Warmer Homes, Greener Planet

Using Energy Performance Certificate (EFC) data, we have revealed the local authorities with the most work opportunities for tradesspeople, based on the number of homes where energy efficiency could be improved.

This page includes our key data findings, as well as an interactive map and table where you can explore the level of energy efficiency in our local area.

Key Findings:

13.3m

UK homes could be made more energy efficient

73%

Of properties have a lower EPC rating than their potential

2m

Homes in South East England could improve their energy rating

With a proposed law potentially requiring millions of UK buildings to be made more energy efficient by 2035, there could be a surge in demand for tradespeople's services, from adding insulation to installing condensing boilers.

The local authority with the most opportunities is Birmingham, where 238,926 properties have a lower EPC rating than their potential.

To see how many homes could improve their energy rating in your area, explore our interactive map and table below.

Home energy efficiency in the UK

Number of homes where the EPC ratings could be improved

Scotland

751

Local authorities with the most opportunities

Scottish Borders

369

Dumfries and Galloway

200

City of Edinburgh

North East

Yorkshire and The Humber

East Midlands

East of England

London

South East

South West

Wales

West Midlands

North West

Scotland

751

Local authorities with the most opportunities

Scottish Borders

369

Dumfries and Galloway

200

City of Edinburgh

Number of homes in each local authority

that could be made more energy efficient

#	Local Authority	Region	Properties where energy ratings could be improved	Total properties	Percentage of properties where energy rating could be improved
1	Birmingham	West Midlands	238,926	318,512	75%
2	Leeds	Yorkshire and The Humber	187,293	256,400	73%
3	Cornwall	South West	149,926	191,938	78%
4	County Durham	North East	147,263	173,248	85%
5	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	127,855	157,881	80%
6	Manchester	North West	125,289	192,116	65%
7	Liverpool	North West	119,954	164,524	72%
8	Sheffield	Yorkshire and The Humber	117,315	164,395	71%
9	Wiltshire	South West	116,781	151,393	77%
10	Buckinghamshire	South East	116,381	160,414	72%
11	Cheshire East	North West	100,840	125,200	80%
12	Bristol	South West	95,285	143,344	66%
13	Kirklees	Yorkshire and The Humber	95,063	121,846	78%
14	Wakefield	Yorkshire and The Humber	94,958	116,782	81%
15	West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	94,420	123,054	76%
16	Dorset	South West	89,539	119,225	75%
17	East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	87,396	106,572	82%
18	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	South West	86,961	129,911	66%
19	Northumberland	North East	85,211	105,832	80%
20	North Northamptonshire	East Midlands	82,448	106,257	77%
21	Nottingham	East Midlands	82,353	112,804	73%
22	Cheshire West and Chester	North West	82,246	104,843	78%
23	Cardiff	Wales	81,739	114,587	71%
24	Shropshire	West Midlands	79,633	97,793	81%
25	Doncaster	Yorkshire and The Humber	79,338	94,196	84%
26	Wigan	North West	79,147	95,554	82%
27	Wirral	North West	78,558	98,421	79%
28	Coventry	West Midlands	76,842	99,796	76%
29	Sunderland	North East	75,491	94,766	79%
30	Leicester	East Midlands	73,888	101,135	73%
31	Croydon	London	70,720	113,469	62%
32	Kingston upon Hull	Yorkshire and The Humber	70,435	87,788	80%
33	Central Bedfordshire	East of England	68,272	89,838	75%
34	Sefton	North West	68,151	87,668	77%
35	Dudley	West Midlands	67,149	84,277	79%
36	Sandwell	West Midlands	67,036	87,034	77%
37	Stockport	North West	65,776	84,828	77%
38	Barnet	London	65,450	113,340	57%
39	Bolton	North West	65,423	83,125	78%
40	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	65,316	78,961	82%
41	East Suffolk	East of England	64,247	79,761	80%
42	Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	63,807	92,400	69%
43	Bromley	London	63,709	92,184	69%
44	Barnsley	Yorkshire and The Humber	63,201	76,654	82%
45	Brighton and Hove	South East	63,113	94,663	66%
46	Medway	South East	61,730	81,025	76%
47	Salford	North West	61,584	101,606	60%
48	South Gloucestershire	South West	61,210	80,122	76%
49	Milton Keynes	South East	61,082	88,557	68%
50	Lambeth	London	60,344	115,074	52%
51	Walsall	West Midlands	60,152	77,528	77%
52	Plymouth	South West	60,147	85,016	70%
53	Derby	East Midlands	60,012	77,947	76%
54	Rotherham	Yorkshire and The Humber	59,678	76,738	77%
55	Enfield	London	58,191	85,971	67%
