Although we’ve done a lot, we haven’t done enough to make energy efficiency the right option for people.
This is what Stew Horne, Head of Policy at the Energy Saving Trust, told us in this week’s Net Hero Podcast.
‘Heat pumps use a third of the energy than old fashioned heating systems do. Electric vehicles use a third of the primary energy of internal combustion engine vehicles.
‘In the 90s, we were telling people to turn lights off to save energy. We’re not doing that anymore. The government consulted last year on tougher standards for light bulbs, on more efficient LED light bulbs than just LED light bulbs.
‘So you’ve got these big steps forward in terms of just the amount of energy.
‘And then also we’re now entering into a world where its about when you use energy and things like the ability to time shift energy and be flexible can be transformational.
‘And I think that’s a really exciting future in terms of the ability to change things by having smarter products in people’s homes.’
However, Stew told us that we still have a long way to go to reach our efficiency targets.
‘We have some of the most poorly performing houses in the whole of Europe. If you look across European countries, almost all of them have managed to make more progress on energy efficiency than we have. France has a particularly impactful retrofit programme.
‘It has improved incrementally over time [in the UK]. But there’s still a lot of heavy lifting to do in terms of improving building fabric to lower energy use. There are still lofts that need insulating and some tougher, deeper retrofits that need to happen.
‘There are some statistics that show that there are a number of people who could be putting wall insulation in but don’t realise that they need to do it.
‘And that’s where advice can really help transform people’s ability to think about what is right for them.’
Stew believes that policy has a big role to play in the take-up of sustainable and efficient products.
‘We need to package it up in a way that is attractive for people so that people have confidence and can follow through.
‘We see much higher rates of energy efficiency installation in Scotland [than England]. You’ve got devolved housing policy in Scotland so you’ve got a government there that’s provided a bigger wraparound package, both in terms of the amount of funding that is on offer but also the amount of advice that is helping people to take the next steps and get on with it.
‘Yes it is a bit colder in Scotland but it’s also cold in the North of England but there is a big disparity in terms of implementation.’
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