Sir Tom Jones’s £10 million London penthouse produces only 1.2 tonnes of CO2 a year – a fifth of the average home’s six tonnes[1]
Due to energy saving measures, the Green Green Grass of Home singer’s power bill is estimated to be £895, when the average household pays £2,500[1]
Gary Lineker’s north London home has the second-best EPC score among celebrities, boasting a C rating and a score of 78[1]
Sir Elton John’s Windsor mansion produces 98 tonnes of CO2 annually, and is estimated to use 555,000kWh of energy a year[1] – 37 times an average home[2]
Despite having solar panels, Spice Girl Mel C’s Welsh mansion is rated G for energy efficiency, with an EPC rating of nine[1] – below the UK average of 67[3]
Uswitch.com urges celebrities – and all households – to check their home’s EPC certificate online, and see what changes they can make to save money.
Watts new, Pussycat? Sir Tom Jones has one of the UK’s greenest celebrity homes – with his £10 million central London penthouse producing only a fifth of the average home’s CO2 emissions[1], reveals research into EPC certificates by Uswitch.com, the comparison service.
Delilah singer Sir Tom’s modern flat boasts high-performance glazing, well-insulated walls and roofs, and gets its heat and water from a community system that is partially powered by solar panels.
All the energy saving measures means his flat enjoys a B rating and an EPC score of 89 – a vast improvement on the UK average home’s D rating of 67[3]. This also means Sir Tom’s annual energy bill is estimated to be £895 – only a third of the current UK average costs under the Energy Price Guarantee.
Match Of The Day star Gary Lineker’s detached north London home also enjoys high-performance glazing, well-insulated walls and roofs, and low energy lighting in three-quarters of outlets. His yearly energy use is almost four times an average home’s, however, leaving him with a predicted bill of £4,759[1].
Sir Elton John remains the biggest celebrity energy guzzler, with his 1,527 sq metre Windsor mansion costing an estimated £45,039 a year in gas and electricity costs. Single-glazed windows, a lack of insulation on some roofs and walls, and low energy lightbulbs in only 10% of outlets are partly responsible for his C-rated EPC score of 31.
Bottom of the pile when it comes to energy efficiency is former Spice Girl Mel C – aka Melanie Chisholm. Her 381 sq metre home near Chepstow is rated G – the lowest of the EPC categories - and scores only nine for energy efficiency.
Uninsulated walls and roofs, and heating supplied by an oil boiler undo the hard work done by the singer’s solar panels and biomass secondary heating. Mel C’s estimated energy use is more than ten times that of an average household, running up a predicted bill of £15,962.
Table: Energy costs and CO2 production of celebrity homes
Table: Energy costs and CO2 production of celebrity homes
| Resident and location | Area of property (sqm) | EPC rating | CO2 per year (tonnes) | Estimated annual energy bill | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Tom Jones, Westminster | 189 | B | 1.2 | £895 |
| 2 | Ed Sheeran, 'Sheeranville', Suffolk | 172 | D | 5.9 | £1,681 |
| 3 | Gary Lineker, Mill Hill | 582 | C | 10 | £4,759 |
| 4 | Tom Holland, Richmond | 313 | E | 12 | £6,687 |
| 5 | Rita Ora, Primrose Hill | 317 | E | 15 | £5,020 |
| 6 | Gary Barlow, Kensington | 771 | D | 26 | £8,433 |
| 7 | George and Amal Clooney, Sonning, Berkshire | 838 | E | 28 | £15,428 |
| 8 | Mel C, Chepstow | 381 | G | 36 | £15,962 |
| 9 | Simon Cowell, Wimbledon | 841 | E | 39 | £17,472 |
| 10 | Sir Elton John, Woodside, Windsor | 1,527 | F | 98 | £45,039 |
Source: Uswitch.com.
Uswitch.com is encouraging celebrities – and all households – to check their home’s EPC certificate online, and see what improvements they could make to save money and energy.
Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “The benefits of a modern home will be clear to Sir Tom, who is enjoying the rewards in the form of lower bills. Of course, it’s not unusual for newer homes to be much more energy efficient than older properties.
“Every bit of heat that escapes your home will cost you money, so it’s worth knowing how efficient your home is.
“Take a moment to look up your home’s EPC certificate online and see where your property could be improved – the reports are incredibly detailed and will give you estimated costs for all the energy-saving measures.
“You can’t always tell if these changes are making a difference until you see your bill – unless you track your usage. People using the Utrack app can see the impact on their bills with hourly graphs, comparing gas and electricity use by day, week, month and year.”
Track your energy usage with Utrack by Uswitch here.
About Uswitch
Uswitch is one of the UK’s top comparison websites for home services switching, including energy, broadband and mobiles.
More people go to Uswitch to switch their energy, broadband and mobile than any other site, and we have saved consumers over £2.7 billion off their bills since we launched in September 2000.
Free mobile app Utrack also helps households manage their home energy usage and make potential savings.
Uswitch is part of RVU, a group of online brands with a mission to empower consumers to make more confident home services, insurance and financial decisions.
