If your EPC rating is holding you back from selling, remortgaging or renting out your property – or you just want lower energy bills – the good news is that EPC ratings can be improved.
This guide walks through 27 proven ways to improve your EPC rating, grouped by budget and impact. You’ll see which upgrades are free, which cost a few hundred pounds, and which are larger investments that can transform your rating.
- Understand how EPC ratings work and what affects your score
- See quick wins you can do this week – even on a £0 budget
- Compare upgrade options by cost, savings and EPC point impact
- Learn which improvements make sense for your type of home
To see personalised recommendations based on your actual EPC data, start by using our free EPC checker and opening your property report. You can also browse EPC ratings by area to see how your property compares to others nearby.
Step 1 of 3
Check your current EPC rating first
Enter your postcode to see this property's current rating, expiry date and the recommendations on its certificate — and booking options only if the certificate is missing or expired.
How EPC ratings work (in plain English)
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rates your property’s energy efficiency from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). The underlying SAP score (0–100+) looks at:
- How well your home is insulated
- How efficient your heating system is
- How much heat escapes through windows and doors
- How much you rely on fossil fuels vs renewables
Your EPC shows:
- A current rating (e.g. D 60)
- A potential rating if recommended improvements are completed
- A list of recommended measures with estimated cost and savings
For a fuller explainer, see What is an EPC? A Complete Guide for Landlords and our support guide Is My EPC Still Valid?.
The key point: you improve your EPC by reducing the energy needed to heat and power your home, and by switching to more efficient systems.
Before you start: check your current EPC
Before spending money, it’s worth understanding where you are today.
- Use our EPC checker to find your property by postcode.
- Open your property report to see current and potential ratings.
- Review the recommended measures and their EPC point impact.
You can then use this guide to prioritise upgrades that:
- Fit your budget
- Deliver the biggest EPC point gain
- Make sense for your property type (flat vs detached, Victorian vs new build, etc.)
Quick wins (£0–£100): improvements you can make this month
These changes are either free or low-cost and can help you squeeze extra points from your existing setup.
1. Switch to LED lighting
Replacing old halogen and incandescent bulbs with LEDs is one of the fastest, cheapest energy upgrades.
- Typical cost: £2–£5 per bulb
- Savings: £40–£80 per year for a typical house
- EPC impact: Small but positive, especially if you still have lots of halogens
Many EPCs specifically mention “Low energy lighting” as a factor. Moving from partial to near-100% LED coverage can help on the margins.
2. Draught proof doors, windows and chimneys
Warm air escaping through gaps is wasted energy.
- Use brush strips, sealant and keyhole covers on doors and windows
- Consider a chimney balloon or draught excluder for open chimneys
- Fit letterbox brushes to reduce cold air ingress
Typical cost: £30–£100, with savings of £20–£50 per year and a more comfortable home. Draught proofing indirectly supports other measures like insulation and boiler upgrades by making them more effective.
3. Optimise heating controls
Smart thermostats and better controls don’t directly change your EPC fuel type, but they can lower your heating demand:
- Lower your target temperature by 1°C
- Use programmed schedules so you’re not heating an empty home
- Fit thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to control individual rooms
Adding or upgrading heating controls is often a recommended EPC measure. It can add a few SAP points for relatively low cost.
4. Bleed radiators and balance the system
If your radiators have cold spots, your boiler is working harder than it needs to.
- Bleeding radiators is a DIY job using a simple key
- A professional system balance can ensure even heat distribution
The EPC impact is indirect, but this is a good no-regrets step before considering larger upgrades.
For even more free and low-cost changes, see: Cheapest Ways to Improve Your EPC Rating.
Budget improvements (£100–£1,000)
Once you’ve done the quick wins, the next tier of improvements involve slightly more spend but often give better EPC point gains.
5. Top up loft insulation
Heat rises. If your loft is under-insulated, you’re losing a lot of warmth.
- Recommended depth: 270mm of mineral wool insulation
- Typical cost: £300–£600 for a standard house (DIY can be cheaper)
- Savings: £150–£250 per year depending on size and fuel type
- EPC impact: Often +5–10 SAP points
If your EPC mentions “Loft insulation (200mm or less)”, topping up can be one of the best-value upgrades available. Read more in Does Loft Insulation Improve Your EPC?.
