landlord to do the most they can to make sure the property, and any heating and lighting equipment, is as efficient as it can be. By 2020 residential carbon emissions have to be reduced substantially and the Government has introduced Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) to help improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Anyone buying or selling a home now needs a certificate by law. Since 2008 EPCs have been required whenever a building is built, sold or rented out. Similar to the certification labels we see on white goods such as freezers, the certificate provides ‘A’ to ‘G’ ratings for the building, with ‘A’ being the most energy efficient and ‘G’ being the least, with the average up to now being ‘D’. There are now accredited energy assessors producing EPCs in conjunction with a report which suggests improvements to make a building more energy efficient. Where a domestic property is being sold, the EPC and report usually form part of a Home Information Pack (HIP). There were 2.55 million household moves in England in 2005/6, of which only 0.9 million were owner occupiers, the remainder tenants. From this it’s estimated that 2.7 million Energy Performance Certificates would be issued. This may be an underestimate
especially if large numbers of people put their home on the market, incur the expense of acquiring a HIP and Energy Performance Certificate and then do not go ahead with the sale. The biggest group of movers is private renters, despite this being only 12 per cent of the total housing sector. However, the impact on landlords will be muted, because, at the moment, the certificates can be reused, for up to 10 years. A further implication is that certain properties are not going to get an EPC for a very long time – over half of all owner occupiers live in their homes for more than 10 years and some people will still be in the same house in 2050. The tenant is responsible for taking
care of the building, paying the rent on time, paying the utility bills (if that’s the agreement with the landlord) and, in most cases, paying the council tax, water and sewerage charges. It seems that we spend a lot of time and money making inefficient buildings more efficient and while we should always do what we can the onus should be on making right the wrongs at refurbishment or build stage. For many developers and house builders the promotion of energy efficiency is fraught with problems. So many factions with so many different views – underground, over-ground, solar, wind,
wave, compost, etc. Each one has its claim to fame and efficiency. For landlords, whether they have one or two homes to let, hundreds or even thousands, the decision on innovative and planet-friendly heating systems is ultimately made in conjunction with the architect, developer and advisers. It’s they that choose what’s going to work in a building, whether it’s user-friendly and efficient, acceptable aesthetically and economically advantageous to particular circumstances.
So which type of system is the best to install in rented accommodation? Which system takes account of both the cost of installation – paid for by the developer or landlord – and the cost of heating met by the tenant? Traditionally the UK has opted for
gas-fired, wet central heating systems in new homes over the last 30 years or so. But such systems cause the hot air to rise quickly so the ceilings are warm and the floors are cold. The most remarkable thing about the traditional radiator is that the valves fitted on them measure only the temperature of the hot water flowing into the radiator, not the temperature of the room. So, if one room needs more warmth than another, or vice versa, the boiler does not and cannot, adjust to that specific need and reduce consumption of
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