Carpets + Energy Efficiency

[potplantsinparadise]

I've just had an offer accepted on a new house (very excited!). The house itself is lovely and thankfully will need little work, but I have two questions about things that will need doing:

1. I want to put new carpets in upstairs. Stupid question but - where do people buy new carpets and find fitters these days? I have no experience with this at all.

1. The EPC rating is E - this is because of the hot water system (which if I remember right is a big tank) which is 'poor'; every other part of the house comes back 'good' or 'very good'. Its not a dealbreaker at all but I was wondering how to improve this? Or who I should talk to about it?

Thanks so much!

Hmmm.

I would be somewhat suspicious of an EPC that was E "because of the hot water system."

Have you looked up the EPC on the government web site ? It shows a breakdown of what you can do and how many points it will add to raise it to the next catageory.

For example if I replaced my hot water (currently non condensing with gas boiler) with solar, I would only get one point. That is, not very much.

1. ask around friends and family to get recommendations. We use a local supplier who fits as well.

2. get a good decent combi boiler (my preference is Worcester Bosch). However the system you have might not need changing for a while. So I would see how you go when you live there.

As pp said E is low, I am in a Victorian terrace and that is a D. Does it has double glazing, cavity wall, roof insulation etc? They also look at whether energy saving bulbs are in use, think carefully about the EPC because it is damn miserable living in a house that costs a fortune to heat and then can't retain it.

For carpets I use a local fitter and buy off the internet (have renovated a few houses and this has been the most cost effective way). I always use the thickest underlay I can. Otherwise you can try places like Carpetright or you may find a local independent shop. My fitter will provide samples if I want but I usually order them via the internet anyway.

The boiler you can have changed to a combi which is more efficient.

Google carpets and your city and loads will probably pop up. I have a small outlet near me that does new carpets but also sells room sized offcuts for a lot cheaper. Well worth looking at if you don't care if all rooms dont match.

this is because of the hot water system (which if I remember right is a big tank) which is 'poor';
Whoever does the EPC might think it needs replacing to a newer model to be "efficient " but a good boiler will last years, how old is it? The tank might need better lagging.

Thanks all.

On the EPC: The house is a new-build (6 years old) and every other part of the EPC is good or very good - double glazing, energy efficient lightbulbs, main heating etc. It's only 'hot water (from main system)' which is poor.

Looking at the government website I suspect what is happening is that the tank which supplies the water is run on electricity, rather than gas, which makes it more expensive. I'll see how it goes for the coming months and then think about a new boiler.

Did you cehck and see what the improvement suggestions were ?

The site gives you a list, and how many points each will give you, and whether that will bump you up to the next category.

I am surprised that a 6 year old house could be E.

You might not be anywhere near a gas supply so gas may not be an option

We just recently dodged viewing a house with no gas (or oil) supply.

• Gonna cause resale problems
• We used an immersion on our hot water cyclinder when we moved into current rental for a while; the standard hot water tank needs to be on four for hours a day for two of us, it costs £1.80 an hour (I literally checked last week because I am holding out to do an expensive oil order).

Are the heaters electric too? If yes, again with the resale and cost issues.

Our house is 12 years old so we are not heating an old cyclinder/do not have energy efficiency issues.

Is there a gas supply at all? I would get quotes to get it switched before proceeding. People are going to be extremely wary about houses 100% run on electric for many years to come now.

The EPC is an E because it’s going to cost a fortune to run. What is the sq m size, and the total kWh PA stated for both space heating and hot water (they should be separate)?

A new build from 6 years ago shouldn't be an E rating as it is unlikely to have passed Part L at that score. Is it a conversion?

EPC ratings are based on cost of supplying the energy to heat space & water, run fans and provide lighting. Sounds like the water and space heating is electic, hence the low rating.

If you are on Facebook I would join the local Facebook group and ask for recommendations for a carpet supplier.

I have found loads of tradespeople this way, and they have all been reliable.