One of the most compelling issues for the modern day homeowner is cutting carbon emissions and aiming to reduce energy costs in the home. With electricity costs constantly rising over recent years, making Britain’s homes more energy efficient is now imperative. The issue of energy efficiency became even more pressing due to the recent ‘Big Freeze and energy shortages have pushed the notion to the forefront of everyone’s minds.

According to glass manufacturer Pilkington, 76% of the UK’s population believe that energy efficiency plays an important role when it comes to purchasing a property. The firm conducted some independent research and discovered that the most important eco-improvements were an energy efficient boiler, cavity & loft insulation, green heating and energy efficient double glazed windows. Just having your windows replaced with double glazing can 20% on energy bills over a lifetime, so the improvements above are definitely worth looking into.

The savings created by install energy efficient double glazing could be more than £10,000 over a lifetime and homeowners looking to make their home greener and more energy efficient can take advantage of a new government scheme. The ‘Green Loans’ scheme, introduced by Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband, is specifically aimed at helping homeowners and landlords carry out home improvements to make their properties greener.

This new initiative aims to provide long-term funding for building owners but the loans will be tied to the property instead of the personal borrower in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from homes. The loans allow the cost of improvements, such as solar panels, to be spread over a number of years and payments would be taken up by the new buyer if the property was to be sold.

Mr Miliband stated that the new scheme "will allow people to pay for home improvements after they have had them installed rather than before".

"More people will be able to get the work they want done. That means less energy used, which is good for the environment, and lower bills, which is good for families, particularly when we have cold weather like we did this winter."

Author:  Thomas Davies

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