I recently had a tenant leave one of my properties after a number of years in occupation and, since the legislation had changed and I now needed to commission an Energy Performance Certificate, I thought I would find out a little more about these mysterious documents that some of my friends, admittedly over a glass or two of sherry in the local, had referred to as a waste of time.

It is clear that many people believe that an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is simply a pair of multi-coloured graphs that provide some obscurely generated rating on the energy efficiency of the property in question.

Anecdotally, through my many dealings with estate and lettings agents, these so-called ‘professionals’ are not much wiser about the nature and content of an EPC than the consumers with whom they interact, and presumably, advise. I decided to speak with Rob Wellstead of Lenwell who has a subsidiary company called Easy EPC and I knew would be able to advise me.

Rob said “What is so frustrating is that the EPC is much more than just a set of graphs. While the visual manifestation of the inspection and report lies in the A-G graph, the real guts is contained within the rest of that document, not least simple and inexpensive measures that can help a client save money!”

He went on to explain. “Estate agents are obliged by law to commission an EPC when a property is placed on the market for sale and to include the graphs within their marketing materials. Lettings agents are meant to ensure that an EPC is in place before a tenant enters into a tenancy agreement. In my experience, there is fairly widespread non-compliance with these requirements and Domestic Energy Assessors are often asked to produce EPCs much later than legally required.  Sometimes, the law is flouted completely and no EPC is ever commissioned.

Where EPCs are produced, I am concerned whether the full 5 or 6 page document ever reaches the hands of would-be buyers and tenants – they are simply told that the EPC has been done or given a copy of the graphs.”

Having commissioned Easy EPC to produce the Energy Prerformance Certificate on my property, I asked Rob to explain the document to me. It turns out that the certificate is actually a brief report that details the type of construction and the key factors that affect both the energy consumption and efficiency and the CO2 emission levels. In addition, the report recommended possible improvements, categorised by cost and return on investment, and indicated what effect these would have on the energy and emission ratings.

Ratings are scored on a 0-100 scale which are highlighted within A-G tiers, where 100 points and A (92-100) are the highest ratings and tier, and 0 and G (0-20) are the lowest. The current average for a UK residential property in terms of energy efficiency is apparently 46 points, which equates to an E tiered rating (39-54). Even a brand new property built to the latest building regulation standards would apparently only achieve a B rating (81-91). A score of 100 would mean that a property was cost-neutral in terms of annual energy use. I’m not sure how many windmills you would need in your garden to achieve this but you get the picture!

Following my discussions with Rob and armed with a greater knowledge about Energy Performance Certificates I have come to the conclusion that the document is immensely valuable but that the current ‘tunnel vision’ focus on just the graphs is unhelpful.

Clearly a property scoring at the highest level of a tier will be significantly better than one scoring at the bottom and yet, unless someone looks deeper than the A-G ratings, they could both appear to be rated the same. I have spoken to people who have said that a property is rated as a D and then said no more. In reality, this could mean a rating of 55 or a rating of 68. If these were school exam results the Government would no doubt be ensuring that we knew that ratings of 68 represent a 23% improvement over a rating of 55. With EPCs at the moment they are, in the eyes of many, both simply Ds!

The results of my Energy Performance Certificate were above average but there were a few simple changes that I have made to improve the rating and make life less costly for my new tenant. An increasingly important factor in today’s times of austerity.

I have increased the levels of insulation in the roof space, added thermostatic radiator valves to all the radiators and added more low energy lighting, the costs due to various incentives was minimal and I was able to take advantage of the Government’s Landlord’s Energy Saving Allowance scheme to make the investment even more attractive. The improved energy rating has made my property more attractive and my new tenant moves in next week.

As well as making savings to ongoing running costs, apparently over 25% of all CO2 emmissions come from residential properties and therefore making these improvements will help reduce “greenhouse gases” and “global warming”.

I am so pleased that I took the time to become better educated as to what an EPC is all about rather than just seeing it as an unnecessary additional piece of red tape. I am now going to commission Easy EPC to look at my own home and see what improvements I can make there too!

Come on Malcolm. Walkies!