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A green transformation of Britain's homes will take place over the next decade – making them more comfortable, warmer and cheaper to run – under new plans set out by the Government today.
With around one quarter of UK emissions coming from energy used in homes the Warm Homes, Greener Homes Strategy is aimed at cutting emissions from the UK's homes by 29% by 2020.
The new strategy will help people make smarter use of energy in homes, making it easier to take action and reduce bills. Installing some technologies, such as solid wall insulation, could see energy bills cut by £380 a year.
The new strategy will also be good for jobs, with up to 65,000 jobs required in the green homes industry as a result, for example installing and manufacturing energy saving measures or providing home energy advice.
The strategy will be implemented in a three stage plan:
- To insulate 6 million homes by the end of 2011
- To have insulated all practical lofts and cavity walls by 2015
- To have offered up to 7 million eco upgrades by 2020; all homes to have smart meters
"The Warm Homes, Greener Homes Strategy will remove the deterrent of upfront costs and reduce the hassle of the move to greener living.
"Making homes more energy efficient will help protect people from upward pressure on bills, tackle climate change, and make us less reliant on imported energy.
"New 'pay as you save' green finance, a new alliance between energy companies and local authorities to help people in their communities, as well as moves to encourage landlords to stop ignoring energy wastage in their properties, will help deliver the radical transformation that’s necessary."
John Healey, Housing Minister, said: "The new measures announced today put the consumer in control of greening up their homes. More than a quarter of carbon emissions come from our homes, so it is vital people are able to make the improvements that will lead to smarter use of energy. It also puts social housing centre stage of efforts to reduce bills and carbon emissions to help the poorest first, with council and Housing Association landlords linking up with energy companies to get efficiency work done, and tenants getting the benefits of warmer, greener homes with lower bills.
"Today I have also announced an additional £2.5m to provide a network of Green Show Homes across England, lived in by ordinary people and open to the public. People will be able to see first hand what a refurbished green home is like to live in, and the new technologies they can use to improve the energy efficiency of their own homes and save money on bills.
"There's a driving force behind the green homes movement with homeowners, developers and local authorities lining up to get on board. There is a lot of momentum to change and radically re-think how we track our energy use and refurbish our homes and buildings for the future. People in their own homes will get help with costs, and there will be help for private landlords and tenants, but we're also ready to regulate in the future if landlords will not do the green refurbishment needed."
(CD/GK)
