9
PRO INSTALLER SEPTEMBER 2014
PRO NEWS
@proinstaller1
Solar tops
homeowners’
energy wish-list,
says survey
Brits think that solar PV is the “ideal” energy efficiency improvement for a home,
according to a study carried out by the Energy Saving Trust.
The research surveyed
over 2,000 homeowners
who identified solar PV
as the most desirable
energy addition to their
home if money were no
object. There was, however, a divide between
genders with men
preferring to install
renewables (28%) compared to women putting
double-glazing top of
their energy wish-list
(22%).
When told that renewables
could provide a household
with a combined benefit of
between £750 to £1,500 a
year, 60% of respondents
said that they were interested in installing renewables. Indeed, 55% said that
the addition of renewables
would make them more
likely to consider buying or
renting a property compared to one that doesn’t.
There still remains a distinct lack of knowledge over
the support schemes available to help homeowners
invest in renewables with
55% unable to identify what
the feed-in tariff scheme
was and 83% unable to
identify the renewable heat
incentive.
Despite strong interest
in generating their own
energy, a large number of
respondents said that they
were living in homes with
draught, mould and condensation issues.
Surprisingly, respondents in homes with energy
efficiency issues listed solar
PV as the most desirable improvement ahead of draught
excluders and wall and
loft insulation. However,
homeowners in homes with
efficiency problems were
found to be more likely
to tackle energy efficiency
‘24% planning upgrades in
the next year compare to 12%
of homeowners overall’
issues than those who don’t,
with 24% planning upgrades
in the next year compare
to 12% of homeowners
overall.
The Energy Savings Trust
has discovered that escalating energy bills compared
with a rising number of
household appliances have
left homeowners feeling
“out of control” of their
energy bills. In addition,
households are unsure
how much energy certain
appliances are consuming,
with only 16% correctly
identifying the cost of running a fridge-freezer for a
year. The worst offender for
avoidable energy consumption was the use of tumble
dryers in the summer, with
54% admitting to running
the tumble dryer at least
once a week during the
summer. Despite this, 78%
of homeowners who do
run the tumble dryer in
the summer said that they
were concerned about their
energy bills.
Energy Saving Trust estimates UK households could
save a colossal £5bn a year
through making simple
changes to their energy
use and investing in home
renewables:
David Weatherall, energy
efficiency expert, Energy
Saving Trust, said: “We’ve
now got to address leaky
homes, encourage [ܙB