Energy Performance Certificates Influence Buyer Decisions

After commenting on the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates last week, research released today, compiled by Drummond Madell on behalf of the Energy Saving Trust suggest that the EPC rating of a house will influence 29% of peoples buying or renting decisions.

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

HIPs Extended to All Properties

The government announced on Thursday, from 14 December 2007 all properties sold in England and Wales will now require a Home Information Pack. We have followed the roll out from initially being required for four bedroom houses in August, to the inclusion of three bedroom properties in September.

Included in HIPs is an energy performance certificates (EPCs) will give homes an efficiency rating of A - G. To date the average EPC rating has been an "E". Buyers whose homes score badly will receive extra help from the new Green Homes Service announced this week by Gordon Brown.

"Hips and EPCs are already helping consumers to save hundreds of pounds off their fuel bills. All home buyers will be able to benefit from energy efficiency advice, with those receiving low green ratings of 'F' and 'G' especially targeted for support and grants"
Yvette Cooper, Housing Minister

This is the completion of the roll-out of HIPs and I am glad to see that this has been efficiently rolled out in a period of less than six months, as I feared back in august it was going to be a drawn out process lasting in excess of a year. The final 40% of the housing stock affected results in a further 8.4m homes requiring a pack should they be going on to the market. The launch of the Green Homes Service will compliment EPCs, as owners seek to improve their homes efficiency. The inclusion of homes with one and two bedrooms will also be a positive move to reducing the emissions from homes as these are most likely to have a higher footprint per capita.

HIPs Average EPC Rating "E"

Today sees the implementation of Home Information Packs for three-bedroom houses, now covering 60% of the UK market. But with this also comes news that the average four-bedroom home achieved a miserable "E" rating for the Energy Performance Certificate. An E rating could potentially rise to a C if consumers carry out measures recommended in the certificates, such as loft and cavity wall insulation.

"Families buying four-bedroom homes are getting clear information, which shows how they can save hundreds of pounds on their fuel bills and cut carbon emissions too. It is important that this should be available for people buying three-bedroom homes as well." Iain Wright, Communities Minister

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Northern Ireland's First Carbon Neutral Home

Northern Ireland’s first carbon neutral home, has been officially opened by Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie. The five bedroom, 2,500 sq ft property has been built by Sky Developments, a specialist development company working in the field of low carbon and passive status housing. The building was constructed using Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and incorporates the latest state of the art technologies to assist energy efficiency.

“I have been most impressed by what I have seen. This building showcases to stunning effect the innovative, energy saving technologies now available. All involved are to be congratulated for bringing such a challenging project to fruition.”
Margaret Ritchie, Social Development Minister

The minister took the opportunity to highlight a number of initiatives already developed by her own department to further increase the sustainability and energy efficiency of social housing.

The New Housing Agenda gives a high priority to the provision of more energy efficient housing. From April this year, a new higher Code for Sustainable Homes has applied to all new social housing, meaning that in effect homes built now are 25% more energy efficient than ever before.

Stephen McCready and Alan Johnston, directors of Sky Developments, say the 2,300sq ft home is so energy efficient that Northern Ireland Electricity will owe the householder £200 at the end of the year because it will produce so much energy it will feed the surplus back into the grid. The house’s carbon-neutral status means it has been granted an A Energy Performance Certificate. The average home in Northern Ireland are rated E.

The “green house” uses four main methods to keep costs at less than zero:

• the roof has been constructed of photovoltaic panels designed to resemble black slate tiles that harness the sun’s rays for electricity;
  
  
• structural insulated panels (SIPS) make up the shell of the house, with their superior heat-retaining ability cutting down on the need for electricity;
  
  
• an air source heat pump uses wind energy to pump out water at 37 degrees;
  
  
• quadruple glazing in each window blocks out the cold.

Sky Developments are about to start building 40 energy-efficient affordable homes in Newtownards using SIPS and the zero-carbon prototype as inspiration.

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Build a Green House in a Day

A day might be a bit optimistic, but you can order these beautiful prefabricated homes and they are delivered complete. That would have been a real show stopper on Grand Designs. Yes, I did say prefab. The great thing about these homes are they are Green, they are made from recycled steel, and come complete, they can be configured to the site as required and can be built to take advantage of the climate. Decks provide shade and reduce solar heat gain, with wide doors for natural cross ventilation. Each unit is built to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certification from the United States Green Building Council. Not to mention the Forest Stewardship Council certified EcoTimber flooring comes from responsibly managed sources. There is alot more to see, and too many other things to mention.



