As temperatures drop and household energy debt reaches a record £4.4 billion, energy efficiency becomes an urgent priority to keep homes and offices warm without pushing bills even higher.
With Ofgem’s new price cap causing electricity bills to rise by 2% from 1 October, Google search data shows interest in “money saving heaters” has risen by 271% in the past three months, alongside a 100% search increase for “making your home more energy efficient”.
Properties with a higher Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating benefit from lower energy costs on average because features such as better insulation and glazing reduce heat loss through walls, roofs and windows, meaning less energy is needed to keep them warm.
Improving an inefficient property from a D-G EPC rating to a C rating can save hundreds of pounds per year on bills. A home in EPC band D typically spends around £200 more on gas and electricity than an equivalent band C home, while a band F home might spend £550 more.
To cut bills and address the UK’s £4.4 billion energy debt, the government is tightening EPC standards, aiming for all private rented homes in England and Wales to reach at least ‘C’ by 2030. For commercial rentals, the targets are ‘C’ by April 2027 and ‘B’ by April 2030. These measures also back the UK’s 2050 net-zero goal, as inefficient buildings waste energy and increase carbon emissions.
To help reach these targets, the government is also funding energy upgrades to public buildings, investing over £630 million in measures like insulation, heat pumps and solar panels to cut emissions and save taxpayers’ money.
To understand how England currently performs on energy efficiency, and how much work needs to be done to reach the government’s targets, we looked into the current EPC ratings of properties in each local authority across the country using the EPC Register. Over 25 million properties were analysed across 308 local authorities to identify where England’s most and least energy-efficient residential properties are located.
How energy efficient are UK homes in 2025?
Our research shows that across England, around 43% of properties have an A-C EPC rating, leaving the majority of properties still in need of energy-efficiency improvements to reach the government’s minimum C target.
To reach the government’s minimum B target by 2030, 88% of properties would require energy-efficiency improvements.
These figures are spread out on a regional level, with some areas ahead of others on energy performance.
How does energy efficiency of properties compare regionally in 2025?
Although London is the best-performing region for energy-efficient buildings, over half (52%) of properties are rated D-G, so there is room for improvement.
The South East and East of England perform similarly, with 45.8% and 45% of properties in the A-C band, respectively.
As a region, Yorkshire and the Humber is home to the least energy efficient properties, with just 37.7% holding an A-C EPC rating, leaving the majority open to improvements in the D-G band. However, it also hosts the highest number of properties in the D-rated band, signalling that a large portion of properties here are close to reaching the government C-band targets.
If aiming for the government’s B target, these regional figures dissipate, with just 15% of properties falling into the A-B EPC band in the best-performing region, London.
Top-performing local authorities for energy-efficient homes
The data shows a wide disparity on a local level, with a 50.47-percentage-point gap between the local authorities with the highest and lowest proportions of properties with an A-C EPC rating.
Four of the top-performing local authorities for energy-efficient properties are in London – the top-performing region overall.
Tower Hamlets is home to the most energy-efficient properties in London and outperforms all other local authorities, with 74.4% of properties holding an A-C EPC rating. This means homeowners and landlords in the area have the least to do to reach the government’s minimum C band target.
North Northamptonshire is the top performing area in the East Midlands, Milton Keynes for the South East, and Salford for the North West – all placing in the top ten for their proportion of energy-efficient homes in bands A-C.
Worst-performing local authorities for energy-efficient homes
On the other end of the scale, Pendle has the lowest proportion of properties with an A-C EPC rating (23.9%) and the most work to do to reach the government’s minimum C target.
The North West accounts for seven of the ten local authorities with the lowest proportion of energy-efficient properties.
To provide a few more details about the importance of EPC ratings our CXO, Chad Bragg, said:
“EPC ratings help buyers, sellers, and renters to understand a property’s energy efficiency, and crucially, costs. Improving efficiency with measures such as multifoil insulation and renewable energy supports government targets and makes your property more attractive to future buyers or tenants.
“Upgrading your insulation can improve energy efficiency by over 50% on some retrofit projects, with the potential to boost an EPC rating significantly. Multifoil insulation also helps keep homes cooler during increasingly hot English summers, reflecting the sun’s heat to keep homes cooler while retaining warmth in the winter.”
Making your home more energy efficient
Many elements factor into a property’s EPC rating, although the largest drivers are usually insulation quality, heating and cooling system efficiency, and energy supply, with properties using low-carbon or renewable energy generally achieving higher ratings.
If you’re looking to improve your own EPC rating, it’s important to understand that there are never any guarantees that any particular action will impact your EPC rating. However, the following are usually some of the most reliable methods to boost your home’s energy efficiency:
Choose quality insulation: Around a quarter of a home’s heat can be lost through the roof if it isn’t well insulated. Installing multifoil insulation can make homes more energy-efficient by reducing heat loss through roofs and walls by up to 50% in some retrofit projects, which can lead to lower heating bills.
Seek expert installation: When correctly installed with the required air gaps, multifoil insulation can last over 25 years up to the lifetime of a building itself. It has even been reused by some to improve the overall energy efficiency of their new homes, offering long-term energy and cost savings.
Use radiator reflectors to reduce heat loss: Radiator reflectors can redirect up to 95% of a radiator’s heat back into the room rather than letting it escape through the wall. By keeping more warmth indoors, they can make spaces feel cosier and often let households turn the thermostat down by as much as three degrees.
Download your EPC rating report: The government’s EPC register can help householders identify their property’s current EPC rating and understand where energy is being lost. This also suggests the potential EPC rating that could be achieved if recommended improvements are made.
Check your eligibility for funding: You may be able to get help with the cost of energy-efficiency upgrades. The government’s Help to Heat schemes include the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which supports low-income households in less efficient homes (EPC D-G) with measures like insulation, heat pumps and solar panels. Separate government energy upgrade funding is also available for public buildings such as schools and community centres to cut energy use and emissions.
Methodology:
- SuperFOIL analysed over 25 million Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) records from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities’ EPC register to identify where England’s most and least energy-efficient residential properties are located.
- The number of properties rated A-G was compared against the total number of EPC-registered homes in each local authority area to calculate the percentage share of each rating.
- The data was then aggregated to provide regional comparisons.
- Google Keyword Planner was used to analyse trends in UK search behavior.
- Data is correct as of October 2025.
