It’s time to throw away the hot water bottle

We’ve finally received the energy performance certificate (EPC) for our new home, which our Council’s building control officer needs to issue a completion certificate. As I’d hoped, our home is in the A band with a score of 95. It would be higher, but for a quirk in the assessment system that rates electric water heating ‘poor’ because using gas is cheaper!

I’ve been monitoring our electricity usage over the past three months and currently we’re spending around £200 a month. In the summer, when we won’t need any heating, and there’s more sunshine, I doubt we’ll take any power from the grid.

But even in mid-winter, spending £200 a month on electricity, which includes heating our home and charging our electric car, is amazing. Our energy efficiency will be measured over the coming year by researchers from Nottingham Trent University, as part of a project involving high energy efficient dwellings across the UK.

I’m unlikely to ever need a hot water bottle!