New plans for EPC measurements

The system for measuring energy efficiency of buildings in the UK is to be revamped, the Government has announced.
Plans have been unveiled to include additional factors when grading buildings for Energy Performance Certificates which were first introduced as a way of assessing the energy efficiency of homes in 2007.
Proposed changes have been circulated for consultation by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) which said it wants to add types of heating systems into the EPC assessment for the first time.
It has also proposed moving away from the current EPC banding system, which uses modelled per square metre energy costs based on factors like standardised heating patterns to determine the category a property sits in.
DESNZ’s consultation document adds that the EPC’s existing focus on energy costs is ‘insufficient’, and should be extended to include three additional factors:
• An assessment of the thermal performance of the building’s fabric that promotes well-insulated, comfortable, and energy-efficient spaces
• The type of heating system that the building uses
• An assessment of a building’s potential to integrate smart technologies, like solar panels, to optimise energy consumption
Using this wider range of metrics will enable EPCs to consider factors like how well-insulated a property is and whether it can decrease pressure on the grid by incorporating smart technologies, according to the Government.
Alongside its moves to reform EPCs, the paper sets out further changes to how the energy performance of non-domestic properties is assessed.
Syntegra MD Alan King said: “EPCs play a key role in focusing people’s minds on enhancing the energy efficiency of their property.
“We welcome the widening of the scope for assessment and believe it will add environmental benefits – and save money in the long term for homeowners if they address inefficiencies highlighted by the measurements.”
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said the proposals outlined in the government’s consultation paper are a “step towards boosting the energy efficiency of homes across the country”.
The reforms set out in DESNZ’s consultation paper are in accordance with a package of reforms to EPCs, recommended by the Climate Change Committee last year.
EPCs are a central plank of the government’s wider energy efficiency polices, which include recent announcements that all rented homes should be upgraded to Band C.