Homeowners could be losing over £2,000 per year, despite millions believing their home is energy efficient, said Skipton Building Society.

The mutual is now extending its free EPC offer to all of its 1.1 million members, meaning they can now have a free EPC Plus home assessment and receive a bespoke report for their property.

Mind the knowledge gap

Millions of homeowners – 84% – wrongly believe their property is energy efficient when if fact 59% of homes have a poor EPC rating, said Skipton.

Two-thirds are unaware of what the EPC (Energy performance certificate) rating of their home is, and a further 57% are unsure what EPC even means.

The Building Society in partnership with Vibrant (which is also part of the Skipton Group) is extending its free EPC Plus report offering to all of its 1.1 million members.

All Skipton Building Society’s mortgage and savings customers who own their own home, can now register to have a free EPC Plus inspection carried out on their home – with a free report provided bespoke to their property.

It provides each homeowner not only with the current energy efficiency rating of their home, and what the home’s potential EPC rating could be too. But it also includes a bespoke guide on how the homeowner can achieve this, how much it could reduce their energy bills by, and signposts to sources of funding potentially available. It also estimates the tonnes of carbon produced by the household.

Stuart Haire, Skipton’s group chief executive, said: “I am proud that we are re-investing some of our profits over the next few years as part of our commitment to helping make Britain’s homes greener.

“By expanding the free EPC Plus offering to all of Skipton Building Society’s 1.1 million members, this is just another step in our commitment to greening homes across the UK and aiding energy efficiency awareness.

“Ultimately, this will help Skipton’s members to save money on their household bills and enable them to take their first step to greening their homes.”