rectified.

The UKERC report identifies several areas where the RdSAP (Reduced data Standard Assessment Procedure) software that is used to calculate energy efficiency performance could be improved. The current system underestimates the importance of some technologies, such as low energy lighting or Solar Hot Water Systems, which could play a role in reducing the household carbon emissions. Besides, the current A to G scale does not adequately represent either extreme - the most inefficient houses and the most efficient ones, particularly those fitted with microgeneration technologies which are net energy exporters.

For the Energy Performance Certificates to be more effective, the UKERC study makes a number of recommendations such as introducing the EPC to the buyer at the earliest stage of the house buying process and offering special training to estate agents and solicitors to ensure that these groups understand the aim of the scheme and adopt good practice.

"The Energy Performance Certificates are an important tool for improving the energy efficiency of our homes, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions", said Nick Eyre, co-director of the UK Energy Research Centre Demand Reduction

Theme. "Our research shows that there have been some implementations problems in the early months. In particular, estate agents and solicitors need to play a more active role in ensuring homebuyers see and understand the EPC".

A complete list of recommendations can be found in the report, downloadable here.

For further information, please contact  

Patricia Luna on 020 7594 1573