If you want one, you can snatch a cute little Rincon 5 series (1 bed / 1 bath) for $179 000, before installation. Or go to a Skyline 2.6 for just shy of $1m (including installation). Or if you want to be creative just get a custom home. If you are in love already, visit Marmol Radziner Prefab.



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Winter Energy Saving Tips

What Does a Display Energy Certificate Look Like?

Click on images for a more detailed view.



A This provides information about the building that the DEC applies to.

B Every DEC has a unique number. This number can be used to locate and get a copy of the certificate from the national register and to verify the validity of a DEC.

C The energy used by the building is converted into an amount of carbon dioxide (CO2). Different types of fuel emit different amounts of CO2. This shows how the energy use has changed over the last three years. The smaller the bar, the better the performance. This building has improved its performance over the last three years. Below the zero line show CO2 savings from Low and Zero Carbon energy sources. The benchmark is the average energy performance for a building of this type. A number below the line indicates the building is below average energy performance. A number above the line indicates the building is above average performance.

D This section of the DEC shows Operational Ratings from previous years. This building has improved its Operational Rating i.e. is using less energy and emitting less CO2 than in previous reports.

E This shows key information about how the certificate was prepared.

• Assessment software
  This shows which energy assessment method was used to produce the certificate.
• Property reference
  This is a unique reference number which identifies the building.
• Assessor Name and Number Accreditation scheme
  This identifies the assessor who produced the certificate with details of their accreditation scheme and their membership number.
• Issue and nominated date
  This shows the date of issues of the certificate and the date from which the DEC is valid (i.e. the nominated date).

F This provides technical information about energy use. Further details are available in a full technical table.

G This shows the relevant elements of technical information used to produce the certificate.

• Main Heating Fuel
  This indicates the main type of fuel used to heat the building.
• Building Environment
  This indicates how the internal environment of the building is conditioned.
• Total useful floor area
  This is the total area of all enclosed spaces measured to the internal face of the external walls (in accordance with the definition in the Building Regulations).
• Asset Rating: The asset rating of a building reflects the energy performance of that building in terms of the way it is built rather than the way it is used (standard use is assumed). It will appear here if the building has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Asset ratings are on a scale of 0-150, where 0 is the most energy efficient building and 150 is the least energy efficient building.

H This is the Operational Rating for this building. The rating shows the energy performance of the building as it is being used by the occupants. A building with performance equal to one typical of its type would therefore have an Operational Rating of 100. A building that resulted in zero CO2 emissions would have an OR of zero, and a building that resulted in twice the typical CO2 emissions would have an OR of 200. This rating indicates the building is being operated below average performance for a building of this type.



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Home Information Packs

The start of August marked the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIP) into the United Kingdom, initially for houses with four or more bedrooms in England & Wales, extending to three-bed houses on September 10, 2007, this will cover over 60% of the housing market. Scotland will introduce their own version of the HIP in 2008. Costing about £400 to compile, a Home Information Pack must include:

• Evidence of title
• Copies of planning, listed building or building regulations consents
• A local search
• Guarantees for any work on the property, and;
• An energy performance certificate

Energy Performance Certificates are created by energy assessors who complete an audit on the property taking into account measures that the owner has implemented to improve the efficiency, such as cavity wall insulation, double glazing and energy saving light bulbs. This data is then fed in most cases to a computer program which then produces a report and rating, displayed like that of energy labels on white goods. The Energy Saving Trust believe following the advice in the EPC report the average household could save £300 per year off their bills.

"Hips and EPCs can help families to save hundreds of pounds off their fuel bills, and cut a million tonnes of carbon a year"
Baroness Andrews, Communities Minister

The introduction of the Home Information Packs has been cited by many as a way to reduce house sales falling through, with the potential buyer receiving in advance basic clear information about the property. They also reduce the need for multiple people compiling the same information on the same property, and the government hopes will empower people to make simple but effective changes to their homes to improve the efficiency. Installing cavity wall insulation and filling your home with LED or energy saving bulbs will only cost a few hundred pounds and can be completed in an afternoon, but could mean the difference between an E or a C grade, and thousands of pounds in fuel costs to prospective buyers. They also ensure the government complies with an EU directive before the 2009 deadline.

"It will give the opportunity for people, for the first time, to understand their energy consumption. It will let them know - possibly for the first time - what level of energy standard a home is currently reaching and could be reaching."
Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive, Energy Saving Trust

My only hope is that they roll out the information packs to smaller properties within a reasonable time scale which suits market conditions, as these properties are most likely per capita producing more emissions than those of larger properties. Also if you are in the property industry, make your packs available electronically and save all that paper.