Low homeowner awareness of EPC ratings has been revealed by Atom Bank, which has found most believe an upgrade would cost over £25,000.
In a survey of 500 UK homeowners, 63% assumed this would be the cost when in reality costs can start from £1,500.
Homeowners were asked a range of questions about how much they knew about EPC ratings, how they work and what rating their own property had.
It was found that over half (53%) of homeowners did not know what their own property’s EPC rating was, with 62% admitting to knowing little about how the system works.
Despite this, 68% still think improving their EPC rating would be a worthwhile investment but 44% cited upfront costs as a barrier.
“Millions of homes could benefit from retrofitting, yet EPC ratings and the associated costs are widely misunderstood by homeowners,” said Edward Twiddy, director of ESG at Atom Bank.
“Part of the issue is that there is a current lack of information and guidance available on how to make improvements, which promotes inertia.”
According to the Rightmove Monthly Energy Tracker, the impact an EPC rating can have on household finances is stark.
Rightmove found that a three-bed semi-detached house with an EPC rating of ‘A’ would have an annual energy bill of £507.
If the same property had an EPC rating of ‘D’ this would result in an annual energy bill of £2,311.
Atom Bank is using the findings to highlight the benefits of its Retrofit Explorer Tool which it is launching in partnership with data firm Kamma.
The tool is designed to help homeowners better understand their current EPC ratings, and then recommend tradespeople for the work.
“The launch of our new Retrofit Explorer tool makes it easy for homeowners to put together a tailored plan and for a relatively small amount of money they could save themselves hundreds of pounds a year in energy costs,” added Edward.
