31 CATHEDRAL COMMUNICATIONS THE BUILDING CONSERVATION DIRECTORY 2025 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES 1 EPCs and HISTORIC BUILDINGS: A MISMATCH? SIMON LOCK ENERGY PERFORMANCE Certificates (EPCs) were introduced in the UK in 2007 as part of a broader European Union initiative to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. They have become commonplace with many people aware of their use in relation to house sales and property rentals, or will have noticed them displayed in public buildings. In the built conservation world, EPCs are often considered to be dangerous tools which risk harming the character and significance of a heritage asset. However, energy consumption and emissions are clearly vital in ensuring the longevity of these buildings. So, are EPCs destroying heritage buildings or do we just need to understand the system better? WHAT IS AN EPC? An EPC provides a standardised assessment of a building’s energy efficiency, rating it from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and aims to inform building owners and occupiers about their property’s energy performance. It also seeks to encourage improvements by forecasting a potential rating. An EPC is required whenever a building is sold, rented or newly constructed so that the relative energy performance is known at the point of transaction. There are several exemptions available but if the building has a floor area greater than 50 sq m and is well occupied it will likely require an EPC. While local conservation officers can exempt listed buildings, this exemption only applies to those that cannot be altered without negatively impacting their significance. England and Wales share the same controls, but there are significant differences in their application in Scotland. In particular churches and other places of worship need an EPC if in Scotland but not in England and Wales. Currently, to rent a property in England and Wales the building must be rated E or higher, with a minimum rating of C expected to come into force in 2030. There is no EPC-rating threshold when selling a property. WHAT DOES THE RATING MEAN? The rating demonstrates predicted running cost for a property based on its size (floor area). A rating of A and score of 100 would demonstrate the property is extremely cost efficient. This means it would be earning as much through energy generation as it is costing in energy usage (heating, hot water and appliance usage). A benefit of the rating system is that it enables the comparison of cost efficiency between different property sizes. For example, a 100 sq m 1970s urban flat and a 200 sq m 1920s detached rural house could both have EPC ratings of D, however the 200 sq m house will likely have double the running cost as it has twice the floor area. Therefore, to maximize a buildings EPC rating, the key is to target the lowest theoretical running cost per square metre of floor area. EPC ratings are illustrated with a coloured chart indicating the property’s current and potential rating. Additional information about the property’s performance is provided within the certificate; however, little attention is usually given to this. Every lodged EPC is publicly available on the government’s online register1. This is a useful resource which can provide insight into the property rating. The first pieces of information are typically the property type (for example, detached house or flat) and floor area. This information is crucial for understanding the property’s energy consumption and enabling effective comparison to other properties. For instance, a larger property will generally cost more to run than a smaller one. The online EPC also lists the features in the property with a brief description and gives these a rating. As an example, a roof may be noted as ‘pitched no insulation (assumed)’ with a rating of ‘very poor’. This suggests inaccessibility prevented roof inspection, leading to the assumption of original, uninsulated construction. If we take a heating system example this may shows as ‘main heating, electric storage heaters, poor’. This shows that the property is primarily heated using electric storage heaters and these have a rating of ‘poor’ as they are expensive to use to heat a property compared with other technologies. EPCs rate a building’s energy efficiency compared to others and suggest improvements. However, these suggestions, generated automatically by software, may not be appropriate for historic buildings due to limited survey information. Therefore, caution should be taken when retrofitting older properties. EPC ratings are illustrated with a coloured chart indicating the property’s current and potential rating. Additional information about the property’s performance is provided within the certificate; however, little attention is usually given to this.
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