Political leaders must seize the moment for change to overhaul Britain’s energy-inefficient homes
David Lennan, Chairman, National Warm Homes Council
The three main political parties published their general election manifestos last week. But how far do these plans go to address the urgent need to overhaul our energy-inefficient housing stock and support homeowners to future-proof their homes and drive down bills?
The dire situation of heat-leaking and expensive-to-heat homes is being felt by millions of families and low-income households up and down the country. The UK has the worst-insulated houses in Europe. Citizen Advice claims that over half of all homes across Great Britain are still energy inefficient.
Though 25% of a home’s heat is typically lost through an uninsulated roof, only 8 million lofts, or nearly a third of all lofts in the UK, have less than half the required levels of insulation.
Sky-high energy bills continue to make things worse. Ofgem recently confirmed that energy prices are still significantly higher than before and will remain high and volatile for a long time.
The current government’s progress on these issues has been agonisingly slow. Consequently, we now run the risk of falling behind in upgrading our homes to what is required to lift people out of fuel poverty by 2030 and meet legally binding net-zero targets by 2035.
So, what kind of change are the main political parties promising the electorate, given such a stark context?
The Liberal Democrats have promised a ten-year emergency upgrade programme to make homes warmer and more energy-efficient, beginning with free insulation and heat pumps for low-income households and ensuring all new homes are zero-carbon with solar panels.
The Conservatives said they would invest £6 billion in energy efficiency over the next three years. They would also fund an energy efficiency voucher scheme, open to every household in England, to support the installation of energy efficiency measures and solar panels.
Lastly, Labour would invest an extra £6.6 billion over the next parliament to upgrade five million homes. Their Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low-interest loans for insulation, solar panels and batteries.
All three policy packages should be welcomed and are positive steps in the right direction. It was also encouraging to see the main parties committed to boosting British manufacturing, the economy and jobs by investing in new technologies to support people’s efforts to decarbonise their homes.
Nevertheless, considering the sheer scale of our home energy efficiency challenges, we need bolder and more ambitious plans to deal with them. Insulating a few million homes may not be enough to meet our climate targets and certainly will not be enough for the 10 million people already living in fuel poverty.
Getting back on course demands an emergency programme to insulate the 15 million properties whose energy efficiency rating is still below EPC C by 2035.
Bill-saving measures like loft insulation are a win-win for permanently reducing people’s energy costs, helping the UK reach its net zero targets and tackling health inequalities as a result of cold, damp homes.
But more support for homeowners will be needed. The next government must help households meet the cost of the transition to net zero and make sure everyone benefits from it. Changes to building regulations and VAT reform for low-carbon technologies would do much to incentivise people to retrofit their homes.
The government must also widen access to affordable energy-saving innovation, including new roofs with insulative material, thermal storage and loft insulation protection – all widely available today – to drive energy efficiency in homes.
The UK is well short of the national effort we need if we are to address the poor quality of our homes and achieve net zero by 2050 at the lowest cost to families. What is needed is clear action and bold plans that make it a national priority to encourage and support all homeowners to upgrade and insulate their homes.
It is high time for our political leaders to seize the moment for change to overhaul Britain’s energy-inefficient homes and deliver the warmer, healthier, greener homes that millions of homeowners, families and low-income households across Britain deserve.
