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The population of house sparrows in the UK has almost halved in the last 40 years. Property Sparrow is becoming more and more worried about what she, as a landlord, can do about this. She has read that the reasons for the decline in urban areas include man’s destruction of their natural habitat: ripping up front garden hedges for parking spaces, for instance. In a roundabout way there is a connection between man’s love of cars, his contribution to global warming and the decline of native bird species in this country.
Property Sparrow attends a seminar run by the Chartered Institute of Housing on Energy Performance Certificates. She hopes to learn about how the introduction of EPCs on 1 October 2008 will help her as a landlord to do her bit.
The speakers talk through a worked example of an EPC done on a house built in 1898. It sounds just like the converted Edwardian house where she has a first floor studio flat. They go into detail about what landlords can do to increase the energy performance of this property: they could install double glazed windows throughout, insulate under suspended floors, fit solar photovoltaic panels on 25% of the roof area. Property Sparrow sits there feeling helpless and penniless.
Towards the end she is relieved to have confirmation that landlords will not have to carry out any of the recommendations made to them in an EPC. She brightens up when the discussion turns to light bulbs.
She learns that 90% of the energy used by ordinary tungsten light bulbs produces heat not light. If a landlord lets out a property with an energy saving light bulb in every room, the EPC rating will go up and the property on offer will be more attractive to tenants. Energy saving bulbs give out hardly any heat and so tenants will be colder in a more energy efficient property.
The temperature outside is 31°C. Property Sparrow buys a couple of energy saving light bulbs on her way home and resolves to put them in every time she has a vacant flat. She asks all small landlords to add low energy light bulbs to their shopping list.
EPC rating problem solved in one fell swoop.
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2 comments:
Oh god, the puns. My eyes! Quick, turn down the lights, I can't look anymore!
I'm afraid Property Sparrow has wasted her money: energy saving bulbs do not improve your EPC rating. The idiotic rules say that you only get credit on your EPC if it's an energy-saving light *fitting*. The EU rules say, with a straight face, that to get the highest rating you are expected to replace all of your light fittings with energy-saving light fixtures. These typically cost around £30 extra per fitting - see catalogues by Endon or Franklite at your local electrical trade outlet - plus of course you have to hire an electrician to do the work. Individuals are barely allowed to change light-bulbs now.
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