UK homes and businesses could be missing out on up to £3.1bn of savings every year by not improving energy efficiency in their homes and business premises, according to Cebr’s latest report ‘Powering Energy Efficiency’, created in collaboration with Grundfos.
The biggest concern in the home this winter for 64% of people is rising energy bills, followed by boiler breakdowns and blackouts. However, 12% don’t know when they last had their boiler serviced, rising to 23% who are unsure when their heating system was checked for energy efficiency – despite these being actions that could help alleviate some of these concerns.
Over a quarter of people in rented accommodation don’t know if their heating system has been checked for energy efficiency. A further 70% want to make their homes more energy efficient, but 43% can’t make improvements because they’re not responsible for the efficiency of their heating systems.
UK businesses are at risk this winter due to skipping important heating servicing checks, with 14% either never getting a boiler service or not having one in the last five years. This figure increases to 20% business owners who have not had an energy efficiency check for more than five years.
While it seems that the issue has been deprioritised, 74% of UK business owners are interested in making their heating system energy efficient and 51% would consider improving the energy efficiency of their facilities to manage the challenges of the energy crisis which has put many at breaking point, a statement said.
UK businesses seeking a way out of the energy crisis want the government to step in, with 37% citing checking eligibility for business grants as a key measure to combat the issues. Government subsidies would encourage 33% of UK businesses to upgrade their heating system.
A major barrier for households considering energy efficient measures is high up-front costs, with 31% neglecting to adopt energy efficiency measures due to financial concerns. This was reflected in the business owner responses, with 35% claiming that the initial expense this was the main barrier preventing them exploring energy efficiency.
While in the short-term, financial concerns are putting people off improving their heating systems, reduced energy bills in the long-term would be the strongest motivation for businesses with 57% saying this would encourage them to explore energy efficiency and 44% of households agreeing that this would be their main incentive.
Glynn Williams, UK country director at Grundfos, said: “Whilst there is plenty that the government can and should be doing, particularly around regulation and enforcement of energy saving measures, there is clearly a large gap in knowledge that must be addressed.
“We therefore call on the government to launch a public awareness campaign that will finally dispel the damaging myths around energy efficiency improvements and lead to the cost savings our households and businesses deserve.”
Rowlando Morgan, head of Environment, Infrastructure and Local Growth at Cebr, added: “Our findings indicate that the UK government needs to action several new policies including providing clearer information on energy efficiency, targeting schemes to the poorest households and prioritising schemes to offset the upfront costs of installing new heating systems.”