{"id":339200,"date":"2024-08-11T09:21:51","date_gmt":"2024-08-11T07:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=339200"},"modified":"2024-08-11T09:21:54","modified_gmt":"2024-08-11T07:21:54","slug":"ed-miliband-must-ditch-his-ludicrous-epc-targets-for-everyones-sake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=339200","title":{"rendered":"Ed Miliband must ditch his ludicrous EPC targets \u2013 for everyone\u2019s sake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blindly following a perverse EPC system is a waste of everyone\u2019s time and money<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe problem is, they are absolute s—.\u201d That\u2019s the damning verdict on Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) from one senior figure at a sustainable building charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The property industry seems to uniformly despise the EPC system,\u00a0which gives homes a score from A to G.<\/a>\u00a0That shouldn\u2019t matter except that the Government has just put this deeply-flawed metric at the heart of its net zero drive.\u00a0The Telegraph<\/a> has the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Conservatives have already been through this charade. Originally, landlords were required to make sure their properties met at least an EPC \u201cC\u201d rating by April 2025 for new leases and April 2027 for existing leases. Costs for making improvements to hit the target were to be capped at \u00a310,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it was an open secret that there was no way the millions of homes across the country with a lower rating were ever going to be brought up to spec in time.<\/a> For starters there was, and remains, a severe lack of tradesmen to carry out the work and, more crucially, no guarantee the improvements you made would actually increase your score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the former government\u2019s credit, it eventually came to its senses and scrapped the deadline entirely as part of a wider softening of Net Zero targets announced in September 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier that year, Michael Gove, the former housing secretary, admitted there were a \u201cnumber of weaknesses\u201d<\/a> with EPCs which \u201cactually drive some perverse outcomes\u201d. You can say that again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There aren\u2019t many landlords, or homeowners generally, who don\u2019t want to improve their properties. Better insulation, more efficient heating systems, solar panels and so on, all make properties more attractive to potential tenants and future buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But EPCs have long been known to be precisely the wrong way to measure the environmental credentials of a house. The scores \u2013 which can differ depending on who performs the assessment \u2013 measure how much it costs to run a home, not how efficient it is or how little impact it has on the environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Telegraph Money has previously spoken to EPC assessors who revealed how installing ultra-efficient heat pumps could actually lower a property\u2019s score<\/a> \u2013 this is precisely the bizarre kids of outcomes Mr Gove was warning about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which?, the normally restrained consumer champion, recently branded EPCs \u201cinaccurate\u201d and \u201cmisleading\u201d. It found evidence of widespread errors<\/a> that confused just about everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blindly following a perverse EPC system is a waste of everyone\u2019s time and money<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is, they are absolute s—.\u201d That\u2019s the damning verdict on Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) from one senior figure at a sustainable building charity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":339204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691821693,691822322,691818154],"class_list":{"0":"post-339200","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-ed-miliband","9":"tag-energy-performance-certificates-epcs","10":"tag-net-zero","12":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0shutterstock_editorial_13421352af.webp?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1qeY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":369707,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=369707","url_meta":{"origin":339200,"position":0},"title":"Amazonian Rainforest Obliterated To Make Way For COP30","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"13\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"As any level-headed sceptic knows, a great deal of climate change activism is about posturing and virtue-signalling. No surprise then that part of an Amazonian rainforest has been obliterated to accommodate the upcoming COP30 summit.","rel":"","context":"In \"Amazon\"","block_context":{"text":"Amazon","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=amazon"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0DALL%C2%B7E-2024-05-27-20.06.55-A-realistic-illustration-comparing-two-scenarios-in-the-Amazon_-one-with-deforestation-and-one-with-sustainable-practices.-On-the-left-the-deforested-1-1103x630-1.webp?fit=1103%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0DALL%C2%B7E-2024-05-27-20.06.55-A-realistic-illustration-comparing-two-scenarios-in-the-Amazon_-one-with-deforestation-and-one-with-sustainable-practices.-On-the-left-the-deforested-1-1103x630-1.webp?fit=1103%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0DALL%C2%B7E-2024-05-27-20.06.55-A-realistic-illustration-comparing-two-scenarios-in-the-Amazon_-one-with-deforestation-and-one-with-sustainable-practices.-On-the-left-the-deforested-1-1103x630-1.webp?fit=1103%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0DALL%C2%B7E-2024-05-27-20.06.55-A-realistic-illustration-comparing-two-scenarios-in-the-Amazon_-one-with-deforestation-and-one-with-sustainable-practices.-On-the-left-the-deforested-1-1103x630-1.webp?fit=1103%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0DALL%C2%B7E-2024-05-27-20.06.55-A-realistic-illustration-comparing-two-scenarios-in-the-Amazon_-one-with-deforestation-and-one-with-sustainable-practices.-On-the-left-the-deforested-1-1103x630-1.webp?fit=1103%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":370763,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=370763","url_meta":{"origin":339200,"position":1},"title":"How a Heat Pump Destroyed One Consumer\u2019s Perfect Energy Rating","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0Telegraph\u00a0has been running a number of repent-at-leisure heat pump stories, and this\u00a0latest one\u00a0is no exception.","rel":"","context":"In \"Energy Costs\"","block_context":{"text":"Energy Costs","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=energy-costs"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Screenshot-2025-03-17-154725.jpeg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Screenshot-2025-03-17-154725.jpeg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Screenshot-2025-03-17-154725.jpeg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Screenshot-2025-03-17-154725.jpeg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Screenshot-2025-03-17-154725.jpeg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":186422,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=186422","url_meta":{"origin":339200,"position":2},"title":"Homes risk energy rating downgrade if they install a heat pump","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/02\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Paul Homewood h\/t Ian Magness Energy scores for homes are to be overhauled by the Government, amid fears that under the current system installing a heat pump could cut the value of properties. It comes after The Telegraph disclosed that\u00a0several Cabinet ministers were already concerned about the speed of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/0image_thumb-29.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/0image_thumb-29.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/0image_thumb-29.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/0image_thumb-29.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/0image_thumb-29.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":350828,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=350828","url_meta":{"origin":339200,"position":3},"title":"When it Comes to Energy Performance Certificates, Landlords Just Can\u2019t Win","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/11\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Just imagine, as a Daily Sceptic reader, temporarily going insane and buying into the rental market. 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A \u201croot and branch\u201d review of how Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are calculated will boost the scores of households that use\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0image-13.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0image-13.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0image-13.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0image-13.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=339200"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":339205,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339200\/revisions\/339205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/339204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=339200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=339200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=339200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}