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Tag: energy efficiency

Bath Household Heating Bills Set to Rise to £63,677,830 in 2022

Posted on by prateek

The energy bills of every Bath resident will rise in April as the price cap increases to account for the global increase in the cost of gas. Those not on the gas mains will still be hit as the UK uses gas to make 45% of its electricity.

So, what can Bath residents do to reduce their energy consumption and ultimately save money?

First, let’s look at the scale of the costs.

Considering the increase in energy prices from April, the combined energy bills for the whole of Bath come to…

  • £63,677,830 for central heating
  • £12,767,780 for hot water
  • £6,938,619 for lighting

There are extra energy costs for washing, fridges, etc., yet I wanted to focus just on the home as this is a property blog.

Everyone’s bills will be around 50% more expensive in 2022 than in 2021, but it’s not too late for Bathonians to take some quick steps to cut their energy bills and, at the same time, cut our carbon footprint.

Just over a quarter of the UK’s carbon comes from heating and lighting our 27.6 million homes, and each UK home produces 4.39 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Upgrading the energy efficiency of UK homes is seen as a vital step to attempting to mitigate the issues of climate change, fuel poverty and our nation’s energy security.

So, what are some quick wins for Bath residents to reduce the energy bills on their homes, and how will energy efficiency play a more significant part in the value of Bath homes in the future?

  1. By turning down the thermostat by 1 degree, the average annual saving would be £105.91 per home and each homes carbon dioxide would be reduced by an eighth of a tonne (it all adds up!).
  2. Replacing your bulbs when you can with energy-efficient bulbs will, on average, reduce your lighting costs from £172 per year to £103 per year.
  3. What time does your heating come on and off? Could it come on later and go off earlier?
  4. Smart meters (which are installed for free) are estimated to help lower UK homes electricity use by nearly 3% and gas use by 2% … again it’s all margin gains.

These are just a handful of ideas. Check out the internet for others as it’s fascinating how much energy we use for overfull kettles, chargers left on and tech on standby etc.

Yet, these things will only scratch the surface… many of us will need to go further, especially Bath landlords, to retrofit our properties to make them more energy-efficient.

This is particularly important as in June the Government announced they would make the country carbon neutral by 2050, meaning Britain’s homes need some enormous retro-fitting to meet these ambitious climate targets.

In 2018, the Government required private landlords to improve the energy rating of their rental properties by prohibiting the rental of any property with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of F and G (the lowest ratings). Yet from 2025, it is proposed that will be increased to C for all new tenancies and 2028 for all existing tenancies (more on these EPCs below).

I don’t believe there is an appetite to mandate private homeowners to do this work, though you never know in the future.

So, how do you find out about your Bath home’s eco-credentials?

Since 2007, every new home that has been built, rented out or put on to the market in Bath has had to have an EPC, giving it a rating between A and G (rather like those stickers you see on fridges and washing machines).

A is the highest rating (i.e., best energy efficient and greener), and G is the worst efficiency rating.

38% of Bath homes are in that eco-friendly A to C energy performance band rating, compared to the national average of 40.1%

So, what next? Well, the Government will attempt to make the green revolution as painless as possible with technology.

In the future, we might have hydrogen central heating instead of mains gas; or have solar panels for electricity, all triple glazed windows and even ground source heating – sounds fanciful? Well, who would have thought some of the most wanted cars would be electric 20 years ago?

There is no doubt that the energy efficiency of our homes will rise in the coming years as the cost of fuel increases and people’s opinion on going green changes.

You don’t need to spend thousands of pounds to find out what you can do to make your property greener and cost less. Look at your EPC and it will tell you what small changes you can make to improve your Bath home’s energy efficiency rating and ultimately save yourself money. If you want to find the EPC rating of your Bath home, go to epcregister.com. If you need an EPC, drop me a line as I know some great local energy assessors that can easily do an EPC on your property at a price that won’t cost the earth!

Reside is an award-winning independent letting agent in Bath. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of letting or managing your property; we would love to hear from you.

EPCs on Listed Buildings: what do landlords need to know?

