The government is proposing to change the way it measures the energy performance of homes.

In a consultation paper published this week, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) outlined a shake-up to energy performance certificates (EPCs).

Changes proposed in the paper including replacing energy efficiency ratings for domestic buildings with four new headline metrics and shortening the period for which EPCs are valid.

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The consultation runs until the end of February

EPCs have been required to be produced for certain domestic dwellings and non-domestic premises since 2007 and are intended to ensure transparency about energy performance for prospective buyers, tenants, policymakers.

But MHCLG and DESNZ in its consultation paper said the single headline metric used in EPCs – the environmental energy rating (EER) – “is proving to be insufficient to meet the diverse needs of users and policy objectives”.

EERs are a measure of the calculated costs of energy used per floor area.

The government is proposing four headline metrics are used: ‘fabric performance’, ‘heating system’, ‘smart readiness’ in addition to ‘energy costs’.

The paper also asks for views on reducing the period for which an EPC is valid from its current 10 years.

The recommendations are among dozens in the consultation paper, which asks for feedback on 48 questions on different aspects of the energy performance buildings framework and how it could be changed.

Responding to the proposals, Rob Wall, assistant director at the British Property Federation, said the government should “think carefully” before changing the validity period of EPCs.

He said: “Reducing the validity period from 10 years, combined with a requirement that valid EPCs should be required throughout a tenancy period, will raise practical, logistical and cost challenges. It could also be disruptive to tenants.”

The consultation runs until 26 February.