Why Have Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)
From the 1st October 2008 Darlington Borough Council are required by Law to produce an Energy Performance Certificate for the new tenant.
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) gives you information about the energy efficiency of the home you will be renting.
Once issued the EPC is valid for 10 years.
What does this mean in practice?
You will be provided with an EPC for the home you are interested in renting as early as possible.
Please Note: If you are already renting a home on 1 October 2008 and carry on living there after that date, your landlord does not need to provide you with an EPC.
What is an Energy Performance Certificate?
An EPC is similar to the energy performance certificates now provided with domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines.
The EPC provides a rating for the energy performance of a home from A to G, where A is very efficient and G is very inefficient.
The EPC shows two things about the property:
- the energy-efficiency rating (this is based on how much the home would cost to run); and
- the environmental impact rating (this is based on how much carbon dioxide is released into the environment because of the home).
The rating is based on factors such as age, property layout, construction, heating,
lighting, and insulation. The ratings are standard so you can compare the energy efficiency of one home easily with another. The average rating for a dwelling in England and Wales is an E Rating. The average rating for one of Darlington Borough Councils Properties is a D Rating.
Recommendation Report
As part of the certificate you will be provided with a recommendation report. This is a list of ways in which the energy efficiency of the home could be improved.
The recommendation report includes recommendations split into low-cost improvements (up to £500) and high-cost improvements (over £500).
This will include items such as:-
- Installation of low-energy light bulbs;
- Adding or improving loft or cavity wall insulation;
- Improvements to Heating Systems
Darlington Borough Council is aware of the benefits of all of the above recommendations and have programmes in place to tackle these issues.
Why do you need an Energy Performance Certificate?
The EPC and the recommendations that come with it give you important information about your home’s energy efficiency. The certificate will provide you with information about how much it is likely to cost to run the home you will be renting.
Bear in mind that the estimated running costs are based on:
- standard assumptions about a property, including how many people will live
there and how long it is heated each day; and
- average fuel prices when the EPC was produced – these could be up to 10
years old.
The actual energy you will use in running a property will depend on how you
use the property.
More information
Energy Savings Trust [external link]
Energy Savings Trust ACT ON CO2 advice line: 0800 512012 (Free phone number)