New Strategy Announced By Government to Make Britain’s Homes Eco Friendly

Last week it was announced by the government that the Greener Homes Strategy will seek to cut down on carbon emissions in British households by 29 percent by the year 2020. In order to do this, eco friendly changes will be made to around 7 million current properties.

The scheme aims to create around 65,000 industry jobs, and will lower energy bills for those households involved.

Ed Miliband said that the strategy will work to help take the pressure off upfront costs that are deterring many homeowners from making eco friendly upgrades. Instead, low cost loans will be provided. These loans will only need to be paid off once the energy savings are felt, meaning that it will be a lot easier for families to afford improvements.

Upgrades will be given to homes in the following stages:
1. By the end of 2011, 6 million homes will be insulated and have measures such as double glazing installed to make them warmer,
2. By the end of 2015, homes will be insulated in lofts and cavity walls,
3. And by the end of 2020, up to 7 million homes will have been upgraded and all homes will have smart energy meters.

This green home loans scheme will help to achieve long term carbon reductions targets, and will help both individuals in the face of rising energy prices, as well as protecting the environment.

Smart Meter Will Help Cut Energy Bills

According to the results of a new pilot scheme, fitting smart meters into our homes could help households to cut down on their bills by over £100 each year.

Kettering Borough Council and E.ON energy suppliers teamed together to install dual-fuel smart metes in just under 500 homes, alongside monitors that help to give homeowners information on their energy use, gas and electricity costs, and carbon emissions from their homes.

The pilot scheme began 18 months ago, and showed homeowners how they could cut down on the energy they used by an average of 9%, which amounted to a yearly saving of £109 on gas and electricity bills.

Householders who participated in the scheme were given extra reasons to reduce how much energy they used, thanks to Kettering council offering to give a £100 council tax bill discount if they successfully reduced consumption.

Out of a total of 454 who participated, 365 managed to reduce their energy bills. One family were inspired to install cavity wall insulation and double glazing, and saw energy consumption reduce by 22% across twelve months, amounting in a £242 saving.

Michael George, part of a family who took part in the trial, stated that ‘the smart meter has helped us realise just how wasteful we were being with our energy’. He added that the family still do things the way they used to, but the major difference is that they turn things off once they are finished.

Inefficient Homes Will Decrease in Value

It has been reported that homes with a poor energy efficiency score will lose value as the government continues to cut down on carbon emissions by a third by 2020.

A strategy document was recently prepared by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, stating that the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors must include energy efficiency in the overall value of a home. Estate agents will also be given help in including energy efficiency as a factor when assessing value.

The document states that the government believes that energy efficient improvements, such as double glazing in windows, will lead to buyers willing to pay more for the property. This also extends to rented properties, where landlords who let poorly insulated properties will be required to upgrade them to minimum energy efficient standards.

As an encouragement for homeowners to make properties more energy efficient, £100 council tax rebates will be offered. Loans of up to £10,000 will also be arranged to help install energy efficient measures. Under a new scheme, these loans will be tied to properties rather than people, and will be paid off once energy price savings have been met thanks to the upgrades.

John Healy, housing minister, said that action needs to be taken to stop energy being wasted especially in rented properties. Such properties are often poorly insulated and older when compared to homes occupied by their owners.

Retrofitting is a ‘Good Idea’

According to the founder of whatgreenhome.com, Gordon Miller, the government’s latest Greener Homes strategy is a good start. However, he has also voiced concerns over the plans.

The main concerns lie in the fact that it may be hard to implement the plans and to encourage people to sign up to the scheme in the first place.

Mr Miller said ‘it is a good idea in principle but obviously the detail is everything in this. Administration of the programme could see difficulties.

Speaking on the topic of bringing older homes up to date with eco friendly technology, he added that it is ‘absolutely essential’ if we are going to meet emissions targets at ro cut down on CO2 emissions.

The government recently announced the new scheme, which will be carried out in three stages to help make Britain’s homes more energy efficient, helping to save homeowners money on energy bills and protecting the environment.

The first stage of the strategy is that six million homes will be insulated by the end of 2011.

The second stage will see measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation by 2015, and the third stage will over ‘eco upgrades’ and smart meters to measure energy usage to all homes by 2020.

It has already been shown that measures such as double glazing can help to reduce heat lost through windows by half, and save an average of £135 on yearly energy bills.

These changes are seen as vital by the government and Mr Miller due to the fact that three quarters of existing homes in Britain will still be in use by 2050.

Green Heating System Showcased at South Tyneside Eco House

An eco friendly house in South Tyneside has recently opened itself up in order to display it green heating systems to the public.

The ‘show house’, located on Lukes Lane Estate in Hebburn, has already won awards thanks to being fitted with pioneering heating systems of solar water heating and an air-sourced heat pump.

The home is the first of a total of 60 in the area to be chosen by South Tyneside homes to receive these energy systems as part of a scheme known as the National Energy Action award. The systems are designed to help reduce carbon emissions, and can lower energy bills by as much as 30%.

Electricity is used to power the air-sourced heat pump, which helps to reduce gas usage. The pump works by drawing heat from the air outside, raising its temperature, and the redistributing it around the house through radiators.

Solar panels on the roof are there to heat up water for the home, using heat from the sun to heat water which then goes to a hot water storage container. If there is no solar heating available, a standard boiler will kick in. in total, the solar heating system will be responsible for around a third of all hot water.

Other measures to make the home more energy efficient include double glazing in the windows, helping to keep heat inside the home along with loft and cavity wall insulation.

