Solar panels epc

[kanrent]

Hi I have a property  that just makes an EPC of D

If I install solar panels  4kw at a cost of about £5000 with hardly any distribution to the tenant i can get it up to just inside a C.  Just interested  if  anyone here has had solar panels fitted to upgrade  their EPC 

[Richlist]

I have solar panels on my own place.....Richlist Castle ......but have no idea what affect it has on an epc.

I suspect, in the the current energy crisis, that having solar panels on any rental property might provide an opportunity for a rent increase and certainly if it were empty then prospective tenants would be queuing up to take the tenancy.

[kanrent]

7 hours ago, Richlist said:

I have solar panels on my own place.....Richlist Castle ......but have no idea what affect it has on an epc.

I suspect, in the the current energy crisis, that having solar panels on any rental property might provide an opportunity for a rent increase and certainly if it were empty then prospective tenants would be queuing up to take the tenancy.

Do you store it in a battery or sell back to the grid rl 

[Richlist]

We have a 14 panel solar array that produces a max of 4 kw. We chose to have the additional domestic hot water feature. The sun comes up, the panels start producing energy which is distributed in the following order. First it runs the house, anything left over heats the domestic hot water. If the water has reached its thermostat setting any excess energy is automatically exported to the grid.

We chose not to have a storage battery as the price for a 4kw battery was £6K and not cost effective.  A battery would be useful in spring and summer as it would charge up from excess solar energy during the day and power the house after sunset. But remember, this is the UK, not California and autumn/winter barely produces enough solar during the day to power the house so there would be little excess to charge the battery.

The most we've had from our solar panels in a single day in summer is around 25kw......most of which is exported. Our house needs around 300w/hour to run when unoccupied (fridge, freezer, hot tub). Domestic hot water needs around 2kw  a day to maintain temperature.

[Grampa]

On 8/28/2022 at 6:33 AM, kanrent said:

Hi I have a property  that just makes an EPC of D

If I install solar panels  4kw at a cost of about £5000 with hardly any distribution to the tenant i can get it up to just inside a C.  Just interested  if  anyone here has had solar panels fitted to upgrade  their EPC 

If you are considering this on the basis of a EPC report and the suggestions added within the report I would suggest you do your own assessment of the property first as the reports in my experience dont list all the optional changes you can make to achieve the require rating. 

I would establish how many points you require to reach a C rating which is 69. a D starts at 55 so the most you would need is 14 points and its surprising how easy it can to get these extra points by doing a number of minor/cheapish improvements.

The below point gains are estimates as all houses vary.

LED bulbs 1-3 points

TRV Radiator valves 2-4 points

Draft Excluder on any wooden front/rear doors 1-2 point

Double glazing 5-12 points. Triple glazing can get you a couple more points and can also sometimes be swapped and you keep your current frames.

Loft insulation 7-13 points 300mm thickness gives the max allowance. A top-up to 300mm 1-3 extra points

Condensing Boiler 5-20 points depending on current boiler.

Heating Programmer 1-2 points

Intelligent Thermostat 1-2 points

Room Thermostat  1-2 points

Water tank Jacket 1-3 points

Cavity wall insulation 4-10 points 

 

This is just some of the ways to squeeze extra points but it also depends on the assessor as 2 assessor can give differant results.

Also the assessor needs access to meter cupboards and if for example he cant see for himself there is a duel tarif off peak meter you wont get the points for it. The same goes for cavity wall insulation they will need to see proof of it and like wise for any flat roof with built in insulation. 

 

 

[kanrent]

2 hours ago, Grampa said:

If you are considering this on the basis of a EPC report and the suggestions added within the report I would suggest you do your own assessment of the property first as the reports in my experience dont list all the optional changes you can make to achieve the require rating. 

I would establish how many points you require to reach a C rating which is 69. a D starts at 55 so the most you would need is 14 points and its surprising how easy it can to get these extra points by doing a number of minor/cheapish improvements.

The below point gains are estimates as all houses vary.

LED bulbs 1-3 points

TRV Radiator valves 2-4 points

Draft Excluder on any wooden front/rear doors 1-2 point

Double glazing 5-12 points. Triple glazing can get you a couple more points and can also sometimes be swapped and you keep your current frames.

Loft insulation 7-13 points 300mm thickness gives the max allowance. A top-up to 300mm 1-3 extra points

Condensing Boiler 5-20 points depending on current boiler.

Heating Programmer 1-2 points

Intelligent Thermostat 1-2 points

Room Thermostat  1-2 points

Water tank Jacket 1-3 points

Cavity wall insulation 4-10 points 

 

This is just some of the ways to squeeze extra points but it also depends on the assessor as 2 assessor can give differant results.

Also the assessor needs access to meter cupboards and if for example he cant see for himself there is a duel tarif off peak meter you wont get the points for it. The same goes for cavity wall insulation they will need to see proof of it and like wise for any flat roof with built in insulation. 

 

 

The cavity wall insulation was put in when it was built, built according to the building regulations at the time and checked by the building inspector will they still need proof? 

[bil8999]

I also believe the age of the property and the date when any improvements were completed make a difference to the EPC

[Grampa]

3 hours ago, kanrent said:

The cavity wall insulation was put in when it was built, built according to the building regulations at the time and checked by the building inspector will they still need proof? 

From my experience of assessors they accept evidence in the form of invoices, photos, evidence of seeing the multiple drill holes where insulation has be pumped in to, but generally not, without some form of evidence. Can you get any documentation from the builder, surveyors report or even just remove one brick if that's possible. It maybe worthwhile phoning around a couple of assessors and have a conversation about what you are trying to achieve before called them out and what you need to do as it will vary to vary depending on the assessor. 

These EPC assessors can get audited so they need some record/evidence to prove how they assessed the building but the mockery of it is appliance's do not have to work. So an unscrupulous person could just fix a boiler, room thermostat, off peak meter, Heating Programmer to the wall but not connected and get the points value for it. I've even been told an invoice of a delivery of insulation  to a property would suffice. 

[Grampa]

3 hours ago, bil8999 said:

I also believe the age of the property and the date when any improvements were completed make a difference to the EPC

I'm sure it does, as the older the materials the likely hood of a less insulation value. There is a huge number of factors that the algorithms in their computer mash up to come up with a score.   

[bil8999]

Some years back we installed a lowered false ceiling to a ground floor flat, insulated above ceiling, insulation between floor, then sound proof the floor.

Assessor could not allow for the insulation, as not on her system.

 

[kanrent]

4 hours ago, bil8999 said:

Some years back we installed a lowered false ceiling to a ground floor flat, insulated above ceiling, insulation between floor, then sound proof the floor.

Assessor could not allow for the insulation, as not on her system.

 

What system

[bil8999]

There was no provision for insulation between ground and 1st floor, on her computer system, only in loft space.

5 hours ago, kanrent said:

What system

 

[Grampa]

7 hours ago, kanrent said:

What system

Its the program they use to enter the information into. So I guess if there isnt an option for it, it cant be accounted for. However, I was told the programs algorithms' were updated a few years ago which meant (so i was told by an assessor) that an EPC calculated on the old program would now likely to score higher (better) on the new program.   

[kanrent]

8 hours ago, Grampa said:

Its the program they use to enter the information into. So I guess if there isnt an option for it, it cant be accounted for. However, I was told the programs algorithms' were updated a few years ago which meant (so i was told by an assessor) that an EPC calculated on the old program would now likely to score higher (better) on the new program.   

Sounds promising maybe they can update it some more haha