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Energy assessor trade body the Property Energy Professionals Association (PEPA) has clashed with consumer watchdog Which? again.
It follows another report from Which? this week that questioned the accuracy of energy performance certificates and the qualifications of assessors.
The research warned that EPCs can be riddled with inaccuracies and unhelpful advice that could cost homeowners when they come to sell or make home improvements.
It is the second time in as many months that the consumer watchdog has expressed concerns about EPCs.
But Mike Ockenden, head of secretariat for PEPA, questioned the analysis.
He said “It appears yet again, Which? has issued a press release about EPCs and at no stage engaged with us for input.
“We do not know the selection process for how they commissioned the 12s EPC, but to use the findings to impugn the quality of over 20m EPCs is frankly irresponsible.
“The irony is that PEPA actually agrees with the call for EPC reform and could have provided input to Which? on the extensive reform programme that is already underway, both by way of the EPC Action Plan and an upcoming consultation on EPC Reform itself. Information about the EPC Action Plan is publicly available on the Government website, and PEPA has been closely involved in its creation and in its delivery.”
He said PEPA has long campaigned to demystify EPCs for the industry and consumers and called for Which? to engage with the group.
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I'm a chartered surveyor and both a commercial and domestic landlord. Every single one of the EPCs that I've commissioned over the last 15 years (and it's been a lot) has been accurate and well produced. EPCs are the UK's national measurement system and that together with David Cameron's sensible MEES standards, are working brilliantly at steadily improving the quality of rental buildings across our county. Folk continually moan that Britain has the worst buildings in Europe - well EPCs and MEES are solving that problem, in a robust and systematic fashion.
A sample of 12 people by Which?- gosh that's got statistical accuracy written all over it! The homeowner found some of the suggestions 'unaffordable'. Cricky, let's blame EPCs for the cost of external wall insulation and solar panels. A new TV or sofa could also be 'unaffordable'. How ridiculous.
It doesn't take much to put 2 x layers of new Rockwool in a home's loft (one at right angles to the other), get a local plasterer to fit a sheet of 5cm thick Celotex on the inside of external facing walls and cash-in the generous £7,500 Government grant (yes FREE MONEY) to install an efficient high-temperature electric heat pump from Octopus Energy.
Oh and if you want to put a stop to running condensation on windows, damp and mould, get a handyman to install a Nuaire PIV ventilation unit. Clothes then actually dry when they come out of the washing machine and towels dry after a bath.
It's common sense.
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