The big green giveaway

The Sunday Times
February 15, 2009
Mr Miliband wants us all to help save the planet, but what will the ‘great refurb’ do for you

Pollyanna herself would be hard pushed to find something positive to say about the current economic climate, but even if our financial clout is weakening, our eco-credentials are growing stronger by the day.
Last week, in an attempt to help meet its ambitious goal of reducing household carbon emissions to close to zero by 2050, the government announced plans to offer more than one in four homes an environmental makeover.
The “Great British Refurb”, as it’s been styled, could see the greening of our homes on the same scale that saw them converted to gas central heating in the 1960s – or so the government hopes. Under the Heat and Energy Saving Strategy, launched by Ed Miliband, the energy and climate-change secretary, and Hazel Blears, the communities secretary, homeowners are being urged to be more ambitious by installing ground- or air-source heat pumps, solar heating, solid wall insulation, or to join a community heating scheme.
“We need to move from incremental steps on household energy efficiency to a national plan,” said Miliband. “Wasted energy is costing families on average £300 a year, and a quarter of all our emissions are from our homes. We cannot afford not to act.”

So what does it mean for the home-owner? Since it is only a draft proposal, the details have yet to be finalised (and it’s also not clear how it will affect people who live in flats rather than houses), but these are the basic principles:
— Householders will be offered loans to help pay for energy-efficiency measures and low-carbon heat and power sources. The repayments will be made out of the money saved on energy bills, but will be linked to the property itself, rather than the householder – which should make people more willing to invest in green technology with a long payback time, even if they do not plan to stay in a property for long.
— Property owners will be offered low-cost home-energy audits.
— To protect homeowners from “eco-cowboys”, a special qualification will be established for energy advisers and an accreditation scheme set for installers.
— A scheme under which energy companies subsidise green measures such as loft and cavity-wall insulation, high-efficiency appliances and low-energy light bulbs will be expanded, with 20% more money expected to be available for homeowners.
— People will be encouraged to generate their own electricity on a small scale, with guaranteed payments under what will be called the Renewable Heat Incentive and a Feed-in Tariff.
— A new Community Energy Savings Programme will provide help to about 90,000 homes in low-income areas. This will be backed by an expected £350m in funding from energy suppliers.
The final details will be released after a 12-week consultation process. However, there is a surprising amount of money already earmarked by the government, energy suppliers and local authorities to help you implement energysaving measures in your home – for nothing.
The quickest way to find out what is available is to visit energysavingtrust.org.uk, then click on “Home improvements” and “Search for grants and offers”. I entered my southwest London postcode and the site suggested – among many others – the Mayor of London’s insulation offer, ending on February 28, of cavity-wall insulation from £250 and loft insulation from £274 (based on a typical three-bed semi), plus £100 cashback once work is completed.
At the same time, British Gas (british gas.co.uk) will pay up to £125 on your council tax bill, provided you live within one of the 64 participating council areas, if you have it insulate your home before March 1.EDF Energy (edfenergy.com) is offering a reduced rate of £199 for loft insulation or cavity-wall insulation (price applies to properties with up to four bedrooms).
And it’s not just energysaving measures that are on offer. Right now, for instance, there are some 90,000 solar water-heating systems in Britain; by 2020 there could be up to 7m, thanks to hefty grants and changes in the planning rules that mean solar panels no longer require planning permission.
Visit www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/micro for details of a scheme run by the Energy Saving Trust, which offers grants of up to £2,500 per household to install wind turbines, wood-pellet stoves, ground-source heat pumps and other eco kit.
It’s also worth keeping your eyes peeled for deals in unexpected places. In January last year, for example, the Great British Light Switch campaign distributed 4.5m energysaving light bulbs in just one day.
Less dramatic, but still worthwhile is the offer on the Act on CO2 website (actonco2.direct.gov.uk). Fill in the online questionnaire and you could be one of 10 lucky winners of a free standby saver, which switches off DVD players, set-top boxes and other electronic gadgets connected to your television when you turn off the set. Every little helps.