Energy Efficiency Rating Guide
Information about the energy efficient ratings used for homes and home appliances in the UK.
There are two energy efficiency ratings labels you’ll likely see in your daily routine. Ones that look at the energy consumed by white goods such as fridges and freezers and the other as part of the home information pack sellers need to obtain when they sell their homes. We look at both here.
Energy Performance Certificates
When selling any home in the UK it must be accompanied by a home information pack or HIP and these have an energy performance certificate which is provided by a home energy assessor.
It basically shows how the home is insulated and how efficient it is in using & saving energy.
The assessor looks at current heating systems and how efficient insulation is for windows, doors and the loft.
An overall rating is then assigned. They’ll also show a rating if certain improvements are made.
In theory homes that are “A” rated have the lowest energy bills.
The average home in England and Wales is in band D or E.
Together with this energy efficiency rating check, all homes also receive an environmental impact CO2 certificate. These certificates have the same bands, but show the CO2 emissions generated.
The values are worked out by a qualified assessor based on information collected from their visit to your home.
They’ll enter details about your home such as the age, types of insulation, the heating system into a computer program called the Energy Performance Software. This calculates the current and projected values for both certificates.
You’ll also receive a report from the person assessing your property which also includes areas of improvements, the likely cost, potential cost savings from these improvements and likely reduction in CO2 emissions as a direct result of making such changes.
Domestic Appliance Energy Rating Label Guide
These are more common and preceded the home certificates mentioned above and you will see these on the front of any electrical “white goods” appliances you see for sale in electrical stores.
Although most appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers and tumble dryers are mainly rated A some are not so it’s good to see how much electricity they use (or how little is consumed) by glancing at the label on the appliance in the store.
This is a label designed for all countries in the EU and must be shown by UK law and shows a lot of information for the entire cycle of the machine as well as the noise levels if applicable. The average cost of running the appliance can be found by calculating the length of time the appliance is in use multiplied by the kWh consumption then multiplying all of that by 7p which is the assumed cost per kWh.
Other energy efficiency labels in use
There are other labels for other energy saving items such as windows, a building energy rating (BER) for new houses built after 2007 and new ratings and a new label for televisions from mid 2010 which is a first in the EU. Televisions not meeting the new minimum requirements will have to be withdrawn from sale.
These are a summary of the energy efficiency rating labels in existence in the UK and more likely more will be introduced to help consumers save electricity and reduce CO2 emissions over time.