56	Ealing	London	57,045	98,936	57%
57	Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales	56,874	67,863	83%
58	Wandsworth	London	56,553	111,294	50%
59	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	56,520	74,429	75%
60	Swansea	Wales	56,099	72,064	77%
61	Tameside	North West	54,951	69,691	78%
62	Lewisham	London	54,481	93,818	58%
63	Oldham	North West	52,905	66,239	79%
64	Hillingdon	London	52,134	79,040	65%
65	Calderdale	Yorkshire and The Humber	51,683	65,390	79%
66	Rochdale	North West	51,333	64,951	79%
67	Southampton	South East	49,733	79,135	62%
68	Redbridge	London	49,668	70,326	70%
69	Trafford	North West	49,218	67,150	73%
70	Stockton-on-Tees	North East	49,142	63,367	77%
71	Peterborough	East of England	49,100	68,127	72%
72	Swindon	South West	49,011	67,408	72%
73	Newham	London	48,942	97,499	50%
74	North Somerset	South West	48,750	68,505	71%
75	Waltham Forest	London	48,230	77,874	61%
76	Haringey	London	47,905	81,686	58%
77	North Tyneside	North East	47,817	66,421	71%
78	Westminster	London	47,688	92,770	51%
79	Havering	London	47,544	68,255	69%
80	Warrington	North West	47,346	62,785	75%
81	Bexley	London	47,032	66,692	70%
82	Southwark	London	47,024	102,897	45%
83	Brent	London	45,802	87,151	52%
84	Portsmouth	South East	45,779	65,986	69%
85	Herefordshire	West Midlands	45,640	56,680	80%
86	Solihull	West Midlands	45,596	60,662	75%
87	West Suffolk	East of England	45,384	57,742	78%
88	Telford and Wrekin	West Midlands	45,174	57,402	78%
89	Gateshead	North East	45,008	61,138	73%
90	Greenwich	London	44,699	88,733	50%
91	Bury	North West	44,511	55,274	80%
92	Carmarthenshire	Wales	44,500	53,158	83%
93	York	Yorkshire and The Humber	43,466	58,207	74%
94	Huntingdonshire	East of England	43,247	55,027	78%
95	South Somerset	South West	43,066	54,692	78%
96	Blackpool	North West	42,871	51,967	82%
97	St. Helens	North West	42,796	52,758	81%
98	Colchester	East of England	42,530	59,805	71%
99	Bath and North East Somerset	South West	41,842	56,758	73%
100	Luton	East of England	41,528	57,589	72%
101	King's Lynn and West Norfolk	East of England	41,489	50,961	81%
102	Caerphilly	Wales	41,416	49,788	83%
103	Hounslow	London	40,946	71,504	57%
104	Arun	South East	40,886	53,381	76%
105	East Lindsey	East Midlands	40,810	48,996	83%
106	Charnwood	East Midlands	40,746	51,908	78%
107	North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	40,584	49,216	82%
108	Somerset West and Taunton	South West	40,549	52,655	77%
109	Bedford	East of England	40,507	55,745	72%
110	North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	40,308	49,682	81%
111	Southend-on-Sea	East of England	40,274	55,942	71%
112	New Forest	South East	39,943	51,650	77%
113	Merton	London	39,920	62,266	64%
114	Harrogate	Yorkshire and The Humber	39,884	51,101	78%
115	Tendring	East of England	39,768	49,355	80%
116	Middlesbrough	North East	39,741	49,243	80%
117	Basingstoke and Deane	South East	39,691	55,538	71%
118	Knowsley	North West	39,483	49,674	79%
119	Harrow	London	39,479	61,742	63%
120	East Devon	South West	39,297	50,853	77%
121	Maidstone	South East	39,041	54,449	71%
122	Camden	London	38,534	77,130	49%
123	Barking and Dagenham	London	38,149	57,269	66%
124	Cherwell	South East	37,991	48,888	77%
125	Richmond upon Thames	London	37,884	57,655	65%
126	Isle of Wight	South East	37,764	49,257	76%
127	South Tyneside	North East	37,687	48,817	77%
128	Basildon	East of England	37,537	50,292	74%
129	Hackney	London	37,358	84,016	44%
130	Stratford-on-Avon	West Midlands	37,333	47,498	78%
131	Kensington and Chelsea	London	37,278	61,790	60%
132	Wokingham	South East	37,102	49,044	75%
133	Thanet	South East	37,014	50,306	73%
134	Wealden	South East	36,911	47,514	77%
135	Sutton	London	36,715	56,792	64%
136	Blackburn with Darwen	North West	36,563	45,040	81%
137	Warwick	West Midlands	36,478	48,991	74%
138	South Cambridgeshire	East of England	36,442	48,775	74%
139	Chelmsford	East of England	36,427	51,731	70%
140	South Kesteven	East Midlands	36,052	45,673	78%
141	Flintshire	Wales	35,972	43,982	81%
142	Tower Hamlets	London	35,968	115,645	31%
143	Torbay	South West	35,817	47,248	75%
144	Preston	North West	35,699	48,902	73%
145	Newport	Wales	35,663	48,843	73%
146	Breckland	East of England	35,517	43,909	80%
147	Canterbury	South East	35,321	47,454	74%
148	Redcar and Cleveland	North East	35,318	43,110	81%
149	Swale	South East	35,317	44,231	79%
150	West Berkshire	South East	35,190	46,897	75%
151	Braintree	East of England	34,747	44,778	77%
152	Neath Port Talbot	Wales	34,656	42,477	81%
153	South Norfolk	East of England	34,618	44,410	77%
