It's critical for landlords to comprehend how to raise their EPC ratings. You'll be better off the more you know. There has never been a better moment to increase the general efficiency of your home because of upcoming needs. Making a property more energy efficient will save energy expenses and improve EPC ratings for homeowners and landlords. Less expensive energy costs and more comfort are the advantages for tenants.
Why are landlords getting fined over their EPC rating?
Your home cannot be legally rented out if the energy performance certificate is invalid. If you don’t have an EPC or don’t follow the government’s new Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) standards, your local authorities may punish you up to £5,000.
After it is granted, your EPC is good for 10 years. Before you may sell or rent your house, if your certificate is more than ten years old, you must obtain a new one. When the laws are amended in 2025, the fine for not possessing a valid EPC of “C” or above will rise to £30,000.
Five steps to improve the energy efficiency of a property
There are a few fast and easy actions you can take if you need to bring your rental house up to code or just wish to improve your EPC rating to attract eco-conscious renters and be ready for a potential increase in the new minimum requirement to C- or D- by 2022.
It’s also crucial to keep in mind that, in order to raise a property’s EPC rating, a whole house retrofit that addresses insulation, windows, and heating systems at once may end up being more cost-effective than making a succession of minor improvements.
Here are five easy ways you can improve your property’s EPC.
Upgrade to LED light bulbs for your illumination.
It won’t take much to increase your EPC rating by one or two grades if you switch to LED light bulbs, which are far more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. This might make all the difference if your rating is on the borderline.
Insulate the roof and walls.
New insulation may be a very effective approach to raise your score, especially if the insulation was poor or nonexistent before. It is one of the most common and effective energy efficiency solutions, and it will probably cost you less than other modifications. The amount of energy that escapes through the roof may be significantly reduced by raising the loft insulation to a minimum thickness of 270mm. Up to 33% of heat may often be lost via an uninsulated roof.
Upgrade to double-glazed or triple glazed windows..
If you disregard the windows in the building, there is no use in spending money on the newest heating and insulation systems. Double glazing lessens the amount of heat lost through the windows even if it doesn’t have as much of an influence on the EPC as wall or loft insulation does.
Nowadays, most homes have double glazing, which makes it less probable for a building to achieve the necessary efficiency rating. However, older buildings may not always have double glazing. New double glazing might raise your home’s EPC rating by five to ten points, and it will probably cost between £2,000 and $5,000 for a typical terraced house.
Triple glazing is a more drastic step, but is becoming more popular and mainstream and can make it much more difficult for heat to escape from your home.
Install a more efficient boiler
Heating systems are the cornerstone of a property’s EPC rating. Depending on the age of the existing boiler, switching to a newer, condensing model can significantly improve your rating.
An inefficient boiler is often one of the biggest drains on a home’s energy efficiency, whereas a highly efficient boiler might have a significant influence on your EPC score, raising it by as much as 40 points. This might get you up to the necessary level in a single step as the minimum EPC rating criterion is 39.
Install a smart meter
Smart metres are a great way to show your tenants how much energy they use and encourage them to adopt less wasteful practises. When a person can clearly see the relationship between their actions and the amount of extra cash they have at the end of the month, it’s astonishing how frugal they can become.
