Heat and Power Measures for the 'Great British Refurb'
British households will be able to receive expert, targeted help to reduce their fuel bills and access low-carbon heat and power in their homes, under an ambitious long-term Heat and Energy Saving strategy.
The draft plan sets out the need to reduce household carbon emissions to almost zero, in order for the UK to achieve its ambitious target of an 80 per cent cut in emissions by 2050. By 2030, the aim is for whole-house improvements to be available to householders in every home, in every street.
The plan, which will be published for consultation later today by Ed Miliband, Hazel Blears and Margaret Beckett, includes proposals for improving the quality and widening the availability of information and advice, new finance packages and options for the delivery system of energy efficient and low carbon improvements.
The Government's ambition goes beyond existing plans. Whole house energy makeovers will be needed, and the aim is for 400,000 households a year to have this by 2015, with seven million homes benefiting by 2020, and be on the way to all homes having access to whole house improvements by 2030.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said:
"We need to move from incremental steps forward on household energy efficiency to a comprehensive national plan - the Great British refurb.
"We know the scale of the challenge: wasted energy is costing families on average £300 a year, and more than a quarter of all our emissions are from our homes.
"Energy efficiency and low-carbon energy are the fairest routes to curbing emissions, saving money for families, improving our energy security and insulating us from volatile fossil fuel prices.
"We cannot afford not to act. Every home must be able to access the help and technology it needs, whether it be the installation of a ground or air source heat pump, solar-heating, solid wall insulation, or access to a district heating scheme.
Most importantly, I want to ensure that help to meet the costs is available to people house by house, street by street, and that lower-income families don't miss out."
Key proposals include:
* Finance packages to install energy efficiency measures and low-carbon heat and power sources would be offered to householders. Repayment from part of the savings on energy bills would be linked to the property, rather than residents.
* Combined with guaranteed cash payments by way of a Renewable Heat Incentive and a Feed-in Tariff for small scale electricity generation, the payback for homeowners who switch to low-carbon technologies and save energy would start from day one.
* Options for improving the delivery of energy efficiency advice and measures, including establishing a central coordinating body funded by energy companies and working to Government-set targets.
* Rolling out low-cost home energy audits, developing a qualification for energy advisers, and establishing an accreditation scheme for installers.