Energy companies have provided millions of energy efficiency measures in homes across Britain as part of several Government programmes. Below are details of energy efficiency schemes.
The Green Deal is a new Government energy efficiency scheme, due to launch in October 2012.
The Green Deal will work by providers paying upfront for energy efficiency measures such as loft or wall insulation or an energy efficient boiler.
The costs are paid back from instalments through a charge on the customer's electricity bill. The loan is attached to the property and not the customer. This means that if someone moves home and there are Green Deal payments outstanding, the new occupant will take over the payments through their energy bill. They will also see the benefits through the improved energy efficiency of the home.
Under CERT, energy companies in Britain are obliged to cut 185 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from homes.
Since CERT was set up, energy companies have:
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Insulated 1.5 million cavity walls and over 1.7 million lofts. If your home has cavity walls it means that the external walls were built with two layers of brick work. In between the inner wall and outer, called a cavity. Homes built between the 1920's and the 1980's often have cavity walls. Filling in this gap with insulation will help keep your home warm.
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Insulated over 35,000 solid walls. If your home was built before or around the 1920's, its external walls are likely to have been built without a gap or cavity. These solid walls allow more heat to pass through them. To find out if your home has solid or cavity walls visit the Energy Saving Trust website.
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Put in 5,000 microgeneration measures such as ground source heat pumps, solar panels and wind turbines.
At least 40 per cent of the CERT target must be delivered to the Priority Group, made up of low-income domestic consumers or those who are over 70 years old and on certain credits and benefits. 16.2 million lifetime tonnes of carbon dioxide must also be targeted at the Super Priority Group which includes people claiming specific credits and benefits.
The Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) is a Government scheme that requires energy companies to provide energy saving measures to households in certain areas across Britain.
CESP will run until December 2012 and will cost around £350 million. The scheme uses an approach known as 'whole-house'. This means that things such as insulation, wiring, plumbing, landscaping, the climate, the direction the building is facing and interior finishes work together to create the best possible result in terms of energy efficiency.
The scheme works through community-based partnerships involving local authorities, suppliers and generators. It mainly works in low-income areas with families who are struggling to pay their energy bills.
The Energy Efficiency Commitment ran from 2002 to 2008. The programme meant that energy companies were given targets by the Government to help their customers make energy saving improvements in their homes. These improvements fell into four main categories: insulation, heating, lighting and appliances. In 2008, the Commitment was replaced by the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target.
