The Building Research Establishment (BRE) - which undertakes research, advice, training, testing, certification and standards-setting for the housing sector - is calling for a major rethink of Energy Performance Certificates.

A new BRE report - Energy Performance Certificates: Enabling the Home Energy Transition - has been published, just as the government is consulting on a new Home Energy Model to replace the Standard Assessment Procedure, currently used to assess and compare energy ratings of residential property.

BRE says EPCs have become central to the way we demonstrate and discuss the energy efficiency of our homes, yet now have a much wider application than when they were first introduced. They are used in delivering retrofit programmes, regulations, and financing, and with the uptake of low carbon heating technologies such as heat pumps set to increase over the next decade, BRE claims the EPC system will need to evolve.

BRE’s report presents ideas for EPCs to develop and for the processes behind them to become better suited to net zero targets. 

“Energy Performance Certificates cover 60% of UK homes and are a key source of information used in planning retrofit programmes and in government policies. But too often home buyers and sellers see the certificates as just a bureaucratic necessity,” claimed Gillian Charlesworth, chief executive of the Building Research Establishment, who added: “With targeted reforms, the government can ensure the EPC can really achieve its potential, as a trusted starting point for advice and information on how we can all make our homes better.”