HotAndCold Data Report · August 2026
Half of Britain's homes fall below EPC C
We analysed the heating profile of 17.9 million homes across England and Wales — their energy rating, age and how they're heated. The picture is a country of old, hard-to-heat housing, with whole regions still off the mains-gas grid. Here is where the challenge is greatest.
Where homes are hardest to heat
The government wants all homes at EPC C by 2035. In these local authorities, roughly two in three fall short today — older, larger and often rural housing that needs the most work to bring up to standard.
- 170%Gwynedd36,825 homes
- 268%Ceredigion22,962 homes
- 368%Castle Point22,410 homes
- 467%Pendle28,696 homes
- 567%Staffordshire Moorlands25,610 homes
- 664%North Norfolk36,399 homes
- 764%Southend-on-Sea54,044 homes
- 864%Conwy36,995 homes
- 964%Isle of Anglesey22,452 homes
- 1064%Powys40,066 homes
Share of homes below EPC C, by local authority.
Off the gas grid
Most of Britain heats with mains gas — but not everywhere. These areas rely most on oil, LPG, electric and heat pumps, where running costs are higher and the switch away from fossil heating is already underway.
- 171%Ceredigion22,962 homes
- 262%City of London4,992 homes
- 354%Powys40,066 homes
- 451%Isle of Anglesey22,452 homes
- 551%North Norfolk36,399 homes
- 651%Torridge23,352 homes
- 750%Cornwall189,075 homes
- 849%King's Lynn and West Norfolk49,845 homes
- 948%Gwynedd36,825 homes
- 1048%Mid Suffolk32,592 homes
Share of homes not on mains gas, by local authority.
Britain's oldest housing
Pre-1900 homes are characterful but thermally leaky — solid walls, no cavity to fill. These are the areas with the highest share of Victorian-and-older stock, and the biggest insulation gap to close.
- 137%Kensington and Chelsea61,879 homes
- 236%Gwynedd36,825 homes
- 331%Ceredigion22,962 homes
- 427%Brighton and Hove92,893 homes
- 526%Pendle28,696 homes
- 625%Hastings31,206 homes
- 725%West Devon17,502 homes
- 825%Rossendale21,373 homes
- 924%Westminster92,405 homes
- 1024%Powys40,066 homes
Share of homes built before 1900, by local authority.
What the numbers mean
An EPC rating below C is the line the UK has drawn for “needs upgrading” — and nearly half the housing stock sits beneath it. That is not evenly spread. Efficiency, age and heating type track together: the areas with the oldest homes are the same ones most likely to be off the gas grid and rated E or worse.
For a homeowner, that translates into higher bills and a longer list of works — insulation before a new boiler, or the groundwork for a heat pump. For the country, it is the scale of the retrofit task made concrete, area by area. The cost of the heating equipment itself varies surprisingly little; what varies is the condition of the home it goes into.
Methodology
Figures are aggregated from Energy Performance Certificate and property records for 17.9 million domestic properties across England and Wales, grouped by local authority. Rankings include only authorities with at least 3,000 analysed homes. Percentages are shares of homes within each area. Reviewed August 2026.
Cite this report
Free to reference with a link to the source. Suggested credit:
“The State of Britain's Home Heating 2026”, HotAndCold.energy — https://hotandcold.energy/reports/uk-home-heating/
See your own home's heating profile
The same data behind this report, for your address — indicative costs to replace a boiler, install central heating or add air conditioning.
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