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The typical UK home could miss out on savings of £1,800 every year on their energy bills by the end of this decade unless the government ramps up plans to roll out insulation, and heat pumps, according to a new online calculator published today (27 Feb).
Built by Cambridge Econometrics for Greenpeace UK, the Affordable Energy Calculator allows people to find out how key government decisions about home energy upgrades are likely to affect their own wallets.
Released on the same day that announcements of further increases in energy bills are expected, the calculator applies the latest economic data, forecasts and models to individual dwellings and their energy bills.
Whether people live in a council house, a rented flat or a detached house in the country, a few simple questions enable the calculator to determine what their own bill is likely to be, with and without a heat pump and a sufficiently insulated home, which Greenpeace argues the government must fund.
If the government makes the investment necessary to meet their currently unfunded 2030 targets for insulation, and support an expanded UK heat pump programme, a typical UK home would see a difference of £1,832 a year, or 64.7%, with savings ranging from around six hundred to several thousand pounds.
As more people use the tool, it will calculate averages for parliamentary constituencies, as well as estimates for individual homes, and will be used as a lobbying tool.
The government has two big opportunities to address this crisis: the Spring Statement and the upcoming Energy Bill.
On 01 April the Warm this Winter coalition, including Greenpeace supporters, will organise a mass lobby of MPs to demand that the UK government take immediate action to help keep people warm this winter, and every winter.
‘Britain’s homes waste more heat than any in Western Europe. We can’t afford to carry on wasting energy like this in a cost of living crisis. Greener homes would keep communities warm and healthy and save us all money.
‘We need the government to support home improvements like insulation and heat pumps to lower bills, boost the economy, and help the UK reach our climate goals. Heating our homes really shouldn’t cost the earth. Our Affordable Energy Calculator shows how much individuals and communities across the UK could save if the government commits to invest in our homes in the upcoming Energy Bill.’
GEORGIA WHITAKER
Climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK
Earlier this month Greenpeace UK threatened legal action against the government after ministers admitted that they will fail to meet a legal deadline to lift millions of struggling households out of fuel poverty.
The government’s plans for upgrading the energy efficiency of UK homes will leave almost 95% of fuel-poor households in fuel poverty by the end of decade, Greenpeace’s analysis shows.
Greenpeace, and the Warm This Winter coalition of anti-poverty and environmental NGOs, are calling for £5.3 billion to be invested by the government this parliament in improving insulation, and £3.37 billion on supporting the roll-out of heat pumps.
Heating in UK homes produces nearly 17% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
‘The Affordable Energy Calculator gives individuals greater clarity about how improving both the energy efficiency of their home and installing a heat pump can substantially reduce household energy bills through reduced energy demand.
‘Reduced energy demand is not only good for households who are struggling with high energy bills and the cost of living in general, but public investment in decarbonising UK homes has the potential to also deliver greater economic growth whilst tackling emission reductions in the long term.’
JEN DICKS
Managing economist at Cambridge Econometrics
Click here to use the calculator and see how much you could save.
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