Posted By: djhI had thought it was quite easy - just add lots of renewable generation bling. But perhaps the system has changed.

I know the people who built this - https://www.themodernhouse.com/sales-list/the-treehouse-ii/

Ground source heating, Solar Water, solar electric, MVHR. Highly insulated, 3G, energy efficient lighting. I'd struggle to think of anything to add yet its' still a couple of points below an A despite being claimed 'energy self sufficient'. Interestingly the EPC suggests the score is the max the house can achieve...

Our house is similar but with Gas heating and no solar. Ours scored 86 and with the only advisory being 'add solar' which would have got us to 91.

Posted By: Simon StillI'd struggle to think of anything to add

More PV! That's what I mean by RE bling. AIUI you can just add more PV until you get an A rating.

Posted By: bhommels

Easy! A good few years ago you "had to" add a wind turbine to get to an A rating.

That's the sort of nonsense I was remembering.

Posted By: WillInAberdeen Another is that the surveyors are paid peanuts (Lloyd take note!).

I just saw you can take a 3 day online course to become a domestic energy assessor. Says it all really.

Posted By: djhThat's why a revenue neutral tax where the proceeds are paid back to the population on a per-head basis is attractive.

+1

You could sue the assessor, who likely is a one-person company with no resources and probably no insurance.

You'd have to show that you had suffered a loss as a result of the EPC, which to be fair I didn't.

Posted By: Ed DaviesIndeed, it's only the fact that almost nobody takes any notice of the EPC which saves them.

Until they start hauling landlords over the coals for renting sub-standard properties based on EPCs that are inherently flawed.

It will be interesting to see what the current barn conversion comes out at with a GHSP and MVHR

As a landlord the proposed requirement to meet an EPC of C is obviously of interest. Most of my properties are already very close to a C if they don’t already make it. But this is largely as a result of my having converted one building ( an 1870 terrace ) from nigh on back to brick and built a new block , both around 20 years ago and solely to building regs at the time with a few improvements as time has passed. Getting a high D/C is not too hard with a bit of effort. In my case dealing with the 3 external wall on a rear addition is the last main improvement required and will be done via iwi as tenants change.
But its a pretty futile exercise, when you have tenants that generally only know one setting for the heating and that. When the Dial is at “11” and they can swan around all day in shorts and a t shirt regulating room temperature via open windows.
The learning thermostats required to meet boiler+ are beyond the interest of most tennants who will never bother to learn how to use them. I refuse to programme them having learnt the hard way that if i do it is assumed that its my responsibilty to make every adjustment ever required.
None have any concept of budgeting and are amazed that the winter bills are much higher than the summer ones, having no idea of what their annual energy spend is.
However though i may be giving HMG too much credit, forcing private landlords to improve energy efficiencies costs the taxpayer little ( won’t do tenants any good though) and there are enough properties out there in the rented sector to allow the retrofit industry to grow and mature in a natural manner rather than be a wild west industry based on goverment subsidy, so hopefully by 2028 real life lessons will have been learnt and practical solutions to energy efficiency improvements then ready for the owner occupier sector.