6. Insulate hot water cylinder and pipes
If you have a hot water tank, ensuring it’s properly insulated reduces heat loss.
- Fit a compliant cylinder jacket if one isn’t already present
- Lag exposed hot water pipes in the airing cupboard and near the boiler
This is a low-cost upgrade (£30–£80) that can support a higher EPC score, especially in older systems.
7. Improve floor insulation (where accessible)
For suspended timber floors, adding insulation between joists can help:
- Typical cost: £400–£1,000 depending on access
- Savings: Moderate; EPC point gains can be noticeable in draughty homes
This is more invasive than loft insulation but may be recommended in EPC reports for period properties and ground-floor flats.
Mid-range upgrades (£1,000–£5,000)
These measures have higher upfront costs but deliver substantial EPC improvements – often enough to move you from one band to the next.
8. Cavity wall insulation
If your property has unfilled cavity walls, this is often the single biggest EPC win per pound spent.
- Typical cost: £800–£1,500
- Savings: £150–£300 per year
- EPC impact: Often +10–15 SAP points
Not all homes are suitable (e.g. some exposed or hard-to-treat walls), so you’ll need a survey. But where possible, cavity wall insulation is a cornerstone of EPC improvement.
9. Upgrade old single glazing to double glazing
New windows are expensive, but in some homes they play a major role in heat loss and comfort.
- Typical cost: £3,000–£6,000+ depending on property and openings
- Savings: Moderate, but noticeable comfort gains and noise reduction
- EPC impact: Can help move borderline properties up a band
If budget is tight, consider targeted upgrades (e.g. worst rooms first) or alternatives like secondary glazing. See our dedicated guide to double glazing and your EPC, and weigh this against cheaper insulation and boiler options first.
10. Replace old electric storage heaters (flats)
For flats with old electric night storage heaters, upgrading to more modern high-heat-retention units or – where appropriate – efficient electric systems can make a notable EPC difference.
- EPC methodology is sensitive to heating type and controls
- In some cases, switching to modern panel heaters with smart controls can be beneficial
If you’re in this situation, it’s worth speaking to a qualified assessor to model options before committing.
Major renovations (£5,000+): heating systems, heat pumps and renewables
The biggest EPC gains often come from tackling heating systems and adding renewables. These are significant investments but can transform a G–E property into a C–B home, especially when combined with insulation.
11. Install a new, efficient gas boiler
If you currently have an old non-condensing boiler, replacing it with a modern A-rated condensing boiler can:
- Improve boiler efficiency into the 90%+ range
- Reduce gas use and bills
- Contribute several EPC points – especially when combined with good controls
Our dedicated article explains this in depth: Does a New Boiler Improve Your EPC?. For detailed pricing, see New Boiler Cost UK (2026 Guide), and if your EPC recommends a boiler upgrade you can explore quotes via our boiler partner journey.
12. Add an air source heat pump
Where the property is well insulated, an air source heat pump can be a strong EPC win and significantly cut carbon emissions.
- Best suited to well-insulated homes with sized radiators or underfloor heating
- Works particularly well when paired with low-temperature heating and smart controls
- Eligible for grants under schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
We explore costs and grants in Air Source Heat Pump Costs UK and compare against gas boilers in Boiler vs Heat Pump: Cost Comparison.
13. Install solar PV panels
Solar panels don’t directly reduce the heat needed for your home, but they offset electricity use, which can lift your EPC rating.
Key benefits:
- Generate your own electricity during daylight hours
- Lower your bills, especially if you’re home during the day or have battery storage
- Improve the EPC’s “Environmental Impact” rating
See Solar Panels and EPC Rating for a focused breakdown of costs, savings and rating impact.
14. External or internal wall insulation (solid walls)
For solid-walled properties (often Victorian and older), solid wall insulation can have a dramatic effect on heat loss – but it’s a major project.
- External wall insulation: typical cost £8,000–£15,000+
- Internal wall insulation: often cheaper but more disruptive to internal space
If you own a period property, also read How to Improve EPC on Victorian House for heritage-sensitive options.
Comparing improvement options: cost vs EPC point gain
Every property is different, but as a rule of thumb:
- Best £ per EPC point tends to be: loft insulation top-ups, cavity wall insulation, draught proofing and heating controls.
