Homes rated EPC band F will pay around £1,290 for gas and electricity over winter 2024/25, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) estimated in analysis published on 1 October 2024, around £385 more than a home at EPC band C1. The figures were released as energy bills under Ofgem's new price cap rose by 10% to £1,717 for the typical dual fuel bill on 1 October 20241.
The ECIU analysis assumes households cut gas demand by 15% and electricity demand by 10% in response to higher prices. On that basis, a typical home at the Government's target EPC band C would pay £903 over the winter, against £584 before the gas crisis, while an EPC F home would pay £1,288 against £8441. Homes rated EPC D or worse would collectively pay up to £3.7bn more this winter than if they were all rated EPC C, of which £2.4bn would be spent on gas and £1.3bn on electricity1.
If demand is not suppressed by 10 to 15%, the ECIU said the findings are starker: winter bills would be 75% higher than before the crisis, with an EPC C home paying around £1,000 and an EPC F home around £1,450, roughly £440 more than an EPC C home1.
| EPC band | 2024 winter cost per home, suppressed demand (£) | Pre-crisis cost (£) | Extra vs pre-crisis (£) | Extra vs EPC C in 2024 (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPC A | 868 | 560 | 307 | |
| EPC B | 819 | 528 | 291 | |
| EPC C | 903 | 584 | 318 | |
| EPC D | 1,052 | 683 | 368 | 149 |
| EPC E | 1,179 | 768 | 410 | 276 |
| EPC F | 1,288 | 844 | 444 | 385 |
| EPC G | 1,186 | 780 | 406 | 283 |
Source: ECIU, dual fuel bills per EPC band under suppressed use in winter 2024/251.
Jess Ralston, Energy Analyst at the ECIU, said:
"Insulating a home brings down its bills once and for all, meaning people won't simply turn off the heating to get by which jeopardises their health. This is why government plans for minimum standards for privately rented homes are so important given they are the coldest and dampest properties."
The ECIU said insulation rates have dropped by over 90% since 2012, after the Government rowed back on energy efficiency schemes in 2012-131. It also said at least 4 million homes use alternative heating such as oil boilers or electric storage heaters, for which the extra costs caused by inefficiency are likely to be higher than for a gas-heated home, so its estimates are likely to be underestimates1.
Why it matters for households
The gap between bands is the practical measure of what a home's fabric costs its occupants. Under the ECIU's central estimate, the difference between an EPC C home and an EPC F home is £385 across one winter, and the difference between EPC C and EPC E is £2761. Those figures sit alongside the standing charges and unit rates set under the price cap, which apply regardless of a property's efficiency, so a leaky home pays the same rate per unit for heat that escapes. The ECIU's figures cover dual fuel bills only; households on prepayment or standard credit pay different totals under the cap for the same consumption.
The analysis also frames efficiency as a matter of gas demand rather than comfort alone. The ECIU said improved efficiency means less gas burnt in boilers and less gas needed from international markets, which it described as boosting British energy security1. For a household, that link runs through exposure to wholesale prices set abroad, which the ECIU said left this winter's bills 55% higher than before the gas crisis even with reduced demand1. Measures that raise a band, such as insulation and glazing, are the route the analysis identifies, and the ECIU noted that investment in government efficiency schemes has fallen over the past decade and further in the first six months of 20241. For rented homes, the standards that apply are set out under MEES, and the older schemes that once funded work are covered in the guide to closed insulation schemes. Households in Northern Ireland face a separate market and separate support arrangements, covered in energy bills in Northern Ireland.
What happens next
The Government has said that by the end of the year it will consult on tightening standards in the private rented sector so that these homes would have to meet EPC C by 20301. It has also set out changes to consolidate existing energy efficiency schemes, including the Local Authority Delivery and Home Upgrade Grant, by lengthening the delivery window, simplifying the application process and widening criteria for the minimum required home improvement, and has confirmed that public sector and social housing energy efficiency schemes will continue1. The ECIU said further details of the manifesto plans for low interest loans have yet to be set out, and that the Government has not yet confirmed whether it will press ahead with the Clean Heat Market Mechanism1.