A pilot study in the United Kingdom has found two-thirds of social homes to have a widely inaccurate Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating.

An analysis of 121 social homes in Bromford, an area in Birmingham, by advisory firm The Good Economy, discovered 64 percent of the dwellings to have a thermal performance gap that was either more than 25 percent higher, or lower, than was expected according to their official EPC rating. The Good Economy, which was commissioned by Lloyds bank, used sensors developed by Senze, a retrofit costs analysis company, to carry out testing of the properties.

One in five of the homes which had been allocated an inaccurate EPC rating would also have been subsequently either retrofitted incorrectly, or missed out on crucial refurbishment. 13 percent of the homes in this group had been allocated an EPC C rating or above. However, the homes scored below an EPC C score when thermal performance was measured. By using EPC visual assessments o