Analysis: We’ve not exhausted all the easy improvement measures

By DAN BARLOW
Published on Saturday 4 February 2012 00:00

GIVEN how badly most of our homes leak energy, it is perhaps not surprising that our housing stock is responsible for a quarter of Scotland’s climate emissions and, coupled with rising energy bills, that a third of Scottish households are now in fuel poverty.

With most of us living in houses that are still going to be here in 2050, we need a co-ordinated programme to transform these properties into energy-efficient, low-carbon homes of the future.

Despite efforts to date, we are a long way from exhausting many of the easy improvement measures.

More than a million lofts in Scotland still have insufficient insulation and half a million cavity walls suitable for insulation have yet to be filled, despite these being very cost-effective and relatively easy options.

It is worrying to note that the UK government is currently considering excluding support for loft and cavity wall insulation in forthcoming funding measures aimed at tackling fuel poverty.

As well as these easier interventions, we also need to step up the rate of improvements on those properties that require more expensive work like solid wall insulation.

It is clear we need a step change in our approach to transforming the energy efficiency of our homes, and we can learn from our experience to date of what approaches work well.

With greater government funding, Scotland’s cost-effective area-based approach to home insulation should be rolled out more widely across the country.

In addition the much-flagged UK “Green Deal” programme, which eliminates the need for householders to pay upfront for energy-efficiency improvements, with the cost of the measures covered by savings on their energy bills, will require innovative incentives to drive take up.

Proposals such as council tax rebates and stamp duty exemptions for energy-efficient properties would certainly help to encourage uptake of the programme.

Ultimately, we need to ensure that all of Scotland’s homes meet minimum standards of energy efficiency and are calling for the Scottish Government to introduce regulations that apply to all homes sold or rented to drive forward the rapid upgrade of Scotland’s worst energy-rated homes.

• Dr Dan Barlow is head of policy, WWF Scotland.

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unimpressedone

Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 09:25 AM

So WWF is pressuring government energy polcy - how does this fit with their supposed remit of species conservation? Well of course it doesn't, it's blatant political propaganda from a Marxist organisation. Our energy policy is akin to Somaliland's thanks to successive governments listening to these green nazis and we are already paying dearly for this through higher power bills. Once our businesses relocate and we have rolling power cuts, then we'll see how smart it was to take advice from this idiot..

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nabodican

Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 08:01 AM

Oh dear, Barlow the chief numpty of the government sponsored lobby group is vying with the blawbag in chief to see who could spout the most nonsense. Its a close contest at the moment.

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