De-carbonising home heating and reducing energy bills:
Home Energy Surveys
| Installing a new boiler will only reduce the energy consumption if the boiler is more efficient than the old one because the house needs the same amount of energy from the boiler to keep it warm. |
External wall insulation being fitted to an old property
About 80% of the houses people will be living in in 2050 have already been built, and one third of the current housing stock was built before 1919 so most of those are not energy efficient. While legislation to outlaw fossil fuelled cars will take effect within about 10 years, even if regulations required all new homes to be highly energy efficient this would only benefit 20% of properties existing in 2050.
The way forward is to reduce the energy needed to keep warm the houses we’re living in now by making retrofitted improvements to their fabric. That will reduce emissions and save energy and money no matter how the house is heated, and in many cases it will make heat pumps a viable option. Hence the slogan: “fabric first!”
Since about 70% of housing in Wales is owner occupied the responsibility to make these improvements rests with many of us, individually. But it’s not easy. What needs to be done to my house?
Where can I get unbiassed advice? What will it cost? Where do I begin?
If you would like more information, please email