Hi Everyone, just wanted to flag something I learned the hard way, in case it’s useful to others here.
I was getting a quote for a heat pump through Octopus Energy for my 2-bed rental. It looked great — with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the price was close to replacing the old gas boiler.
Then I found out the heat pump would likely drop my EPC rating from a C to a D — which could mean I can’t rent the property in future if the EPC minimum is raised to C (as previously proposed). Octopus hadn’t mentioned this, and when I brought it up, I never heard back.
If you think about using the grant, I would suggest -
Ask for an EPC impact assessment before any installation.
Heat pumps may be lower-carbon, but EPCs still care more about energy bills than emissions, so landlords need to be careful — green upgrades can backfire under current rules.
Doesn’t make sense, but there you go.
Hope this will be helpful,
Tali