This is a 1970s Ground Floor Flat. The rating on the last EPC was 46E and that certificate expired in 2019.
We want to improve this rating to a C band in order to comply with MEES requirements which the government have indicated will be in place for 2030.
Let's take a look at the Features table from the expired EPC:
We notice there are two wall types declared.
The main heating is provided by 'Modern Slimline' Electric Storage Heaters.
There is also an entry for Secondary Heating where it says: Room heaters, electric. This is because there are two fixed electric towel rail radiators in the property - one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom.
The hot water is provided by electric immersion heater in a 'Fortic' style hot water cylinder.
Here are the Recommendations listed on the EPC certificate:
Step | Recommendation | Rating After |
1 | Cavity Wall Insulation | 59D |
2 | Hot Water Cylinder Insulation | 62D |
3 | Fan Assisted Storage Heaters | 65D |
With all three of these recommendations applied, the EPC rating would be 65D. This would leave us just 4 points from a C rating.
The EPC was carried out in January 2009, and the floor areas is 38m2.
2009 was fairly early in the history of EPCs.
EPCs were first introduced in 2007 and there have been some changes in the methodology over the years although I don't expect the rating to be much different now if the property were to be re-assessed today in the condition it was in back in 2007.
Looking now at work that has been carried out on the property since 2007, cavity wall insulation has actually been installed in the external walls and the hot water cylinder has been replaced completely. The replacement cylinder has factory fitted foam insulation rather than the old mineral wool jacket of the original.
We need to gain access to the property, and conduct a new EPC to see what the rating is now.
Options that might be available:
Gas is available at the property, but our preferred option is likely to be the installation of one High Heat Retention Storage Heater (HHRSH) to replace an existing 'modern slimline' storage heater. This is likely to be the most cost effective option.
The way HHRSHs work in the EPC rating calculation is interesting. You only need one. Adding additional HHRSHs does not result in a better rating.
Also, mixing with another type of storage heater does not appear to make a difference to the rating either - albeit via an inability to assign a percentage of heating away from a HHRSH in the assessment.
Finally, the declaration of Secondary Heating sources such as electric panel heaters does not seem to result in a reduction of EPC rating like it would if the main heating system was a gas boiler.
You need to provide sufficient heat generation capability though within the property to match the potential heat loss through the building fabric.
For more information, see our pages on Heating Systems and
High Heat Retention Storage Heaters.
Once we get access to the property (a tenant in significant rent arrears is currently being evicted), we'll run an EPC assessment and see what rating we could achieve with a High Heat Retention Storage Heater.
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