Homes with a higher energy rating worth 7% more

In South Tyneside the increase in property price was considerable. With homes with an A/B rating worth 13% more than those with a D rating. The average house price of a D rated home is £131,082. Whilst a A/B rated home sat at £148,123.

Those in the North East see the biggest boost in percentage terms, with houses with an A/B rating worth 13% more than those with a D rating. But with house prices here among the lowest in the country, it’s actually those in the South West that see the biggest monetary benefit.

A price increase of 8% works out as an extra £21,068 on average across the whole U.K.

What can home owners do?

Paperwork

The first thing any energy assessor will tell you, get your paperwork ready. If you have an older rendered property and no cavity wall insulation certificate, we cannot record it’s present. Impacting your energy assessment.

The same goes for boilers without labels, uPVC windows without FENSA certificates and lofts with no access. Missing documents? Majority of these are ‘notifiable work’, some detective work will be needed but it may be worth contacting building control, or for cavity wall insulation – CIGA, who may hold records.

Light Bulbs

The cheapest and quicker thing you can do is swap them energy hungry light bulbs with LEDs. The price of them has dramatically decreased over the years, and with a life expectancy far beyond a decade they are an excellent investment.

As an EPC assessor we are only looking fixed lighting points, we score the house on a simple ratio. If you have 8 ceiling lights and only 4 are the low energy type, it scores a 50% in the low energy lighting section of the report.

Most bulbs can easily be changed by the homeowner/landlord. We do not look at external lighting or lights that you plug into a socket.

Draft-proofing

The next thing you can do is ensure that draft-proofing is fitted to all doors and windows. Most modern PVC units have this fitted but double check the draft proofing hasn’t been disturbed or accidentally removed.

The worst contenders are wooden units. A house with these types of doors and windows with no draft-proofing fitted will severely affect the overall score.

Green Homes Grant

For those wanting to really increase their energy rating, the Green Homes Grant is something worth looking into.

The grant allows you to apply for a voucher to cover two-thirds of the cost of installing energy efficiency improvements, up to a maximum of £5,000.

But you’ll need to act quickly to apply as you’ll have to redeem the voucher you claim and make sure improvements are completed by 31 March 2021.