154	Islington	London	34,562	76,271	45%
155	Reading	South East	34,395	52,892	65%
156	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	34,010	66,733	50%
157	Thurrock	East of England	33,918	47,337	71%
158	Powys	Wales	33,648	40,186	83%
159	Teignbridge	South West	33,466	43,051	77%
160	Lancaster	North West	33,444	43,639	76%
161	South Oxfordshire	South East	32,863	43,154	76%
162	Wychavon	West Midlands	32,807	41,238	79%
163	Bridgend	Wales	32,580	40,719	80%
164	Mid Sussex	South East	32,346	45,784	70%
165	Vale of Glamorgan	Wales	32,337	41,257	78%
166	Vale of White Horse	South East	32,281	42,807	75%
167	Nuneaton and Bedworth	West Midlands	32,040	39,288	81%
168	Stafford	West Midlands	31,980	40,250	79%
169	Broadland	East of England	31,915	38,516	82%
170	Horsham	South East	31,871	43,630	73%
171	Norwich	East of England	31,868	50,065	63%
172	Kingston upon Thames	London	31,841	48,453	65%
173	Scarborough	Yorkshire and The Humber	31,437	41,198	76%
174	Bassetlaw	East Midlands	31,323	37,553	83%
175	Newark and Sherwood	East Midlands	31,175	38,324	81%
176	Dacorum	East of England	31,070	45,996	67%
177	Conwy	Wales	31,034	39,413	78%
178	Ashfield	East Midlands	30,980	38,462	80%
179	Pembrokeshire	Wales	30,974	38,871	79%
180	Sedgemoor	South West	30,850	39,320	78%
181	East Hertfordshire	East of England	30,729	43,176	71%
182	East Staffordshire	West Midlands	30,634	37,994	80%
183	Amber Valley	East Midlands	30,569	36,898	82%
184	North Norfolk	East of England	30,564	37,807	80%
185	Gwynedd	Wales	30,444	36,373	83%
186	North Kesteven	East Midlands	30,340	36,357	83%
187	Chichester	South East	30,314	40,354	75%
188	Halton	North West	29,998	38,020	78%
189	Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	29,800	44,353	67%
190	Reigate and Banstead	South East	29,753	44,993	66%
191	Ipswich	East of England	29,674	42,268	70%
192	Gloucester	South West	29,635	39,996	74%
193	Oxford	South East	29,398	44,865	65%
194	Wyre	North West	29,378	35,322	83%
195	St Albans	East of England	29,255	42,702	68%
196	Test Valley	South East	29,214	39,002	74%
197	Guildford	South East	29,110	39,983	72%
198	Dover	South East	28,989	37,124	78%
199	Ashford	South East	28,915	39,701	72%
200	North Hertfordshire	East of England	28,913	39,992	72%
201	Darlington	North East	28,576	36,296	78%
202	Stroud	South West	28,547	36,302	78%
203	North West Leicestershire	East Midlands	28,369	33,844	83%
204	Carlisle	North West	28,215	35,447	79%
205	South Derbyshire	East Midlands	28,206	33,964	83%
206	Wrexham	Wales	28,168	36,768	76%
207	Folkestone and Hythe	South East	28,116	37,295	75%
208	Newcastle-under-Lyme	West Midlands	27,935	35,072	79%
209	South Lakeland	North West	27,896	35,687	78%
210	Havant	South East	27,863	36,920	75%
211	Eastleigh	South East	27,829	41,322	67%
212	West Oxfordshire	South East	27,707	35,685	77%
213	Gedling	East Midlands	27,694	34,674	79%
214	Cheltenham	South West	27,688	38,974	71%
215	Rushcliffe	East Midlands	27,580	35,183	78%
216	Mendip	South West	27,545	35,185	78%
217	Hinckley and Bosworth	East Midlands	27,352	34,181	80%
218	Elmbridge	South East	27,101	40,806	66%
219	Erewash	East Midlands	26,953	32,864	82%
220	Mansfield	East Midlands	26,949	33,687	79%
221	Waverley	South East	26,907	36,305	74%
222	East Hampshire	South East	26,892	37,184	72%
223	Burnley	North West	26,776	31,262	85%
224	Chesterfield	East Midlands	26,686	33,419	79%
225	Worthing	South East	26,567	36,206	73%
226	Exeter	South West	26,551	38,919	68%
227	Tonbridge and Malling	South East	26,523	36,162	73%
228	West Lancashire	North West	26,472	32,897	80%
229	Winchester	South East	26,233	38,339	68%
230	Epping Forest	East of England	26,199	36,117	72%
231	West Lindsey	East Midlands	26,097	31,186	83%
232	Slough	South East	26,009	39,653	65%
233	North East Derbyshire	East Midlands	25,955	30,260	85%
234	North Devon	South West	25,915	33,057	78%
235	South Ribble	North West	25,868	32,430	79%
236	Hartlepool	North East	25,861	33,040	78%
237	Rugby	West Midlands	25,844	33,620	76%
238	Allerdale	North West	25,573	30,974	82%
239	Fenland	East of England	25,474	31,911	79%
240	Bracknell Forest	South East	25,455	37,757	67%
241	Broxtowe	East Midlands	25,407	31,316	81%
242	South Hams	South West	25,274	31,846	79%
243	Denbighshire	Wales	25,272	30,308	83%
244	Chorley	North West	25,209	34,051	74%
245	Tunbridge Wells	South East	25,181	35,089	71%
246	Worcester	West Midlands	25,163	33,501	75%
247	Great Yarmouth	East of England	25,085	31,920	78%
248	Pendle	North West	25,042	29,045	86%
249	Eastbourne	South East	24,630	35,277	69%
250	Rother	South East	24,605	32,293	76%
