When Kevin McGrath’s client wanted more information about how much his suggested energy efficiency improvements would cost, he realised a standard EPC just wouldn’t cut it. On his advice, she agreed to invest in AI-driven software to really drill down into the data and within a few hours had a 13-page MEES report on which to base her decision.

Kevin, managing director of Torfaen-based K&M Energy Surveys Ltd, had produced the original EPC for the property – a 120sq m two-storey, old solid stone building in Crickhowell, South Wales, which is in a conservation area with conditions around external changes. The owner hoped to sell to her client – one of the tenants – who then planned to sublet the upper floor.

Kevin McGrath

“The F130 score wasn’t great,”

says Kevin.

“Like any EPC report, it made recommendations for the short, medium and long term, along with the impact, but obviously didn’t provide any costings. As my client is an accountant, she wanted more information about how to spend her money.”

Following a demonstration of Murton & Co’s MEES simulator, Kevin saw the benefit and was keen to offer his client a report. Murton & Co can provide Energy Assessors with ad-hoc MEES reports, employing software which instantly runs thousands of simulations to create a shopping list of cost optimal improvement measures and the capex for each, along with the best way to raise a building’s EPC. The reports also illustrate the impact of energy efficient measures on carbon reduction, EPC and capital expenditure for each property.

He added

“I could have spent many hours working out different scenarios for my client, but it still wouldn’t have given her the costings she wanted. It was very simple. I simply sent the INP file from my EPC software to Murton & Co and within hours I had the full MEES report back, complete with recommendations, costings and payback times. It was so comprehensive that the client had to go away and study it in depth.”

Recommendations included replacing windows, and to move away from electric heaters to air conditioning by fitting a heat pump, which would have caused the biggest uplift in the rating. By acting on all these suggestions, the client could improve the building’s rating to a C56. She’s still considering the investments but has used the findings as a lever to negotiate the selling price, says Kevin:

“She’s a very happy customer.”

His client appreciated being able to get an “economic understanding” of the work required, she explains:

“I have put forward those figures in my negotiations with the vendor’s agent and we have now agreed on a purchase price to move forward with me buying the building.”

The detailed explanations on the MEES report mean Kevin has also saved time by not having to be quizzed further about the suggestions. He says:

“I’m going to recommend these reports to other clients as I can now demonstrate the impact they can have on their business strategy when looking to make improvements. It’s also great to be able to just buy one report at a time from Murton & Co, rather than having to get a licence.”

Jonny Murton-Lavelle adds:

“While some of the recommendations may be obvious to some Energy Assessors, the simulation can identify opportunities that may not be so obvious. But the main advantage of our MEES Reports is the estimated capex which can take several weeks, typically involves additional surveys by other professionals and cost considerably more to obtain.”

COST FORECASTS

Lowest Cost to Achieve EPC band C

Capex of £11k

Annual Emissions Reduction of 2,760 kgCO2

Annual Energy Reduction of 17,880 kWh

Payback 3 years

Lowest Cost to Achieve EPC band B

Capex of £38k

Annual Emissions Reduction of 3,240 kgCO2

Annual Energy Reduction of 21,000 kWh

Payback 8 years