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EPC recommendations: what they mean

An EPC rates a home from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and suggests improvements. It is a useful starting point, but its costs can be years out of date and its savings are for a standard pattern of use.

Updated 3 October 2026 · energy.org.uk editorial team

What an EPC shows

  • Current and potential ratings. The potential rating is what the assessor's model expects if you made all the recommended improvements.
  • A description of the home: walls, roof, floor, windows, heating, hot water and lighting, each with a rating.
  • Recommended improvements, in the assessor's order, with an indicative cost and the rating after each step.
  • Estimated energy costs, based on standard heating patterns and the prices used when the certificate was produced.

An EPC is valid for 10 years. Only an accredited domestic energy assessor can produce one.

How to use the recommendations

  • Check the date. Costs and savings reflect prices when the EPC was produced, which may be very different now.
  • Check the description is still right. If you have added loft insulation or a new boiler since, the certificate won't show it.
  • Treat the rating changes as estimates. The new rating after an improvement is what the model predicts, not a promise.
  • Follow a sensible order rather than the list alone: damp and draughts first, then insulation, then heating. See what to improve first.

Check

What to check first

  • Find your certificate on the official register for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has its own register.
  • Look at each element's rating: a "very poor" roof or walls show where the biggest heat losses are.
  • Whether a grant depends on your rating. Several schemes are for homes rated D to G.

Do

Practical next steps

  1. Look up your EPC and note its date, ratings and recommendations.
  2. Put what it says about your loft, walls and heating into the home improvement shortlist.
  3. Get up-to-date quotes rather than relying on the certificate's costs.
  4. If you rent privately in England or Wales, the home must normally be rated E or better; see energy saving for renters.

Take care

Important limitations

  • The EPC's energy costs assume standard use, not how your household actually heats the home.
  • We can't look up your certificate automatically yet, or predict a new rating.
  • A new EPC is the only way to show a changed rating.

Related tools and guides

Sources

Official sources checked 3 October 2026.