80 per cent of homebuyers ignore EPCs

Nearly 80 per cent of people overlook the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when buying a home, according to a new survey by Consumer Focus.

As the coalition government moves forward with plans for the Green Deal, Consumer Focus worry that the financial incentives for energy efficiencies alone will not be enough to create a change in behaviour.

The survey, which asked over 2,000 people about their property purchases, found that 14 per cent of them considered energy an issue when buying a home, while cost, size and location are still the major factors.

Liz Laine, Energy Expert at Consumer Focus, said: "Our survey shows that energy efficiency can influence people when choosing a new home.

"But the information in the EPC is not helping people act on those concerns. With the 'green deal' just around the corner, these certificates must become a trigger for action, not just a sheet at the bottom of a huge pile of home-buying paperwork.”

They believe that the purchase of a property could be a trigger for improving energy efficiency but the survey found that in many cases consumers did not receive the right information in the EPC, a particular problem in the rented sector, or received the information at the wrong time. They say information should be involved in the marketing of the property, with responsibility on landlords and estate agents.

This will be increasingly important, as the EPC will also carry any Green Deal Charge, carried with the property and not the person, the disclosure of the certificate to homebuyers vital.

Speaking at Ecobuild, Ian Merchant, Chief Executive of Scottish and Southern Energy said there needed to be higher minimum standards and better compliance with the standards we have, saying the EPC was not enough.

He also said people needed to be better informed about the amount of energy they were actually using, saying: “Every energy bill you have is wrong, because it either starts or ends with an estimate…How can we be expected to manage something we have know idea about.”

The Green Deal could solve the monetary element, with an estimated £6000 per person needed to be spent to improve old housing stock, but the latest report shows motivation and understanding also need to be targeted.

The survey by Consumer Focus concluded that more incentives are needed for enough energy improvements, as only 17 per cent of people took up the EPC’s recommendations but half of the remainder could not say why they didn’t.

Sunand Prasad, co-founder of Penoyre & Prasad LLP told the Ecobuild audience (2 March) that it is not only about making homes more energy efficient but also making someone’s home a better place to live, and by offering wider improvement incentives could push consumers into acting.

Fraser Winterbottom, Chief Operating Officer at the Energy Saving Trust echoed this saying you could combine the energy efficient improvements with other planned improvements in the home.

The market for energy efficiency is there, according to Winterbottom; more people ring the Energy Saving Trust asking about how they can save money, but people need to be offered, “something compelling that they understand.”

 

Image: BBM Explorer | flickr