That is what the European Commission’s Energy Directorate is aiming to find out through a new research study, which will put to the test not only properties but also EPCs themselves across Europe.
Bids closed last week for organisations interested in running the research project across the European Community, which has the snappy title ‘Energy Performance Certificates in Buildings and their Impact on Transaction Prices and Rents in Selected EU Countries’.
The research will be carried out on ‘diverse building types’ in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Cyprus, Austria, Portugal and the Flanders region of Belgium.
The Energy Directorate’s contract information states: ‘The overall objective is to analyse the possible link between the main energy performance information given on the energy performance certificate (EPC) and the value of a property.
‘A discussion of the results should explore to what extent such a link can be traced back to the energy efficiency of a building, and to what extent the result of the study is influenced by the detected qualities of the certification scheme in the given EU member state’.
In other words, if properties are not perceived as more valuable because they have a good energy rating – as is probably the case in this country – then researchers will ask whether that is because there is something wrong with the EPC scheme the country is using.
The study is expected to give rise to policy recommendations which could lead to proposals for changes to the EPC schemes of some of the countries studied.