251	South Holland	East Midlands	24,594	29,400	83%
252	Mid Suffolk	East of England	24,537	30,830	79%
253	Hambleton	Yorkshire and The Humber	24,522	29,397	83%
254	Hastings	South East	24,317	32,971	73%
255	Lincoln	East Midlands	24,191	31,919	75%
256	Cannock Chase	West Midlands	24,080	29,800	80%
257	Lichfield	West Midlands	23,974	30,397	78%
258	Lewes	South East	23,863	31,277	76%
259	Harborough	East Midlands	23,831	29,481	80%
260	Fareham	South East	23,595	31,086	75%
261	Sevenoaks	South East	23,457	31,431	74%
262	Wyre Forest	West Midlands	23,449	29,496	79%
263	Cotswold	South West	23,437	30,588	76%
264	Cambridge	East of England	23,237	41,040	56%
265	Fylde	North West	22,880	28,580	80%
266	Dartford	South East	22,686	33,737	67%
267	Tewkesbury	South West	22,683	29,629	76%
268	Blaby	East Midlands	22,648	27,233	83%
269	South Staffordshire	West Midlands	22,562	28,003	80%
270	Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	22,517	26,122	86%
271	Babergh	East of England	22,104	27,537	80%
272	Harlow	East of England	22,070	30,695	71%
273	Selby	Yorkshire and The Humber	21,990	27,218	80%
274	Gravesham	South East	21,966	29,524	74%
275	Hyndburn	North West	21,598	25,552	84%
276	Welwyn Hatfield	East of England	21,571	32,864	65%
277	Woking	South East	21,528	31,451	68%
278	High Peak	East Midlands	21,402	26,846	79%
279	East Cambridgeshire	East of England	21,265	26,920	78%
280	Bromsgrove	West Midlands	21,172	26,748	79%
281	Bolsover	East Midlands	21,123	24,868	84%
282	Monmouthshire	Wales	21,117	27,559	76%
283	Rushmoor	South East	20,893	30,247	69%
284	Crawley	South East	20,775	30,575	67%
285	Hart	South East	20,705	28,573	72%
286	Torfaen	Wales	20,662	26,935	76%
287	Forest of Dean	South West	20,509	25,028	81%
288	Spelthorne	South East	20,156	29,233	68%
289	Mid Devon	South West	19,706	24,986	78%
290	Hertsmere	East of England	19,540	29,246	66%
291	Malvern Hills	West Midlands	19,309	24,706	78%
292	Boston	East Midlands	19,230	23,027	83%
293	Isle of Anglesey	Wales	19,113	23,339	81%
294	Ceredigion	Wales	19,028	22,812	83%
295	Uttlesford	East of England	18,976	26,215	72%
296	Redditch	West Midlands	18,950	24,270	78%
297	Gosport	South East	18,885	26,067	72%
298	Castle Point	East of England	18,843	22,525	83%
299	Torridge	South West	18,586	23,421	79%
300	Broxbourne	East of England	18,557	26,596	69%
301	Stevenage	East of England	18,156	25,435	71%
302	Derbyshire Dales	East Midlands	18,090	22,571	80%
303	Surrey Heath	South East	18,042	24,996	72%
304	Watford	East of England	17,908	29,135	61%
305	Tamworth	West Midlands	17,660	21,936	80%
306	Three Rivers	East of England	17,504	24,896	70%
307	Barrow-in-Furness	North West	17,391	21,513	80%
308	Rossendale	North West	17,268	21,424	80%
309	Mole Valley	South East	17,249	24,414	70%
310	Copeland	North West	17,193	20,357	84%
311	Rochford	East of England	17,175	22,031	77%
312	Runnymede	South East	16,899	25,619	65%
313	Tandridge	South East	16,440	23,930	68%
314	North Warwickshire	West Midlands	16,220	19,214	84%
315	Blaenau Gwent	Wales	16,002	19,321	82%
316	Brentwood	East of England	15,616	22,524	69%
317	Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	15,594	18,595	83%
318	Maldon	East of England	15,448	18,771	82%
319	Ryedale	Yorkshire and The Humber	15,131	18,500	81%
320	Ribble Valley	North West	15,113	18,421	82%
321	Eden	North West	15,052	18,372	81%
322	West Devon	South West	14,358	18,022	79%
323	Craven	Yorkshire and The Humber	14,304	17,940	79%
324	Epsom and Ewell	South East	14,258	21,029	67%
325	Adur	South East	14,069	18,643	75%
326	Richmondshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	13,241	15,667	84%
327	Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	12,845	15,311	83%
328	Melton	East Midlands	12,816	15,535	82%
329	Rutland	East Midlands	9,155	11,954	76%
330	City of London	London	1,863	5,273	35%
331	Isles of Scilly	South West	566	642	88%
332	Scottish Borders	Scotland	369	399	92%
333	Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland	200	205	97%
334	City of Edinburgh	Scotland	38	40	95%
335	North Lanarkshire	Scotland	36	36	100%
336	South Ayrshire	Scotland	29	29	100%
337	North Ayrshire	Scotland	19	19	100%
338	Midlothian	Scotland	17	17	100%
339	Dundee City	Scotland	16	16	100%
340	Renfrewshire	Scotland	11	15	73%
341	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	3	3	100%
342	Glasgow City	Scotland	3	3	100%
343	Perth and Kinross	Scotland	3	3	100%
344	Angus	Scotland	2	2	100%
345	Argyll and Bute	Scotland	2	2	100%
346	East Dunbartonshire	Scotland	1	1	100%
347	Falkirk	Scotland	1	1	100%
348	Highland	Scotland	1	1	100%