Rotherham to Get Funding for Sustainable Housing

Rotherham has recently been announced to be one of the first places in the country to receive funding through the new government program: ‘Retrofit for the Future’ – a scheme aimed at making residential properties more eco friendly.

The Technology Strategy Board and Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the launch of the scheme which will help homes across 87 sites around the country. The scheme is worth a total of £17 million.

It has also been announced that £150,000 funding has been awarded to the Yorkshire city for refurbishing six social housing properties. The properties will be refurbished according to the government’s Code for Sustainable Homes.

Measures could include double glazing in windows, which can help to reduce heat loss by half and make homes naturally warmer. Insulation will also be a key factor, as well as renewable energy technology which will help residents to save further on energy bills.

Matthew Spittles, who announced the news and is operations director at 2010 Rotherham, was quoted saying that the project will provide ‘health and lifestyle benefits’ as well as cost savings on fuel bills to ‘eventually eradicate fuel poverty’.

Greenwich Council has also been awarded £170,000 thanks to the same scheme. The money will be spent on the same number of properties, though it also includes an effort to show that even older homes can be made energy efficient thanks to work being done on an 80 year old property.

Homebuyers are Embracing Energy Efficiency

According to recent research from Pilkington energiKare, homebuyers in the UK have ‘embraced’ energy efficient technology in homes.

The survey, MOT Your Home, revealed that over three quarters of buyers (76%) now look at energy efficiency as a factor as to whether they should buy a particular home.

Architect and TV presenter, George Clarke, commented on the results, saying ‘it’s reassuring to know that more and more people are taking their home and their carbon footprint seriously’. He also added that people seem to realise that green living brings extra added value, including making homes more valuable and saving money on energy bills.

When it comes to the particular measures that impress buyers the most, loft insulation came in first place. Close behind was cavity wall insulation and double glazing in windows and doors. Double glazing, as well as saving an average of £135 a year on energy bills, has the added bonus of giving the property an upgrade in the way it looks.

Homes that include these energy efficient features will be naturally warmer. Not only does this mean that they will be cheaper to heat, but they will also be more comfortable to live in – staying warmer in cold winter months and cooler on hot summer days.

Energy efficient boilers were also high on the list of concerns for potential buyers, and property owners can visit the Energy Saving Trust to see if they are eligible for money off a boiler upgrade.

Research also suggests that, once people move into a new home, popular improvements include renewable energy generation.

Derbyshire Eco Home Development Complete

A new eco homes development has recently been completed in Derbyshire.

Disused land was used for the project in North Wingfield, and the homes were built by William Davis. The homes constitute two bedroom bungalows designed for the over 55s.

A new resident of the community, Judy Owen, stated that she can’t find fault with anything and that her home is ‘warm, comfortable and environmentally-friendly’.

The development received a grant from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, helping them to install renewable heating systems for maximum energy efficiency. Homes are also made more comfortable with the addition of double glazing in windows, making properties naturally warmer by reducing the heat lost through windows.

These measures will also help to save people a large amount of money on their energy bills, which is especially important after the cold winter the UK has experienced.

Other modern energy efficient features of the properties include storage space for recyclable materials, a charging point for mobility scooters, and a secure space to store bikes.

All of the homes have been built to meet the standards of level for in the Code for Sustainable Homes criteria set by the government. This code states that homes must meet a minimum standard when it comes to energy use and carbon emissions, as well as following rules when it comes to the materials that are used.

More properties built to these standards will help the government meet its high energy efficiency targets for properties in the near future.

Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign Winners

The winners of the Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign saw their project completely recently. Winners Will Homoky and Catherine Beswick won £23,000 worth of additions and changes to make their Victorian property more energy efficient.

A number of energy efficient measures were included to make the property more eco friendly, including loft insulation and an extra fifteen centimetres of thickness added to the interior walls to help keep heat inside the property.

Double glazing was also installed in windows, containing argon gas between the layers of glass to help keep as much heat inside as possible. Added measures include solar panels to help reduce bills and even sell power to the national grid.

On top of utility savings, the property has also already increased in value by £25,000 thanks to these upgrades.

Kevin McCloud, of Grand Designs, said that ‘it is vital that we cut our carbon emissions and meet these targets - and our homes are the obvious place to start.’ He also said that a nationwide program is needed to help improve the wide variety of housing types across the country. The government also needs to find ways to help people with the upfront costs, after which they will benefit from cheaper energy bills.

Over 8,000 people entered into the competition, and five homes were chosen at random to benefit from the upgrades. Runners up will still receive over £5,000 worth of green upgrades, energy consultations and more.

NHIC Says That Mortgages Will Help to Encourage More Home Improvements

An expert has claimed that the ‘next step’ in stepping up the energy efficiency improvements of Britain’s existing homes will be mortgages that require buyers to carry out green home improvements to the property.

The National Home Improvement Council (NHIC) director, Andrew Leech, said that a total of 50,000 houses are going to have to be retrofitted each year if the government is to meet its carbon reduction targets by 2050.

There are a number of grants and schemes in place to help householders make upgrades to homes, such as by installing loft insulation or upgrading boilers. However, it has been claimed that more must be done to encourage further green home improvements to make residential properties more eco friendly.

One of the possible suggested solutions was to introduce mortgages that require buyers to improve energy efficiency of homes by around 50 percent, or to refuse finance in cases where properties don’t meet minimum standards. Buyers would then be encouraged to install new measures such as energy efficient double glazing in windows or renewable energy systems.

Homeowners could also benefit from the idea, thanks to the fact that energy efficient properties can help to save money on annual energy bills.

Leech said that ‘my feeling is that is just around the corner’.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change figures show that carbon emissions from residential property rose in 2008, by 3.2 percent.