Hybrid Living

This is a positive sign of the effect EPCs will have in future on the housing market as more properties are included within the legislation from 10th September and beyond. This will empower homeowners and landlords to implement energy saving measures to ensure their properties are salable or rentable, and of course through this command a premium. 37% of people surveyed said that the EPCs would influence them to improve a home they buy.

Improvements to increase efficiency will directly impact on the emissions produced by homes. Annually in the UK there are over 1m house sale transactions, from the research this could easily lead to 400 000 homes implementing energy efficiency improvements year-on-year.

With such positives on the benefits of individuals knowing about EPCs, it was unfortunate that 53% of individuals were not aware what an EPC was. In time this will increase through continued media coverage and peer-to-peer education. For more information on Energy Performance Certificates visit the Energy Saving Trust or Home Information Pack websites.

“I am not surprised to learn people want to know how their home would rate on the energy efficiency scale. This reinforces what we already know from our Green Barometer2 report: ‘60% of people want tailored advice on energy saving’. What does surprise me is how many householders admit to being unaware about the Energy Performance Certificate. Clearly we need to inform people about energy efficiency, because once they are on-board they’re interested and will change their behaviour. We are urging householders to complete our free home energy check online, speak to Energy Saving Trust’s free, impartial advice network, and take advantage of the Energy Performance Certificates.”

Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive, Energy Saving Trust