Conservative Plans to Boost Energy Efficiency

Posted under Blog by Ruth

The Conservative party have announced plans to bring in loans worth up to £6,500 to help people make their existing homes more energy efficient.

The plans were welcomed, to a degree, by the National Home Improvement Council (NHIC) who called the plan ‘very worthwhile’.

However, the director of the NHIC, Andrew Leech, also added that the Conservatives may struggle with their plan simply because of the amount of money it would require to put into action.

The Conservative plans, known as the Green Deal, are designed to enhance the energy efficiency of residential properties in the UK. Every household across the country would have a right to £6,500 loans to upgrade their home in various ways that would make it more ‘green’.

The scheme is made even more affordable to homeowners due to the fact that the money for the work is paid back over a period of 25 years, after money saved on energy bills.

Work that the loan could pay for includes double glazing in windows, wall and loft insulation, and more – all designed to keep the heat inside the home and reduce money spent on heating bills.

Leech stated that the fact that repayments are made over the long term may put some homeowners off taking up the scheme. However, loans will be linked to individual properties rather than the people who use them, meaning that they will only be repayable when occupants are continuing to save money on energy bills.