Improving the energy efficiency of existing homes is key to eradicating fuel poverty and decarbonising heat from households
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A quick win would be to tweak the EPC calculation so it is fair for the countryside, especially as raising the EPC may in future be legally required before selling or renting a property.
Duncan Carter, Corporate Affairs Manager at Calor Gas, responded to Wera Hobhouse MP.
“Improving the energy efficiency of existing homes is key to eradicating fuel poverty and decarbonising heat from households. Rural home energy efficiency already lags behind urban so future investment must be better targeted at rural homes, which are often most in need of upgrade, and the hardest to treat. Many rural homes have been poorly served by schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation, with only 3% above EPC Band C”.
“A quick win would be to tweak the EPC calculation so it is fair for the countryside, especially as raising the EPC may in future be legally required before selling or renting a property. A home on the gas grid which achieves an EPC Rating of C, would typically only achieve a lower E or F rating if off-grid, just because it doesn’t use mains gas for heating. Unreformed, meeting a minimum EPC will cost more for most rural homes compared to urban and won’t be fair.”
