Several factors affect the energy efficiency of a dwelling, including property type, tenure and when it was constructed. This article highlights the types of dwellings typically associated with high and low energy efficiency scores. Contact online >>
Several factors affect the energy efficiency of a dwelling, including property type, tenure and when it was constructed. This article highlights the types of dwellings typically associated with high and low energy efficiency scores.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) indicate the energy efficiency of dwellings. They are based on data about a building''s energy features, for example, the building materials used, the heating systems and insulation. These are collected by an accredited energy assessor and entered into government-approved software to generate an EPC score, typically ranging from 1 to 100. Domestic EPCs are banded from A to G, where A is the most energy efficient.
EPC data for England and Wales are available from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Open Data Communities website.
This analysis uses EPC data to present energy efficiency, the main fuel type used in central heating, and the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of dwellings with an EPC for England and Wales separately. It is based on one record per dwelling, using records from April 2013 to March 2023. This is because EPCs are only valid for 10 years from when dwellings are constructed, converted, sold or let.
This analysis does not cover all dwellings in England and Wales because not every dwelling has an EPC and so these statistics cannot be viewed as a full representation of the entire dwelling stock. However, they are still useful to provide insight into the energy efficiency of housing, as they include the most recent data available for each dwelling that has an EPC. More information on our base population can be found in Section 10: Data sources and quality.
The housing stock across England and Wales varies, and this is reflected in median energy efficiency scores. The median energy efficiency score was 68 in England and 66 in Wales for all records up to March 2023, which are equivalent to band D. Within England, Yorkshire and The Humber had the lowest median score (66, equivalent to band D), the same as Wales. London was the only International Territorial Level 1 (ITL1) region with a median energy efficiency score in band C (69) where all other regions and countries were band D.
Figure 1: London had the highest median energy efficiency score, compared with all other regions in England and Wales Median energy efficiency score, English regions and Wales, up to March 2023 Source: Energy Performance Certificate data on Open Data Communities from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and Property Attributes data from the Valuation Office Agency Download this chart Figure 1: London had the highest median energy efficiency score, compared with all other regions in England and Wales Image .csv .xls
Property type affects energy efficiency. Overall, "flats and maisonettes" was the most energy-efficient property type in both England and Wales, with a median energy efficiency score of 73, which is equivalent to band C (see Figure 2). "Flats and maisonettes" is the only property type that had a score above band D.
Detached and terraced dwellings scored the lowest in Wales (both 64), while in England, semi-detached (65) was the property type scoring the lowest. This may be a result of external wall exposure being higher in houses, compared with flats and maisonettes, which are more likely to be grouped in blocks. While there was a large difference in energy efficiency between flats and houses, there was only a small difference between the different types of houses.
Figure 2: "Flats and maisonettes" was the most energy efficient property type for all dwellings in both England and Wales Median energy efficiency score by property type, England and Wales, up to March 2023 Source: Energy Performance Certificate data on Open Data Communities from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and Property Attributes data from the Valuation Office Agency Download this chart Figure 2: "Flats and maisonettes" was the most energy efficient property type for all dwellings in both England and Wales Image .csv .xls
Looking at dwellings solely by tenure, social rented dwellings had the highest median energy efficiency score, 70 in England and 71 in Wales, equivalent to band C. Owner-occupied dwellings scored the lowest in both England and Wales, with scores of 64 and 62, respectively, equivalent to band D. However, this does not account for property type.
By combining property type and tenure, a more detailed picture of the energy efficiency of housing appears. Social rented dwellings scored the highest median energy efficiency across property types in England and Wales, sharing the top score only with owner-occupied flats in England at a median of 72 (Figure 3).
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The age of a dwelling affects the energy efficiency, as building techniques and regulations have changed over time, in addition to the effects of ordinary use and aging. Dwellings constructed after 2011 had a median energy efficiency score equivalent to band B, 84 in England and 83 in Wales (Figure 4). In contrast, dwellings constructed before 1930 had a median score of 59 in England and 58 in Wales, equivalent to band E.
Figure 4: Older dwellings had a lower median energy efficiency score than dwellings that were constructed more recently Median energy efficiency score, by property age, England and Wales, up to March 2023 Source: Energy Performance Certificate data on Open Data Communities from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and Property Attributes data from the Valuation Office Agency Download this chart Figure 4: Older dwellings had a lower median energy efficiency score than dwellings that were constructed more recently Image .csv .xls
EPCs were introduced in 2007 and the EPC register is continually updated. For instance, in the financial year ending March 2023, around 1.9 million dwellings were added to the register. This is a mix of newly built or converted dwellings and existing properties being issued with a first or updated EPC. New and existing dwellings are assessed using slightly different methodologies (the standard assessment procedure and the reduced data standard assessment procedure). For more information about the number of properties added to the EPC register, see the DLUHC interactive dashboard.
The median energy efficiency score of new and existing buildings can differ because of the use of modern techniques and materials. The scores for new dwellings in England and in Wales were equivalent to band B (84 and 83, respectively), compared with the scores of existing dwellings that were equivalent to band D (66 for England and 64 for Wales), indicating that existing dwellings had a lower level of energy efficiency.
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One of the main contributors to energy use in the home is central heating, with different sources of central heating seen as more or less energy efficient. As part of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) assessment, the main fuel type of central heating is recorded. This article focuses on the fuel type that directly powers a dwelling''s central heating. This means that someone who is on a 100% renewable tariff for their electricity will be categorised as using electricity as their central heating fuel type, rather than renewable energy. If there was no central heating recorded, for this analysis we grouped these dwellings in the "others and unknown" category.
As of March 2023, 80% of dwellings with an EPC analysed in both England and Wales used mains gas to fuel their central heating. Electricity was the second most common fuel type used to fuel central heating in England (11%). In Wales, oil and electricity (both around 7%) were joint second. Renewable energy on its own or combined with another type of fuel makes up only just over 1% of fuel used in central heating in England and in Wales.
In most regions, except for London, the proportion of mains gas for new dwellings is similar to those for all dwellings. In London, only 25% of new dwellings used mains gas, compared with 70% for all dwellings. In London, more new dwellings used community heating schemes (66%). In the North West, 21% of new dwellings used electricity as their main fuel source, while Yorkshire and The Humber and the West Midlands had the second largest proportion with 13%. In the East of England, 7% of new dwellings used two or more methods including renewable energy, compared to 6% in the South West and 3% in the South East and the East Midlands.
Looking at smaller geographical areas provides a local picture of energy efficiency. There is a much greater variation at the local-authority level than at the region level.
For local authority areas across England and Wales, Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) data up to March 2023 showed the following trends:
To explore the energy efficiency of dwellings in local areas, use our interactive tool (Figure 7).
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At small geographies such as middle layer super output area (MSOA) there are some median energy efficiency scores that are over 100, this indicates that in these areas the dwellings that have Energy Performance Certificates produce more energy than they consume.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) data on estimated carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are based on standardised assumptions about how residents will use the dwelling (such as number of occupants, heating patterns and hot water usage).
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