Reducing fuel bills and your carbon footprint
with Chester Energy Assessors
Reducing fuel bills with a home energy survey
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) clearly highlight the best and most cost-efficient ways to improve the energy efficiency of your home. At Chester Energy Assessors we have seen neighbouring houses that were identical when first built in the 1960s, but now one has estimated annual fuel bills of £1300 and the other £700. In fact most home owners can save hundreds of pounds with appropriate improvements.
The problem for most people is knowing what is worth doing, how much you would typically save for a given improvement, and how long it would take to pay for itself. Installers of improvements obviously have a vested interest in convincing you that their products are worth having.
A good way to proceed is to have a thorough independent survey and energy rating calculated by Chester Energy Assessors using the RDSAP software. We will show you what the energy costs to run your home are under standard conditions and how much would be typically saved for various improvments. We can re-run the software with different options for improvements and discuss the findings with you. Email us for more information or telephone 01244-351644. Also see the Energy Saving Trust website for more information on saving energy in your home.
EPC and carbon dioxide emissions
A completed EPC from Chester Energy Assessors gives your property an energy rating and an environmental rating; both are a band from G (poor) to A (good). The environmental rating is related to the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in kg per square metre. The total CO2 emissions for your property are given below the colour charts on the first page of the EPC (see typical example). The CO2 figure is the sum of what is directly produced on your property e.g. from burning gas or other fuel in your boiler, plus your share of the emissions from a power station to generate the electricity you use.
At Chester Energy Assessors we are passionate about the issues surrounding global warming and the responsibility of both governmnents and individuals to reduce their carbon emissions. We offer a cost-effective consultancy service using the RDSAP software for local home owners who are interested in knowing how efficient their property is and what improvements are worth doing. Please email us for more information or telephone 01244-351644.
It is also possible to estimate the total CO2 emissions you or your household generates, including not only the emissions due to energy used in the home, but also the contributions from your travelling and what you eat and buy. For this you need a "carbon calculator" - here's a good one: BioRegional carbon footprint calculator.
Why was the EPC introduced?
In the UK 31% of energy usage is from domestic homes, greater even than transport, and commercial property accounts for around another 15%. The vast majority of UK energy comes from fossil fuels that produce carbon dioxide when burnt. The EPC is enshrined in EU law and was introduced as part of a Europe-wide initiative in response to the Kyoto Agreement, aimed at increasing awareness of CO2 emissions and its effect on global warming. The UK government introduced it into the buying and selling process via the HIP pack in 2007 and into the rental market and commercial market in 2008.
But another important issue is that fossil fuels in the form of oil and gas are gradually running out, and their price is expected to increase ever upwards over time. Most experts believe we need to act now to stave off both serious climate instability, and the likelihood of energy shortages in the future.
By itself, having an EPC carried out doesn't of course change anything, but it sets a benchmark by which to improve against, and to identify accurately the effect different improvements would have. It is expected that it would, over time, encourage individual property owners and landlords to make these improvements, helped hopefully, by government incentives.
