The National Home Improvement Council (NHIC) says the Government's Energy White Paper includes some radical thinking for sympathetically meeting the nation's energy requiremnts in order to fulfill its CO2 reduction obligations. Yet one of the most positive solutions is to ensure the UK's entire housing stock becomes totally energy efficient.
Director of the NHIC, Graham Ponting, points out: "Out of the nation's total housing stock of around 24m there are some 6.7m homes that are classified non-decent and around 5.3m are in the private sector which is sad state of affairs in this day and age!
"What's more, the figures available for basic insulation in homes indicate that only 16% of households, that's about 3.9m. have recommended level of insulation, either in lofts or cavity walls.
"If each of our homes was adequately insulated every household could reduce its carbon footprint significantly and, consequently, make a major contribution to the levels of CO2 emissions in the UK. In wintertime, householders throughout the nation could turn down their thermostats a few degrees and the overall demand on energy requireents would be quite phenomenal."
The UK's total households are responsible for about 30% of Britain's entire CO2 emissions but providing alternative heating methods such as nuclear and renewables is not the answer. One of the most important steps is to bring all homes in line with a high standard of energy efficiency. Unfortunately, the figures clearly show that older properties especially in the private sector are totally devoid of any insulation.
Graham Ponting, suggests: "What our Government should be seriously considering is leading the way in addressing this situation with financial commitments, incentives and a campaign to further raise householders awareness of heir energy-saving responsibilities. Also building societies and banks could have an impact in the way they make money available to homeowners who want to improve their properties to make them more energy efficient."
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