Eco-drive launched to make homes ‘greener’

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne was in Sheffield yesterday for the launch of the Big Energy Upgrade, a collaboration between a number of local councils and housing associations from across the region aimed at implementing efficiency improvements to hundreds of houses in some of Yorkshire’s most socially deprived areas.

Mr Huhne said the Government will be watching the scheme closely to see what can be learned ahead of the launch next year of its hugely ambitious national Green Deal scheme, designed to bring every home in the country up to modern efficiency standards over the next 20 years.

The Minister said: “Energy efficiency is one of the key pillars of our low-carbon strategy, because to put it bluntly, the cheapest kind of energy is the energy you do not use. But historically it is the area we have taken least seriously and the area we know least about.

“The UK has some of the oldest housing stock in Europe. Every day these old houses leak heat and waste energy, putting excess carbon into the atmosphere and putting excess strain on people’s finances.”

Among the communities to be targeted in the new upgrade scheme will be hundreds of council and housing association-owned homes in Atherlsey in Barnsley, Wheatley in Doncaster, Lower Wortley in Leeds, Golcar and Chickenley in Kirklees, with others in North Lincolnshire and parts of Grimsby.

The properties will be assessed by energy efficiency experts and then brought up to modern standard with a range of measures including so-called smart electricity meters and heating systems, upgrades to boilers, wall and loft insulation, double glazing, insulative cladding and even solar panels where appropriate.

Academics at Sheffield University has been brought on board to monitor the effectiveness of the measures and see whether people become more conscious of the energy they use as a result.

The scheme is being part-funded by the European Union.

Mr Huhne added: “The scandal of what we are doing at the moment is demonstrated by the fact that we use as much energy to heat out homes here in the UK as they do in Sweden, where the average winter temperature is seven degrees colder. We might as well be standing outside our front doors burning £50 notes.”

In 2012 the Government will launch its flagship Green Deal scheme, designed to give every household the opportunity to upgrade their home without having to pay for the measures themselves up front.

Private firms such as B&Q will be brought in to assess people’s properties and draw up a wish-list of the efficiency measures required. The work and equipment will be paid for via the subsequent long-term savings from gas and electricity bills, with firms and residents alike sharing in the profits.

Mr Huhne said he expects valuable lessons to be learnt from the new Yorkshire-based scheme that will help guide the wider Green Deal project.

“We can learn a lot about how people use new technologies such as heat exchangers and Smart meters – and about how we persuade people that’s it’s sensible for them to be more efficient,” he said.