Home Stretch: How to make energy efficiency upgrades affordable for all homeowners
Home Stretch: How to make energy efficiency upgrades affordable for all homeowners 1.32 MB
UK homes are some of the least energy efficient in Western Europe. Millions are paying the price through higher bills, colder homes and damage to their health. This needs to change.
To deliver the Warm Homes Plan and reach net zero, the Government needs to support millions of homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient.
Changes to consumer protections - and access to personalised, independent advice - are crucial for giving homeowners confidence to make these upgrades.
But our research shows that the cost must also be affordable for homeowners.
19 million UK homeowners are interested in making an energy efficiency improvement in the next five years, but two-thirds (66%) of them are concerned about the cost - making it the top concern.
Most homeowners don’t have enough savings to cover the typical cost of an upgrade to EPC C and installing an air source heat pump.
And nearly four in ten (39%) homeowners are worried about high interest rates and borrowing costs when finding finance for energy efficiency improvements.
We estimate that a typical upgrade to EPC C with an air source heat pump costs £15,500. If spread over ten years with no interest payments, this would be £129.17 per month. But, even if the costs were spread through monthly payments, millions of homeowners can’t afford this on top of their monthly essential bills, including many on lower and middle incomes.
To make energy efficiency upgrades more affordable for all homeowners, the Government should consider the following package of financial support in its Warm Homes Plan:
Fully funded upgrades for lower income homeowners with an EPC below C
Government grants tapered by household income
Government-backed low interest loans