Over the past 20 years or so there has been a big move to improve the efficiency of home and commercial lighting. In the context of a building as a whole, how important is lighting at improving efficiency and making energy savings? Let’s take a look at some typical lighting technology and what sort of impact it has on your EPC rating.

Incandescent Lighting

The oldest and least efficient way to light a property is with a standard incandescent light bulb. This technology has been around for over 100 years, and the standard incandescent will give off much more energy in heat than light. They are incredibly inefficient and are being phased out to the point where you cannot buy them in the UK any more.

Halogen Spotlights

Halogen lighting can still be bought in the UK. They are primarily found in spotlight fittings, but you can also get halogen bulbs in other formats. Whilst they are slightly more efficient than an incandescent, they are still very inefficient. They are classed as a low efficiency light in the EPC software.

LED Lighting

LEDs are the most efficient way to light a property, whatever the situation. All new build properties and refurbished properties will usually have LEDs installed as standard these days, and it is easy to see why. They have extremely long lifespans in comparison to other types of bulb, they have a full range of colour temperatures and beam angles, plus they are much cheaper to run than the competition.

How is lighting included in domestic EPCs?

Domestic EPCs have a very simple way to input the lighting in the building. All the lights are counted, and the total number of energy efficient lights are input. There is no consideration of the different types of light and the relative efficiencies – it is a very simple process that obviously has its drawbacks.

So what difference does it make to the final rating? In the average domestic property, going from old lighting to new energy efficient lighting throughout the property will only improve the energy rating by 1 or 2 points. That is not to say that it isn’t worth doing! A single point can make the difference between a C and a D rating for example, and the savings per bulb mean that the payback time is actually very short. It makes sense to get it done, but if you are trying to boost your EPC rating, you will have to do something more.

Lighting Controls

Lighting controls are not considered at all in domestic properties, but they can have some impact in non-domestic EPCs. Properties with movement activation sensors and auto dimming relative to daylight will get a slight boost in their ratings. This is often crucial in getting a property up to the very highest EPC levels and is factored in mostly for new builds. Some buildings will have integrated illumination control systems which will improve the rating further.

It is fair to say that lighting can make a big difference in commercial properties, whereas domestic properties only see a small change in their rating from improving lighting, commercial certificates can see a rating boost of several grades in the most extreme cases. Lighting is also by far the cheapest way to improve a commercial property’s rating, so make sure you check to see whether yours is up to scratch when you get your EPC.