Improve Your EPC Rating

I'd like the EPC rating of your property to be the best it can reasonably be.

In this section you'll find a number of areas to consider where it might be possible to improve the EPC rating of your property.

We'll cover things that range in both cost and ease, from low cost to high cost, and from easy to implement up to more involved. I hope though you can work through the list and pick out things that are suitable and accessible for your property.

Some of these things will actually improve the energy efficiency of your property, and some will help you around intricacies of how the assessment methodology works.

In particular, I recommend you take a look at the 'Heating Systems' page first, which covers two particular intricacies around 'Secondary Heating' and the count of 'Heated Habitable Rooms'. That one page might help you significantly.

Please note your property will produce different levels of improvement to any indications provided in these pages due to differences between my property and yours. Various factors contribute together in the calculation of an EPC rating.

The best approach for you in improving your EPC rating is to engage with a local Domestic Energy Assessor in your area and get them to model any changes you have in mind for your property before proceeding to spend any money. It is important to work from a position of certainty and confirm rating improvements before getting work done.

Just a couple more caveats and we'll get going:

We're looking here at the assessment of existing domestic properties, where the RdSAP methodology is used, ie not domestic new builds (SAP) or commercial properties (SBEM).

One last caveat is that there are two planned changes to the RDSAP methodology in the near future. We are currently on RDSAP 9.94.

RDSAP version 10 is now heralded for early 2025 but it has been delayed, more than once already.

Also, the Home Energy Model originally advertised as replacing RDSAP completely in 2025 has now been delayed until at least 2026, with the new Labour government in the meantime also launching a consulation on the future shape of EPC certificates and ratings.

These chages may alter any approaches to EPC rating improvement, and may skew the rating of any re-assessment of your property due to changes in the methodology.

Lastly, if you make energy performance improvements to your property keep a record of the money you have spent and the date, in case this information may help you comply with any cost-cap exemptions in the future, if you are not able to reasonably bring the rating up to that required by the MEES regulations when renting the property.

So, work through each of the pages in this section, and see what you might be able to do with your property:

1. Disregard Mindless Chit-Chat
2. Check EPC Features Table
3. Low Energy Lighting
4. Loft Insulation Depth
5. Cavity Wall Insulation
6. Glazing
7. Heating Systems
8. Heating Controls
9. Heating Pump age
10. FGHRS & WWHRS
11. High Heat Retention Storage Heaters
12. Conservatories
13. 'Room In Roof'
14. Mansard Roof
15. Beware EPC Mistakes
16. Resolve PCDB Issues
17. Provide Documentary Evidence
18. Solar Thermal Panels
19. Solar PV & Home Batteries
20. Air Tightness Testing
21. Don't Give Up
22. Become Qualified as a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA)

If you're still reading, I'd be really interested to hear from you. Please let me know if anything in this section of the website has been helpful. Is there anything that has been a surprise? Is there anything that has really helped you? Do you have anything you would add? Please click on the Contact page and send me an email. Many thanks.

Piers