What is an EPC

In current times energy and power consumption means a lot to normal household.
With increasing cost of gas and electric homeowners preferred properties which retain more energy as opposed to the ones that don’t.

To showcase the efficiency of energy consumption by the houses, every house is issued an EPC rating.
Let’s understand what EPC is and how does it affect us.

What does an EPC rating mean?
EPC stands for energy performance certificate.
In simple words, EPC is the review of the energy efficiency of a property. It helps homeowners to understand how energy efficient their home is. Based on the rating how much what would be energy consumption of the property.
The EPC assessors, also known as “domestic energy assessors”, carry out the assessment of the property. These officials conduct a survey of properties based on their energy efficiency and rate them from A to G on a coloured scale, where A stands for the most energy-efficient rating and G stands for the least.
This means property with an EPC rating of A would lose less energy resulting in lower gas bills.
Property with EPC rating of G would lose more energy resulting in longer time to heat up the house with higher gas bills.
The following two factors decides the EPC rating of the property:

• The energy used per square meter
• The carbon dioxide emission levels (presented as tonnes per year)

How to find out EPC rating.
EPC rating of your property can be found out on the EPC register. If you do not have an EPC certificate you need to get in touch with The EPC assessors, also known as “domestic energy assessors”. The typical cost is £40 -120 to get an EPC certificate.
Once EPC certificate is issued it remains valid for a 10 years.

Can EPC rating affect your mortgage?
With higher living cost everyone is more concern about saving on bills.
If you are thinking to purchase a property on a mortgage or remortgage your current property, it is important to have a look at its EPC rating as it would affect the mortgage provided to you.
Mortgage lenders often offer better deals for properties that are more energy-efficient called green mortgages. In other words, the lower the EPC rating of a property could help you to save on mortgage payments.
If the EPC rating of a property is high and it can be brought down, it is highly recommended to do so as it will save the property owner a lot of money on gas and electricity bills.
The impact of the EPC rating of a property purchased will only become more important in the years to come. According to the government proposals, all homes will need to have an EPC rating of C or better by 2035. This would make properties more energy efficient and reducing the carbon footprint.

Poor EPC rating could result in refuse the mortgage?
If the EPC rating of a property is too poor (ideally E or above), mortgage lenders may refuse you mortgage.
In such scenarios improving the EPC rating of the property could help you to secure the mortgage.