Energy Performance Certificates 'will help buyers and sellers' Published: 29/08/2008

House hunters will soon be able to choose the most cost effective property on the market owing to the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates.

The new Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) will inform prospective buyers about the energy performance of a house and will become obligatory from October 1st.

UK householders are willing to pay more for greener houses according to research provided for the Energy Saving Trust by ICM.

Jon McGowan, an energy doctor from the Energy Saving Trust, said: "Our research is showing that as people are buying and selling homes they are looking at Energy Performance Certificates, seeing how costly it is to run a home and becoming more interested in saving on their bills."

He added: "If a house is under insulated or it's got an old boiler these are things that are going to cost you money when you're paying your bills and our research reflects this."

The ICM research revealed that 56 per cent of UK householders agree that estate agents are not informed enough about energy efficiency performance. In addition, more than two thirds believe that having a poor energy performance justifies haggling down the price.

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