Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard - landlord guidance
4. Selecting energy efficiency measures
4. Selecting energy efficiency measures
Your EPC report will include a list of recommendations detailing measures which should improve the energy efficiency of your property. It will include both a short list of top actions you can take, and a more detailed list further down setting out all recommended measures. The recommendations will help you choose which measure or combination of measures to install.
Sample table of recommendations from the EPC report
These measures will improve the energy performance of your dwelling. The performance ratings after improvements listed below are cumulative, that is, they assume the improvements have been installed in the order that they appear in the table.
| Recommended measures | Indicative cost | Typical savings per year | Rating after improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room-in-roof insulation | £1,500-£2,700 | £837 | E39 |
| Internal or external wall insulation | £4,000-£14,000 | £195 | E45 |
| Solid floor insulation | £4,000-£6,000 | £122 | E49 |
| Increase hot water cylinder insulation | £15-£30 | £142 | E54 |
| Draught proofing | £80-£120 | £18 | D55 |
| Low energy lighting | £20 | £21 | D56 |
| High heat retention storage heaters / dual immersion cylinder | £1,200-£1,800 | £319 | D67 |
| Solar water heating | £4,000-£6,000 | £57 | C69 |
| Replace single glazed windows with low-E double glazed windows | £3,300-£6,500 | £123 | C73 |
| Solar photovoltaic panels | £5,000-£8,000 | £287 | B83 |
The MEES Regulations refer to the concept of ‘relevant energy efficiency improvements’. This is a measure, or package of measures, recommended in your EPC report, which can be purchased and installed for £3,500 or less (including VAT) - the cost cap.
Other types of energy efficiency reports may contain the recommendations list from the EPC report, for example, a Green Deal Advice Report (GDAR), or reports produced by qualified surveyors.
If you have installed all ‘relevant energy efficiency improvements’ for your property, but your property’s EPC rating is still below E, you can register an exemption on the grounds that ‘all relevant improvements have been made and the property remains below an E’.
You are free to install any energy efficiency measure(s), but:
- if your chosen improvements do not appear in the list of ‘recommended energy efficiency improvements’
- and they fail to improve your property to EPC E
you will not be able to let the property or register an ‘all relevant improvements made’ exemption. You will then need to make further attempts to improve the rating to a minimum of E, in order to let the property.
