The cost of retrofitting some of the UK’s existing housing stock could be up to 10 times that of the finance being proposed under the Green Deal.
This is one of the findings of a
retrofit pilot project undertaken in the
South West to test the
Green Deal, the Government’s flagship scheme to address the
energy efficiency of Britain’s
homes. The findings of the '
Refit West’ pilot have just been published in a report by Forum for the Future, the not-for-profit organisation, which is advising Government on the Green Deal. It calls into question the economics of the makeover scheme, which will enable homeowners and businesses to gain upfront capital to make
energy efficiency upgrades to their properties.
"Our experience of working with these homeowners is that the cost of retrofitting some homes will be far higher than the figures being quoted under the Green Deal – up to 10 times more in the case of some Victorian and period properties," said Ben Ross, senior sustainability advisor at Forum for the Future.
The pilot project, which has been running since 2008, worked with 11 households in Bristol and the
West of England to discover the practical barriers the Green Deal needs to overcome and to propose a workable solution for the mass scale retrofitting of the UK’s housing stock.
Excessive costsIn one case, a homeowner who took part in the pilot paid £15,000 just to install high efficiency double glazed sash windows in his Victorian property. The payback period on the
investment worked out at 44 years. Figures being proposed under the Green Deal, however, mean a homeowner would only be entitled to borrow up to £6,500 for all energy efficiency upgrades, including insulation, heating and lighting. Moreover, the loan terms are expected to be set at 20-25 years or less.
"Even at scale the costs associated with domestic retrofit works are likely to far exceed the finance to be made available through the Green Deal," the report concludes.
Such findings suggest the most cost effective way to achieve carbon reductions in our housing stock will depend upon much more than retrofitting homes.
"The question is, is it worth spending that amount of money on a house?" said Ross. "It may be more cost effective to spend money on a zero carbon district heating scheme, for example."
Other recommendations
The report 'Refit West: Update From the Front Line’, makes a number of other recommendations that Forum for the Future says will need to be in place to ensure successful take up of the Green Deal. These include making sure home energy efficiency surveys are substantially improved on what is currently on offer; that appropriate information is provided every step of the way to both the homeowners and the professionals; and that trust and confidence is developed within the owner-occupier housing market.
"While 70 per cent of homes are owner-occupied, so far no one has succeeded in delivering a large scale project to retrofit these efficiently or effectively […] Our work has identified the key issues to the homeowners, and lays vital foundations for interested parties to take further and to develop and roll out a scaled-up version," said Ross.
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