Are EPC recommendations worth following?
The recommendation list is generated automatically and is not ordered by value for money, so it should be read as a menu rather than a plan. Some measures score well but change bills little; others do the reverse. NextDay EPC re-ranks them by cost per SAP point for your property.
- Indicative costs on the certificate are national averages.
- The list does not know what consents your property can obtain.
- Measures interact — doing one changes the value of the next.
- Nothing counts until a new assessment records the work.
Where the list comes from
The recommendations on an EPC are generated automatically. The software looks at what it recorded about the property, compares it against a library of standard measures, and outputs the ones that would apply. No human decides the order, and nothing in the process knows anything about your building beyond what was entered.
Three things the list does not know
- What your property can obtain consent for. It will happily recommend external wall insulation on a listed Victorian terrace.
- What the work actually costs where you live. The figures are national averages, not quotes.
- How the measures interact. Doing one changes the value of the next, and the list is calculated as if each stood alone.
Read it as a menu
Some measures score well and change your bills very little. Others cut your bills noticeably and barely move the score. If the goal is MEES compliance, target the score. If it is comfort or running costs, target the fabric. They overlap, but not perfectly, and the certificate does not distinguish between them.
How we re-rank it
Our MEES consultancy takes the same property data and orders the options by cost per SAP point, filtered by what is realistically consentable. On a typical Warwick property that produces a very different order from the certificate: controls and loft insulation first, glazing much later, wall insulation as a considered decision rather than a default.
Nothing counts until it is re-assessed
This catches people out. Carrying out the recommendations does not update the certificate. The existing EPC stands until a new assessment records the work and a fresh certificate is lodged. Budget for that final assessment as part of the project rather than as an afterthought.
Get the plan costed
Get a quote, or book a fresh domestic EPC to establish an accurate starting point.
Looking for your own area? We have local EPC guides for Warwick city centre, Barford, Saltisford, Woodloes Park, Hampton Magna, Emscote, Wolverton and every other Warwick area.