Making homes more sustainable

To help tradespeople who are tasked with improving the energy rating of buildings, we spoke to Oliver Creevy, managing director at Insulation Advisor, to share some of the main ways to improve efficiency:

Install a condensing boiler - “Upgrading to a modern, energy-efficient boiler, such as a condensing boiler, can significantly reduce energy consumption and enhance the overall performance of a heating system."
Replace windows and doors - “Windows and doors are key to maintaining a well-insulated home. Double or triple glazing for windows improves thermal efficiency, while upgrading doors, especially those with gaps or poor sealing, can also contribute to better insulation.”
Upgrade insulation - “Assess the current insulation levels in the property and suggest upgrades where necessary. This can include loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, and insulating floors.”
Draught-proofing - “Sealing gaps around windows, doors, and other openings can prevent cold air from entering and warm air from escaping. This simple yet impactful act improves energy efficiency and enhances comfort by maintaining a consistent temperature.”
Install solar panels - “While the initial investment can be substantial, the long-term benefits of solar panels, including lower electricity bills and a reduced carbon footprint, make them a worthwhile suggestion for customers looking to embrace renewable energy solutions.”

For more information and support

For more information about IronmongeryDirect, visit: https://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/

Data sourced from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities in November 2023. Data for Scotland and Wales is incomplete.