- Medium £ per point: boiler upgrades (from very old to modern), some floor insulation measures.
- High £ per point but high impact: heat pumps, solar PV, solid wall insulation.
Your EPC report will list each recommended measure with a potential point gain. Use that as a starting point and then cross-check with:
- Cheapest Ways to Improve Your EPC Rating
- EPC Improvement Costs 2026 – every upgrade priced, with SAP point gains
- Home Energy Grants UK for funding options
Which improvements are right for your property?
Not every recommendation makes sense for every home. A sensible sequence is:
- Check your current EPC using our EPC checker.
- Tackle quick wins and low-cost insulation first.
- Only then consider bigger investments like windows or heating systems.
- For Victorian or heritage homes, read How to Improve EPC on Victorian House before committing to invasive works.
- If you’re a landlord, cross-check against EPC Rules for Landlords 2025–2030 to prioritise compliance.
Our property reports are designed to mirror this logic, ranking improvements by impact, cost and disruption. Learn more about how we prioritise recommendations in our methodology.
Grants and funding for EPC improvements
Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to reduce costs using:
- ECO4 (extended to December 2026) and the Warm Homes: Local Grant (England only, via councils), for insulation and heating
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which gives a £7,500 grant towards an air source or ground source heat pump (£9,000 for off-gas-grid homes on oil or LPG until 31 March 2027) and £2,500 towards air-to-air – confirmed to 2029/30
- Local authority grants and supplier-funded offers (e.g. free or discounted loft and cavity wall insulation), backed by the roughly £15bn Warm Homes Plan
We cover this in detail in Home Energy Grants UK and Boiler Grants UK. Where grants aren’t available, you might still improve affordability by:
- Bundling works (e.g. insulation + boiler) to reduce labour costs
- Getting multiple quotes via specialist installers
If your EPC specifically recommends a new boiler, you can compare prices and finance options via our boiler partner route – see New Boiler Cost UK (2026 Guide) for typical price ranges.
Step-by-step guides
Want a detailed plan for a specific starting point or upgrade? These guides go deeper than the list above:
- Cheapest Ways to Improve Your EPC Rating – free and low-cost upgrades under £500
- How to Improve EPC from D to C – the measures that usually close the gap to band C
- How to Improve EPC from E to D – insulation and heating fixes for E-rated homes
- How to Improve EPC on a Victorian House – solid walls, sash windows and period-sensitive retrofit
- Does Loft Insulation Improve Your EPC? – SAP points, costs and savings from topping up the loft
- Does a New Boiler Improve Your EPC? – how much a boiler upgrade moves your rating, and when to do it
FAQs
What improves EPC rating the most?
It depends on your starting point, but common high-impact upgrades include:
- Cavity wall insulation (where suitable)
- Loft insulation top-ups in poorly insulated homes
- Replacing very old boilers with efficient condensing models
- Adding low-carbon heating (heat pumps) in well-insulated properties
- Solid wall insulation in older, hard-to-treat homes
Your EPC recommendations panel is the best place to see which of these will make the biggest difference for your specific property.
How can I improve my EPC rating cheaply?
Start with free and low-cost measures:
- Swap to LED lighting in all rooms
- Draught proof around doors, windows and chimneys
- Optimise heating controls and thermostats
- Add or upgrade hot water cylinder insulation
Then move on to budget-friendly insulation (especially loft and cavity walls). For a dedicated budget guide, see Cheapest Ways to Improve Your EPC Rating.
Will a new boiler improve my EPC?
Often yes – especially if you’re replacing a non-condensing or very old boiler with a modern A-rated model. The exact impact depends on your starting rating, property type and controls. We cover this in detail in Does a New Boiler Improve Your EPC?.
Do solar panels improve EPC ratings?
Yes. Solar PV can improve the EPC by offsetting your electricity usage with on-site generation. The effect is more noticeable for properties that use a lot of electricity or electric heating. For a focused breakdown, read Solar Panels and EPC Rating.
How do I know if I’ve reached the next band?
Your EPC shows both your current band and your potential band. After major improvements, you’ll need a new EPC assessment to confirm your new rating. Use Is My EPC Still Valid? to check whether you also need to renew your certificate.
When you’re ready, head back to the EPC checker to view your property’s recommendations and start planning which of these 27 improvements will move you towards your target EPC band.