EPC Checker knowledge base
Clear guidance for reading an EPC
Energy Performance Certificates are useful starting points, but their tables and modelled figures can be easy to misread. These guides explain the certificate in plain English and help you prepare better questions for an assessor, installer, seller or landlord.
How to read an EPC
What the A–G band, numerical score, property features and potential rating can — and cannot — tell you.
Read guide →02Using EPC recommendations
A practical way to turn a recommendation list into a sensible, property-specific improvement plan.
Read guide →03When a home needs an EPC
When certificates are normally required, how long they last and what to do if a record cannot be found.
Read guide →04How to improve your EPC rating
A fabric-first look at what tends to move a rating, and how to prioritise low-disruption measures first.
Read guide →05EPC rules for landlords
The current Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard, registrable exemptions and the proposed move to band C.
Read guide →06EPCs when buying or selling
How the certificate fits into a sale for both sides, and how to read one as part of your due diligence.
Read guide →07Getting an EPC
Who carries out an assessment, what the visit involves, the typical cost range and how it is issued.
Read guide →08Older, solid-wall & listed homes
Why traditional and protected buildings need careful, moisture-aware thinking — and how their EPCs can mislead.
Read guide →09Flats & leasehold homes
Individual certificates, communal heating, and what leasehold actually lets you change.
Read guide →10Heat pumps and your EPC
Why a cost-based rating may not move as much as expected — explained honestly.
Read guide →11Solar panels and your EPC
How on-site generation is recorded, and the paperwork that makes a reassessment count.
Read guide →12Insulation types explained
Loft, cavity, solid wall, floor — where each one suits, and why detailing matters.
Read guide →13When an EPC looks wrong
Assumed vs observed entries, gathering evidence, and the routes to get a record looked at again.
Read guide →14EPCs, mortgages & lending
Why lenders look at energy performance — general information, not financial advice.
Read guide →15How the rules differ across the UK
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland run related but separate regimes.
Read guide →16When an EPC is not required
The narrow exceptions — and why listed status is not the automatic exemption people assume.
Read guide →17Ventilation, damp & condensation
Why airtightness without ventilation causes problems, and how condensation actually starts.
Read guide →18EPCs for new-build homes
Design-stage SAP versus the as-built certificate, and what to check on completion.
Read guide →How we use EPC information
EPC Checker brings together data that is already available from public registers so you can find the relevant certificate and see its headline details in one place. It is a research aid, not an assessment and not a recommendation to carry out a particular measure.
An EPC describes the building as it was observed and modelled on its assessment date. It does not establish the condition or safety of a heating system, prove that an improvement is suitable, or predict a household’s actual bills. Buildings, tariffs, occupancy and renovation plans all differ.
For current government guidance, assessment records and formal advice, use the official sources linked in each guide. If you are about to commit to substantial work, seek advice appropriate to the building and check whether permissions, listed-building or conservation-area rules apply.