Right - EPC reform!
You know those energy performance certificates that you see on Rightmove? They’re terrible, everyone in the energy sector hates them.
But actually reforming them is tricky. My colleague @tomleach.bsky.social tries to chart a way forward
https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/epcs-need-radical-reform-heres-four-ways-how/
You know those energy performance certificates that you see on Rightmove? They’re terrible, everyone in the energy sector hates them.
But actually reforming them is tricky. My colleague @tomleach.bsky.social tries to chart a way forward
https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/epcs-need-radical-reform-heres-four-ways-how/
Comments
If you know the kWh estimate, it’s a very simple sum to work out the estimated bill…
My view is that EPCs need to be about the quality of the home, not an actual estimate of bills (because there are so many factors that can vary that)
Which! Pointed out that people quickly notice the bills estimate is out of date and devalue the whole EPC
It can’t be out of the Q to link an online EPCs to the price cap!
There’s no way I would follow the advice on my own EPC!
Another reason I think giving separate pathways for bills and climate might help too.
For some people bills will be first priority, for others they’ll want to know how to reduce emissions at least cost (and future regulation may drive either of those).
Cost is also a key factor - would be a tactical mistake to impose higher costs on home owners imo
Identical houses can have very different energy consumption data
I'm looking at some research to calibrate EPCs to reduce performance gap
There's often a tendency to use what we have and see how we modify it to get close to what we want than start with what we want & build something to give us that
One thing I'd add.. EPC fraud exists, especially by private and social landlords and will be a bigger issue with higher MEES. Need clear route to report dodgy assessors and transparent outcomes.
Also floorspace measures haywire and it's the only source of floorspace data for the UK housing stock.
But is govt the best place to actually define it? And would people really pay?
A version of this I like is the “heat pump ready” route. But issues remain with heat loss measurements that make it tough I think…
Don't know if ppl would pay. But many ppl certainly need good advice and won't get it from the EPC (new or old)
One downside of standards (that we’re maybe seeing with heat pumps) is they can get left behind best practice in the industry. But worth exploring.
But then the EPC should never have been as static as it became. So thats feels a more general point about standards need mandatory reviews
It transpired that people were very reluctant to pay for it, but were very pleased with the result when they received a free assessment
The biggest challenge with getting tools that are useful is accuracy of performance values used in it. Not easy to get accurate u-values for example
Here’s a mock up of how it could look (which I drew 🤣)
My niche EPC issue is that recs don't always fit old houses (breathability)
The image on the left shows the current EPC certificate (with a current and a potential rating from A (good) to G (bad).
On the right is a possible redesign - with “energy bills” score on the left and “carbon” score on the right.