I’ve recently retired as a Domestic Energy Assessor, after more than fifteen years producing energy performance certificates (EPCs) for homeowners and landlords in Islington. A big change in that time is that, rather than just seeing them as a legal box to be ticked when renting or selling a home, people are now actually interested in what the certificates say! High fuel prices and awareness of the carbon emissions mean tenants and house buyers now both want to know how much energy a new home might use and what could be done to reduce it. It was therefore a little depressing to see how little our homes have actually improved during my time providing this information.
Looking back, I’ve found that the first fifty homes I surveyed, in 2008, averaged an energy rating of 57, which was a low D on the A-G, green-to-orange graph readers may be familiar with (similar to the labels you get when you buy an electrical appliance). The last fifty before I retired, on the other hand, averaged 67, which, while an improvement, is still only a D. Just a higher one. We’ve still got a lot to do if we want to achieve net zero carbon targets and make people’s homes affordable to heat!
As it happens, the last survey I carried out was a flat on one of Islington council’s own estates. The flat was on the top floor, so it makes a big difference to the energy performance if the roof above it is insulated or not, and, running the survey through the computer, I could see that if the roof is insulated the flat rates as a C but if not, it’s only a D. Unsurprisingly the leaseholder, who is selling the flat, was keen to know, one way or the other, but, unfortunately, Islington wasn’t able to tell her. The likelihood is it is, because Islington has been pretty good at insulating its estates, over the years. The trouble is it’s been a lot less good at recording what it’s done and where.
The council’s own housing stock is one of the few areas where it has direct control over buildings’ energy performances. If Islington is to achieve its net zero carbon target by 2030, it needs to know urgently what the current energy ratings are for these and what can be done to improve them. Over the years, though, I’ve met dozens of cases where council leaseholders have been unable to get information from their freeholder, undermining the accuracy of their EPCs and so the council’s own route towards Net Zero.
To have any hope of achieving its Net Zero targets, Islington needs accurate data on the energy performance of its existing housing stock. And to get a much better grip on its own information.
Andrew Myer
Islington Green Party
