Landshark:

no more, no less and nothing you say will change that FACT!

SHARK!

So you keep telling us. You must have wowed them at your university debating society with powerful arguments like that.

'Lackey' is spelt with a 'c' and a 'y', by the way.

Grommet:

"The only opinions that matter on HIPs are what the seller's and buyer's solicitors...."

and of course the poor suckers who have to pay this upfront before they can market their property. What's next, a fuel efficiency survey before you flog your old car? Oh no, I hope there aren't any Nu-labour researches on here!!!

Sorry, Grommet,

What I was trying to say was that we should leave the judgement of whether HIPs are useful or not mostly to buyers solicitors because it is the buyers solicitor that benefits from HIPs more than any other party. In time the buyer will learn to use the EPC particularly with peak oil having just passed by. We regularly get feedback from buyers solicitors on our HIPs and the response is positive. Don't believe everything you read in the papers!

No need for a survey on old cars because the fuel economy won't be that much different from when the car was bought unlike a house which is more often than not quite different when it is surveyed from when it was first constructed. Hence the need for Domestic Energy Assessors.

Chriserenity:

In time the buyer will learn to use the EPC particularly with peak oil having just passed by.

And with the headline I noticed today warning of a 25% price hike in energy costs, the energy efficiency of dwellings is likely to become of increasing interest to homeowners.

I think we become a net importer of gas next year most likely from Siberia as the North Sea has already peaked. My next heating system won't run on mains gas I can tell you that! Same in Ireland - they get their gas from us but not for much longer I'll bet.

I'll be interested in seeing what happens in Scotland over the next month as they shut down the main distribution source of fuel up there. Could be a preview of things to come in England.

I think the EPC is one of those things which was prudent to introduce now to let people become familiar with it so that when it is really needed in people's minds it will be easier to use.

Of course its urgently needed now as an advisory document to help homeowners cut their carbon emissions and their contribution to global warming but from what I've seen the carbon emissions information on the EPC is far less interesting to buyers than the 'how can we save money' information.

Generationally altruistic we aint (so far).