British households can cut their bills and make their home energy efficient at no upfront cost under a new scheme launched by British Gas.

The Home Energy Plan will enable British households to install measures like new efficient boilers, insulation and solar panels at no upfront cost or with a small deposit with repayments being paid over the next five, ten or fifteen years.

The monthly repayments will be highlighted on the customer's energy bill. Customers can choose a finance plan which sees monthly repayments covered by the savings made by being more energy efficient. So if a customer saves £40 a month by having a range of efficiency measures installed, the customer may be able to choose to make repayments less than £40 a month - so they can start saving from day one.

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The programme, the first scheme of its kind to launch in the country, is a forerunner to the Government's flagship energy efficiency policy, the Green Deal.

Basic efficiency measures can have a big impact on energy bills. Earlier this year, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) conducted the largest ever independent analysis of natural gas use in British homes based on 40 million meter readings. The report found that customers who adopted a range of simple measures saved on average £322 each year, and saw a 44 per cent fall in their gas use between 2006 and 2010 (1).

Customers signing up to the Home Energy Plan will receive a free, no-obligation survey of their home by a British Gas energy expert. The energy expert will take the customer through the home, room by room, recommending and explaining tailored measures and, through their tablet PC, show the customer the annual savings they could make as a result.

(CD)