EPC - what's the point?

[AnthonyL]

As per my recent posts re energy consumption I've been looking at my EPC as I only bought the house a few months ago.

So it says my Lighting, Heating and Hot Water Estimated Current costs come to ?3,468 which I could potentially reduce to ?2,100 if I spend a few hundreds to thousands of pounds (no I'm not going to put a solid floor in).

This figure excludes TV, computers and cookers.

My estimate of my bills for the year with my current supplier is ?1,200 which will reduce to about ?800 when I finish switching suppliers.

So what's the point of the EPC which seems just a work of fiction?

[Tim Watts]

You realise that men in suits will be outside your door in a few minutes for blowing the whistle...

[Fredxxx]

It is not unreasonable to take the running costs of a house into account when making a purchase.

The figure of £3,468 assumes the house is fully occupied with heating at "normal" temperatures.

Of course, if your name is Scrooge, then is quite easy to reduce these bills by not washing, and live in an unheated environment.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Must be an extremely well insulated and or small house if your total bills are 800 quid a year.

[Peter Andrews]

As you say a work of fiction, I've just had one done for my flat, prior to selling.

Some of the recommended measures:

to change the existing storage heaters at cost of £1200 to save £129 over three years!

A Heat recovery system for mixer showers (indicative cost £550 - £725) projected saving £19.

Need I go on...

Peter

[michael adams]

There's something not quite right here.

On the figures which were given before, the OP should be paying a fortune and having to open the windows to avoid heat exhaustion.

michael adams

...

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

Isn't it a throwback from Labours "lets invent pointless jobs and give them to clueless so and so's to ponce around for a day counting bulbs and tutting while filling in a tick sheet that has no element of intelligent input?

Is that a bit harsh?

The one that did ours as a regulation for F.I.T. (can of worms) refused to acknowledge that the whole of the living area i.e. "main heating" was UFH on 4 zones, on a weather compensating boiler with MAX possible water temp set to 50 degrees but instead said "Sorry Sir, you have radiators in the bedroom so we have to ignore underfloor heating or the fact that your radiators run at UFH temperatures and state that your house is primarily heated by radiators" :(

[AnthonyL]

We are retired, both home and my wife likes a warm house. A local energy supplier was taken aback when I said I was expecting to use the amount I had forecast. Putting the sq m into one of the energy supplier's gave a gas figure of ~?600 and electric of ~?250. They want me to pay montly average so they are not going to underestimate.

[AnthonyL]

Detached Bungalow - 98 sq m - flat roof extension in 1972. Taking up someone's recommendation in the other thread to switch gas saving almost 1/3.

[Robin]

Ahem, dare I ask if you have quoted the figures from the EPC for the estimated energy costs for *three* years?

[Fredxxx]

I had assumed you lived by yourself in a big mansion!

Most complaints are the other way round, where purchasers have found insulation missing or other issues.

My instinct is they got the whole survey utterly wrong. They work with a standard program. I haven't looked but are there any online equivalents?

[Fredxxx]

Can I suggest you look at this:

The URL name is not significant, but the actual program if you click on accept is.

If you do get to use it and input your figures, do let us know!

[AnthonyL]

Blush, Face-Palm Fluck Fluck Fluck and apologies to all and sundry and beurocrats alike. I shall now retire hurt.

[DJC]

Internal or external wall insulation Indicative cost £4,000 - £14,000 Typical savings over 3 years £ 105 that for a mid-floor flat!

Replace boiler with new condensing boiler:£2,200 - £3,000 saving over 3 years £ 42 . I already have a condensing boiler

[Andy Burns]

[John Rumm]

Short answer, in reality - none.

It became a create work scheme for the all the "inspectors" who were sold a dummy on the whole home buyers report idea.

One might argue that it gives some useful information to a prospective purchaser, but since they are so often complete works of guesswork that bear no resemblance to reality, the practical value is nil.

Last place I sold, the inspector made all kinds of assumptions about the construction... Some were right - like correctly assuming that the place had solid walls. But then also assuming that the loft conversion was the same. Even though I pointed out to him that I had built it to modern insulation standards, could show him photos, and even a full set of heat loss calcs that I had done (the heat loss from the entire new storey was less than that from the front room alone on the ground floor!). But no, he was "not permitted" to take other information into account that he could no see for himself.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Apparently, yes. Otherwise no need for makers to fiddle them.

[harry]

The EPC is a box ticking exercise. If a house does not fit into a particular box, then the EPC is just toilet paper.

Eg, I have a passive house but because I have no central heatings system th e assumption is made that I use portable electric heater.

But a lot of people make a good living out of generating this toilet paper as you can't sell your house without one.

[Vir Campestris]

Absolutely.

Except EPCs are so inaccurate as to be useless.

Andy

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Even to compare one house to another? To someone who had no idea on how to DIY this? Just curious - I've no experience of them.