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EPC Benchmark
Demonstration

Manchester demonstration — using anonymised domestic EPC data. This is an independent Manchester demonstration, not an official government service.

Band guide

EPC rating D: what it means

Band D covers assessment scores from 55 to 68. It is the most common band for existing homes in the analysed Manchester data, and it is the current band of the example home in this demonstration, which scores 60.

Example home:D60currentB81recorded potential

What a D usually reflects

A D rating is typical of homes built before modern insulation standards where some upgrades have happened but not all. Interwar and post-war houses, converted flats and older terraces often land here. Because D spans fourteen points, a home at the top of the band and one at the bottom can be in quite different condition.

A comparison with similar homes is more informative than the letter on its own. The example home is in band D but still scores below the median of its matched group, which suggests recorded elements that similar properties have already improved.

How measures tend to be grouped

  • Fabric first

    Fabric measures deal with how much heat the building loses: floors, lofts, walls and draughts. Assessors often record these earliest in the sequence, but whether any of them apply depends entirely on the construction recorded for the property.

  • Controls and heating

    Heating controls and heat generators appear where the recorded system is older or poorly controlled. What is appropriate varies with the existing system, the fuel and the layout, so this is a category to investigate rather than a prescription.

  • Renewables

    Measures such as solar water heating or photovoltaics appear on some certificates. Their suitability depends on roof orientation, shading, hot water demand and the condition of the existing system.

These are categories, not recommendations. EPC Benchmark does not prescribe works and does not attach an expected point gain to any individual measure.

The example home’s recorded measures

  1. 1Floor insulation (suspended)£800–£1,200
  2. 2Heating controls£350–£450
  3. 3Condensing boiler£2,200–£3,000
  4. 4Solar water heating£4,000–£6,000

Combined range for these four measures: £7,350–£10,650

Data note: These are the measures visible for this certificate in the 25,000-row recommendations sample. The full official recommendation package may contain additional items. Costs are indicative EPC assessment ranges, not quotations.