More and more families are being hit by the rising cost of gas and electricity, and inefficient homes are using a lot more than they need to. Millions of homes do not have full double-glazing. More than half do not have enough insulation or an efficient condensing boiler. Most do not even have proper heating controls. Overall our leaky buildings account for 43 per cent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
The government-backed Green Deal programme will help bill payers make energy-saving improvements to keep their homes warm and cosy. With the Green Deal people will be able to pay for some or all of the work done with the savings expected to be made on energy bills. ECO, a subsidy from energy suppliers, will provide extra help for those most in need and for properties that are harder to treat.
These policies aim to boost the burgeoning low carbon economy by supporting up to 60,000 jobs in the insulation sector alone by 2015, up from around 26,000 today. DECC says they will empower consumers by giving them new ways of funding home improvements and empower businesses by enabling them to compete for energy efficiency opportunities in new and innovative ways.
In addition to setting out the parts of the framework that are already in place, DECC says today’s announcements give clarity to the market by detailing next steps to getting Green Deal and ECO rules set by October, including, in legislation to be laid later this week, ensuring support worth around £1.3bn a year to deliver energy efficiency and heating measures across Great Britain to help tackle fuel poverty and climate change. An increased focus on poorer areas should see an extra 100,000 households in low income areas benefitting each year, compared to original proposals, bringing the total number of low income households and those in low income areas assisted to around 230,000 a year.