Insulation scheme could lift 1.3m out of fuel poverty
Energy efficiency news - by GreenWise staff
14th December 2011
A scheme that subsidises home insulation is still not being taken up by many UK households, despite evidence that it could save them £315 a year in energy costs and lift them out of fuel poverty.
According to analysis by
insulation firm
Rockwool, 1.3 million homes could be saving an average of 24 per cent on
energy bills and lifting themselves out of
fuel poverty if they took advantage of the
Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) scheme. Under CERT, a Government
energy efficiency programme, utility companies pay for customers’ homes to be insulated.
Fuel poverty Fuel poverty is defined as when 10 per cent or more of a household income goes towards energy bills. This year’s energy prices hikes of up to 19 per cent have pushed many homes into fuel poverty. It is estimated that for every one per cent rise in energy prices, 40,000 more households slip into fuel poverty. But according to the Energy Savings Trust, installing loft insulation, lagging pipes, fitting hot water jackets and installing floor insulation could save up to £315 for the average household. Under the CERT, eligible households can take up these green improvements for free, but many are not.
"It is a worrying contradiction that we live in a country which has high levels of fuel poverty and some of the highest energy prices in Europe, yet homeowner take-up of schemes such as CERT has been disappointingly low," Paula Bateman, Rockwool’s corporate affairs director, said.
CERT statistics
Rockwool’s analysis comes as latest statistics from energy regulator Ofgem show that the energy firms have carried out over four million loft and cavity wall insulations measures to date under the CERT scheme. The scheme means energy suppliers with 250,000 customers or more must meet a carbon emission reduction target of 293 million lifetime tonnes of CO2 by December 2012. As of December 2011, Ofgem said they were 75 per cent towards meeting the target, having cut 218.7 million lifetime tonnes of CO2.
In September, the Government warned the Big Six energy firms they risked missing their CERT target unless they doubled their insulation rates. Failure to comply carries a potential fine of up to 10 per cent of turnover for energy companies.
"Government is committed to ending fuel poverty by 2016 and helping more households cut energy bills and boost home insulation. In an age where incomes are squeezed and living costs are rising, failing to take advantage of a scheme that could save the average family £315 a year, equivalent to the price of a laptop or a new television, seems a missed opportunity and we strongly encourage homeowners to act now," said Bateman.
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