Pay As You Save Schemes Are a Positive Step for Helping the Environment

Posted under Blog by Ruth

The UK government has recently been trialling pay as you save (PAYS) schemes that will help to support residential property owners looking to make eco friendly improvements to their properties. An expert has claimed that these schemes are ‘incredibly positive’ in the journey towards cutting carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency of homes.

Founder of the sustainable development website whatgreenhome.com, Gordon Miller, has stated that PAYS gives a financial incentive for people to make green changes in their home. This could include measures to make properties more energy efficient, including double glazing in windows and insulation in lofts and walls.

The idea is that people can pay off the costs of these improvements over time, as they start to save money on their energy bills. Repayments are tied to properties rather than their owners, and long term repayments mean that residents will not lose any money paying off the loans.

The government announced last December that 500 homes in Sunderland, Birmingham, London and Stroud would take part in a trial of the PAYS scheme.

£4 million was put into the initiative to help provide loans to properties. These loans went towards green improvements carried out by builders, including those mentioned above as well as renewable energy systems.

A major stumbling block so far has been a lack of incentive for homeowners to make changes to their properties. The PAYS scheme could help to solve this problem.