Energy Saving 33
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Measuring your home’s efficiency Although Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are not quite making the grade, home • improvements have never been more important • The UK government has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and with this fastapproaching goal on our minds, it’s little wonder that so many of us • are looking for ways to make our homes more eco-friendly. Around 19 million homes in the UK will have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating below the minimum target of band C by 2035, if they are not retrofitted with better energy efficiency. As many as 29 million homes will need to replace their heating systems with greener technology. Improving Britain’s energy-inefficient housing in time is a mammoth task itself – but experts are warning that the reliance on EPC certificates is something of a ‘green herring’ and could impede Britain’s progress towards its eco-home goal. First introduced in 2008, EPC acts as a guide to show the energy
efficiency of a property, and must be produced whenever a residential building is built, sold or let. Since then, well over 20 million have been issued and certificates can be easily accessed for free online by entering your postcode into the government-backed EPC website. “EPCs do give prospective buyers or tenants an idea of how well insulated a home is and what it will cost to heat it,” said Chris Gardner, co-founder of the development lender Atelier. “But all too often, EPCs are treated as a box-ticking exercise by those required to get one, and the environmental impact element is based on a series of assumptions that may not always reflect reality.” Many experts believe that EPCs aren’t fit for purpose anymore – and are especially useless when it comes to working out the carbon impact of new homes – for the simple reason that EPCs don’t count any of the
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carbon emissions released during construction. Several key building materials, like steel and concrete are highly carbon-intensive, a fact often glossed over by property developers.
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As many as 29 million homes will need to replace their heating systems with greener technology “A newly-built, well-insulated home could quite feasibly be awarded an EPC ‘A’ rating because of its energy efficiency, but this would be entirely misleading if the property was packed with embodied carbon,” said Chris. “More importantly still, EPCs do nothing to encourage property developers, builders or their supply chain to build more sustainably.”
Worryingly, homeowners’ lack of trust and understanding of EPC ratings mean few are willing to invest in improvements on their home based on the recommendations. “More than three-quarters of people don’t know the rating of their own home and there’s also often a misconception that any improvements will involve a large initial outlay,” said Andrew Asaam, mortgages director at Halifax. But it is not all bad news. There are better ways to check a property’s green credentials – and start improving your own. Banks such as Halifax, now offer an energyefficiency health check,providing a tailored action plan for green improvements to your property so that homeowners can go beyond the recommendations found in the EPC. If you’re feeling confident, you can carry out a DIY home-energy audit with fantastichandyman.co.uk as your guide.
There’s a wide range of government grants to incentivise property owners to improve their homes. Banks are also lending a hand, offering funding including personal loans and the ability to borrow money on an existing mortgage if the owner is planning to make green home improvements. Homes with the highest energy ratings are worth more on average, than less sustainable properties and making small changes today can help you to save money on bills. “Homeowners at the lower end of the energy-efficiency scale are likely to see the greatest returns on their investments, even from making simple changes like switching to LED bulbs or adding loft insulation,” said Andrew. “There’s a huge opportunity for more people to get on board with this and reap the rewards.” by Kirsty McKenzie
Plan your roadmap and mitigate rising energy costs Zenergi is built on the belief that there is a better, brighter way forward for the energy industry Organisations can no longer ignore their responsibility to reducing energy use and tackling climate change. The scale and pace now need to be accelerated, but, with a wish list of energy efficiency measures, compounded by budget pressures, it can be difficult to prioritise the upgrades and plan for
the transformation required. Government funding schemes designed to reduce carbon emissions and support decarbonisation have made it possible for some organisations to make progress, although many are unable to benefit and those that are should not rely on
accessing fi nance from these highly oversubscribed and limited funds. Because of this, it is now essential that organisations prepare a strategic plan that seeks to reduce energy usage.
The cheapest kilowatt hour is the one you don’t use The recent turbulence in the energy market has heightened the awareness of many to look towards reducing their energy consumption. Investing in an energy audit will provide a comprehensive review of the energy used across your building portfolio, identifying a range of practical low-cost and no-cost measures that typically pay for the audit within a year, together with a range of longer-term investment measures. Recent years have seen a shift towards the education sector building on young people’s passion for protecting the environment to help their energy reduction ambitions. Educational institutions that have shared their energy audit results and encouraged behavioural changes have benefitted from energy savings of as much as
20% when consistently applied. Interactive resources that educate and engage the energy users of the future in the critical dialogue around climate change, including Zenergi’s Climate Crisis game, help educators to enhance the work they are doing with pupils to effect change.
A step back after Covid For other sectors, such as healthcare, the Covid-19 pandemic has set the industry several steps back in terms of reaching ambitious net-zero targets. Huge increases in single-use plastics and hospitals at full capacity have challenged the NHS. The sector must now accelerate the development and delivery of its ‘green plans’ if it is to meet its carbon reduction targets.
Energy Freedom Increasing numbers of organisations are considering options that allow them to reduce their reliance on the grid. The upfront cost of fi nancing renewable
energy projects has often prohibited implementation, but many are recognising the value of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to fi nance technology such as solar PV, helping them generate on site electricity, while reducing spend on imported energy.
Find out more Visit zenergi.co.uk or email Zenergi at bepositive@zenergi.co.uk to understand more about measures to support your net-zero journey.
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