I have a few rentals, but just got an email from my letting agents saying they have slightly cocked up, and 2 of my studios need "improvements" to energy efficiency. (the agent had assumed it could wait until change of tenant, but it seems teh improvements needed to be done by yesterday )

Anyway, to insulate teh solid walls and/or solid floors is not viable, major building works etc.

The flats are all-electric, with a hot water tank/immersion heater. I think adding a jacket to the pre-insulated tank will help, and almost get me there. But the heater for teh flat is a very basic wall mounted panel heater.

So does anybody know if replacing that with a Lot20 compliant heater will help? The other option is to see if I can get economy 7 heating installed, but it isn't clear if that is still available, possibly not at short notice given it being deemed non-essential (not sure if upgrading the EPC is essential at the moment, but I bet somebody will be queuing up to fleece me if I don't)

So anybody know about EPC or got any advice? online is hopeless, just can't find the criteria anywhere.

How long ago was the EPC done? For it to fail it must be in group F or below, that sounds very low for a studio flat, which should be fairly well insulated due to being attached presumably to others in a block or terrace etc.

We had one done on one of our houses several years ago & it was an F rather than E by just one point, I spoke to the guy who'd done the assessment originally & he said many criteria had changed & why not get a fresh assessment with up to date regs, he did this & it passed well inside the E bracket.
We will need to get something done by 2025 when regs change again

I think a fair bit is open to interpretation so if you can find a helpful EPC guy (bit like a helpful MoT tester or IVA inspector) then you're halfway there

If all else fails I think cheapest option is a air to air heat pump (air conditioning unit), probably around £400 & fit with a permanent outlet, should change things significantly

Typical lax attitude by letting agents.

The cost of the fuel is the most important factor in the EPC, single rate electricity is about 3 times natural gas per kwh. Therefore any space heating by electricity will drag the rating down, beware of replacing with the Fischer, Rointe type heaters - they are still classed as simple panel heaters all be it with better controls.
I appreciate that storage heaters are not generally in favour but the modern ones are much better and dual rate electricity will increase the rating substantially, particularly the High Heat Retention type eg. Dimplex Quantum. An Air to Air heat pump may be possible but you ain't gonna get one installed for £400!

There are many factors in the EPC which you will not see on the certificate itself eg. Is there a shared corridor/stairwell? Is that heated? Sometimes easier to consider heating that than the flat itself.
As Russ says you need a new EPC assessor to see where the level is now. Many early EPCs were very poorly done and some of the input data has changed since. Any assessor worth his salt will be able to tell you the most cost effective way to reach an 'E' rating.

Check the register epcregister.com, ring a few assessors, explain what you want. Don't expect to get the advice for the 'internet EPC' £40 but an extra few quid spent here will save you a lot of hassle. I would deal direct and bypass the assessor that the agent uses.

The current standard will no doubt be raised again, the proposal is 'D' rating by 2025, so if you can get to that, all the better.......

The studio is part of an original extension at the rear of the house, so 50% is outside wall. All to that it includes what was the outside lav which has a 1m tiled roof and is teh full width, they have assumed no insulation in that, but it is only about 5% of the floor area. I wonder if I should strip the tiles, check and if needed put 3" of cellotex in.

Likewise one tiny bathroom window is single glazed, the rest are newish double glazed. That would be a good idea to change, possibly.

The studio has a landlords check meter for electric, so looking into getting a economy 7 version of that and economy 7 from the supplier.

Sadly it is proving difficult to get an assessor on the phone. Guess they are all watching bargain hunt. But if/when I do I will see if I can get a few helpful suggestions.

The letting agent is usually very good, looks like they have slipped up on this one.

Currently it is an F, 35. From the last EPC, 2015, it seems a cylinder jacket adds 2 points, half way to the e rating of 39. We shall see....

I was told one double/single glazed window made no difference (I had one in the property mentioned).

If you go economy 7 then to make it work you also have to go to storage heaters & preferably dual immersion heaters so you can have one for overnight only, Total cost assuming you DON'T need to change the cylinder would still be probably £600 - £800

Re the heat pump I was thinking something like this

Link

Change out of £400 (just), but fit in a permanent position venting thro' the wall. Just to be clear I know very little about heat pumps/aircon, but seemed a sensible solution to me.

Can the agent put you in touch with an assessor who's still working? must be some out there it's still a legal requirement

Originally posted by cliftyhanger
The studio is part of an original extension at the rear of the house, so 50% is outside wall. All to that it includes what was the outside lav which has a 1m tiled roof and is teh full width, they have assumed no insulation in that, but it is only about 5% of the floor area. I wonder if I should strip the tiles, check and if needed put 3" of cellotex in.

Possibly, but only worth doing if you know what you will gain. A new EPC + chat with assessor should solve that. He/she can 'model' in your improvement and see the result

Likewise one tiny bathroom window is single glazed, the rest are newish double glazed. That would be a good idea to change, possibly.

Yes, but as above it may amke little difference

The studio has a landlords check meter for electric, so looking into getting a economy 7 version of that and economy 7 from the supplier.

This is what will make the biggest difference, coupled with a storage heater of course

Sadly it is proving difficult to get an assessor on the phone. Guess they are all watching bargain hunt. But if/when I do I will see if I can get a few helpful suggestions.

Have you tried the one that did the existing EPC, at least he has the details

The letting agent is usually very good, looks like they have slipped up on this one.

Currently it is an F, 35. From the last EPC, 2015, it seems a cylinder jacket adds 2 points, half way to the e rating of 39. We shall see....