Save Money With An Energy Performance Certificate

Moving house is one of the most stressful experiences in life. In fact studies regularly rate it as second only to losing a close relative. Now it is becomming even more troublesome as the official requirements on home owners grow seemingly by the day. Among the more recent requirements is legislation that every home must have an energy performance certificate.

You might think this is part of an ongoing obsession with the environment and energy efficiency and you'd be absolutely right. The government hopes that by making energy performance certificates mandatory for all homes and businesses, they can go some way to reducing our carbon footprint. Are they right?

First things first - the basics. An energy performance certificate is required on all new homes, new builds and for anyone renting a home after October 2008. If you want to sell your house now, or in the near future it's crucial that you have one of these done.

The process is simple. An inspector visits the house and provides a rating between A and G for how the building uses its energy for standard use. In addition each document must come with a list of recomendations suggesting how efficiency within the building can be improved further.

This can be highly useful for any home owner. With utility prices set to head skywards in the near future we all need to do whatever we can to cut down on our consumption. Not only is it vital if we are serious about helpiing the environment, but it will avoid our cash rapidly becoming a vanishing commodity.

You can solve this by taking a few simple steps to reduce use of energy. As part of your energy performance certificate you'll receive directions as to what areas most need attention. The first port of call is typically insulation. When applied well this can greatly improve the efficiency of your house. Whatever your income you can apply for an insulation grant. Other help may be on offer depending on your personal circumstances.

You should also look at each appliance in turn and consider how it may run more effectively. How often do you use the dishwasher, for example? If you're willing to wash more by hand you can make some considerable savings.

Running a washing machine can also be surprisingly expensive. Try washing at only 30 degrees. Over the course of the year the savings will mount up.

These are just some of the measures you can take. By obtaining an energy performance certificate you not only comply with government guidelines, but can also find significant savings in cost and efficiency.