With winter in full swing, households are understandably thinking of their energy bills, which remain stubbornly high. However, the good news is that little things can go a long way to increasing a property’s energy efficiency – and therefore reducing its running costs.
Using Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) data, which rates a home’s energy efficiency from A (best) to G (worst), we looked at the impact each energy-saving measure is likely to have on a property’s EPC score. This revealed that 56% of homes in band A have an air source heat pump and 73% have cavity wall insulation. By contrast, 61% of properties in band G, the lowest-rated category, are heated by wood, coal, LPG or oil and just 11% had some form of cavity wall insulation.
Open fireplaces made a big difference too. Just 3% of Band A homes had an open fireplace, compared to over a third of Band G rated homes.
But there were some surprises too. Only 3% of Band A rated homes had triple glazing, with the remaining 97% with double-glazing. And only 7% of the most energy efficient homes had solar panels to heat their water.
We then assessed the chances of moving up an EPC band for each individual improvement. So, for instance, by switching from a gas boiler to a heat pump, 79% of households moved into a better EPC band (while 21% remained in the same band). And by replacing single glazing with double glazing, 61% of properties improved their rating (with 39% seeing no change).
While these measures require a large upfront outlay – and also tend to be fitted to properties that are already reasonably energy efficient – we found that the impact of easy, cheaper improvements can be substantial.
Indeed, insulation is key. Cavity wall insulation reaped the best returns, with 88% of households improving their EPC rating. Meanwhile 79% of households moved up an EPC band by installing up to 100mm of loft insulation (21% of households remained in the same band). This can be a DIY job if a loft is easy to access and has no problems with damp or condensation.
One of the cheapest improvements is going from zero to full-energy lighting which saw 77% of households move into a better EPC band (23% saw no change).
All this emphasises the importance of doing the basics – which are often the cheapest things to do – to make a home as energy-efficient as possible this winter.
