Stuart Fairlie, managing director of Elmhurst Energy, an accreditation body for EPC assessors, said: “Against a backdrop of rising fuel poverty, environmental pressures and energy security concerns, EPCs are coming in for a lot of scrutiny and criticism. This is understandable, as the EPC as it exists now is over 15 years old. It was designed then simply as a cost measure, showing how expensive or cheap a home is to run.

“But while there are rightfully calls to improve EPCs, scrapping them would be disastrous.”

Instead, Elmhurst is calling for changes to be made to the EPC system to measure how much energy a household uses and its carbon footprint as well as the cost to heat the home.

In 2019, 30% of UK emissions came from buildings, with 17% coming from homes according to the government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy. As such, improving the energy efficiency of our buildings has a huge part to play in plans to decarbonise our country.

Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns for Propertymark, the industry body for estate and letting agents, says there’s “certainly a case to be made for reforms”.

But he adds: “We need to be cautious when calling for the EPC system to be scrapped because it’s a well-known consumer brand. People recognise that legally you need one when a property is sold or rented.”

However, he adds that if this or the next government decide to reinstate minimum energy efficiency targets, the accuracy of the reports and their recommendations must be improved.

Digital property passbook

Propertymark proposes the introduction of a digital property passport or logbook which would include the EPC. “Instead of replacing the current system, this initiative would enhance it,” Douglas explains.

“A property passport would allow more data about a property to be captured digitally which would include changes and adaptations that have been made to the property and would include the EPC and its recommendations.”

Luke Loveridge, founder and chief executive of Propflo, which specialises in retrofitting solutions using Artificial Intelligence, says: “Doing away with EPCs, along with the huge amount of historic data and network of trained assessors, just doesn’t make sense. EPCs measure most things that we need to make decisions about energy efficiency.

“But there are problems,” he adds.

“EPCs are being used to drive minimum energy efficiency standards and to give discounts on mortgage rates for higher rated properties, things they weren’t intended for. Recommendations made to boost your energy efficiency and the data fed into the EPC become out-of-date, quality can vary depending on who assesses the property and they don’t measure important things such as what you need to do to become a net zero home.”

Meeting net zero targets and an EPC Action Plan

The Scottish government has launched a consultation to address some of these issues.

Among the proposals launched in August are plans to reform the way EPCs measure energy efficiency, their purpose, how long they are valid for and their format. Reform is needed, says the government, because the current measures and ratings aren’t fit to drive improvements or help the country meet net zero targets by 2045.

Elmhurst Energy wants to see England and Wales follow suit.

“Elmhurst Energy has long been calling for fundamental changes to the EPC and its underlying methodology,” Fairlie says.

“We need to revamp EPCs so they can properly assess where our rental stock sits in terms of energy efficiency. Scotland has already started the process of introducing such changes, and I think we will see similar progress in England and Wales within the next 12 months.”

“The good news for homeowners is that the government recognises change is needed. It has produced an EPC Action Plan and is seeking to change the law to allow improvements to be made.”

Putting the plan in place has been a long-drawn-out process. Published in September 2020, it is made up of 35 actions, 11 of which require changes to regulations. The aim of the action plan is to improve accuracy and reliability and produce a certificate that households find easy to use.

A government spokesperson said: “We agree that the metrics and information provided on Energy Performance Certificates can be improved. We are currently working to improve the reliability, accuracy and trust in EPCs through our EPC Action Plan and intend to consult on reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations later this year.”

Related:

1) Landlord despair: ‘I spent £40k making my flat more energy efficient but my EPC was downgraded’

2) Energy Performance Certificates: Fit for purpose or falling short of efficiency expectations?