Posted on by prateek

Reside’s Toby Martin dives into the puzzling world of minimum energy standards in the private rental sector, and how they apply to Listed properties.

By law, any rental property must have an energy efficiency inspection carried out in order to place the property on the rental market. The energy efficiency of the property is graded between A and G, with A being the best rating. The property’s energy efficiency is summarised in a report called an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which must be included in the marketing particulars and provided to any prospective tenant.

A recent law, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards Regulations, was introduced to prevent landlords from renting out properties with an F or G energy rating without first carrying out the improvements suggested in the EPC to increase the overall rating. The intention is for the landlord to carry out any works necessary to raise the overall score to an E rating.

The government wants to raise the minimum energy efficiency standards to EPC Band C by 2025 for new tenancies in private rented homes, and by 2028 for all tenancies. However, this legislation is yet to be finalised.

Initially, it was thought that Listed properties were exempt from the requirement of even having an EPC due to the difficulty landlords would encounter when trying to improve the property. Listed buildings regulations restrict many of the improvements that are often suggested in EPCs, such as fitting double glazing windows.

However, recent clarification made it crystal clear that all properties, including those in Listed buildings, must obtain an EPC when going on the rental market. Listed properties, mainly due to their age and limitations on energy improvements, are more likely to receive low scores, but landlords of these properties should know that it is still possible to go to the rental market, even if it is impossible to increase the energy rating to the required E rating.

Landlords of low-scoring properties must carry out the recommended improvements to increase the energy efficiency of their property, but there are certain situations in which properties can be registered as exempt from these requirements. The most relevant of these exemptions are:

  • ‘High cost’ exemption: The prohibition on letting property below an EPC rating of E does not apply if the cost of making even the cheapest recommended improvement would exceed £3,500.
  • ‘All improvements made’ exemption: Where all of the suggested energy efficiency improvements for the property have been made, or there are none that can be made, and the property remains sub-standard, an exemption from further improvements can be obtained and the property can be placed on the market.
  • ‘Consent’ exemption: If third party consent is required to carry out a suggested improvement, for example from a freeholder or local authority, and that consent cannot be obtained, an exemption can be registered.

Despite the minimum energy standards regulations, any property can be brought to the rental market – you just need to know how to navigate the EPC maze.

Reside is an award-winning independent letting agent in Bath. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of letting or managing your property; we would love to hear from you.

Will changes to EPC law be delayed yet again?

Posted on by prateek

Back in January, we blogged about the ongoing saga concerning changes to EPC law in England. Letting and estate agents are required by law to commission an Energy Performance Certificate prior to marketing a property, but current legislation regarding how much of the report must then be shared with clients is very lax. The EPC gives an indication of how energy efficient a property is, and what can be done to improve its rating and decrease fuel costs.

Since early 2011 the government has been promising to tighten up EPC laws, but the proposed changes have been consistently delayed and pushed back. With the latest deadline of April 6th coming up shortly, it remains to be seen whether or not they will be postponed yet again.

The warning signs look ominous; last week, agents were due to be issued with guidance on the upcoming changes by the Communities and Local Government department. This did not happen. However, Estate Agent Today reports that a government insider has indicated that the changes will ‘definitely go ahead on April 6‘, despite the fact that the redesigned EPC has not yet been approved.

It is widely believed that, after April 6th, letting and estate agents will be required to attach the entire first page of the new-look EPC to all property particulars, although no guidance has yet been issued about online marketing.

While many believe that this marks an important step towards encouraging tenants and homeowners to increase the energy efficiency of their home, others see the EPC as something that is ignored by the vast majority of people moving into a new home. A recent report in The Guardian suggests that ‘nearly four-fifths of people (79%) who had received an EPC when buying or renting a new home had not acted on any of its recommendations to make it more energy-efficient and thereby save money’. The government will be hoping that the redesigned EPC, with a front page that clearly and simply details recommendations for improving the property’s energy efficiency, will have an impact on the amount of people who then act on the recommendations.

At Reside, we have always made the entire EPC available to landlords and tenants and we will continue to do so after April 6th. Examples of our EPCs can be found on the property pages of our website.