5 Ways To Improve Your EPC Rating and Comply With MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards )
/On April 1st 2023 MEES will apply to ALL commercial and domestic leased properties. This will mean it will be unlawful to rent residential or commercial property with an EPC rating of ‘E’ or worse.
Now, I know that 2023 sounds really far away. But getting ready ahead of time is the smart choice as a landlord. Your property may need a lot of work, and leaving it until last minute could mean your cashflow will take a strong hit.
Here are 5 ways you can improve the energy efficiency of your property and increase your likelihood of a better rating:
1. Check your lights
Changing over to LED lighting frameworks can significantly decrease CO2 emissions and electricity costs.
2. Upgrade your heating system
A side effect of getting a new, condensing boiler is often that the newer model has a better carbon footprint, and as such helps improve your property’s EPC rating. Upgrading can improve your rating by 5-20 points depending on the age of the current system.
3. Insulate, insulate, insulate
Topping up your loft insulation is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to improve your EPC rating. Going from no insulation to 270mm can improve the rating by 10 or 15 points, whilst even a top up on existing insulation can get 2-5 points worth of improvement in many cases. If you have cavity walls, make sure they are insulated. Insulating a cavity can improve the rating by 5-10 points on average. If you have a hot water cylinder, its also worth getting insulated as that can bump up your rating by a couple of points.
4. Glazing
Upgrading from single to double glazing will make several points difference on average – not as much as wall and loft insulation, but still a noticeable increase. However, If you already have double glazing, even if it is old, there is not going to be much improvement in the rating.
5. Seal open chimneys
Open fires and draughty chimneys actually make some difference to the EPC rating. If possible, block these up permanently, or install a closed heater in the opening to add a few further points of improvement.
