Green Deal could cost homeowners hundreds of pounds
Chris Goodall (pictured), a leading environmentalist and author of How to Live a Low Carbon Life, has published on his website an analysis of figures contained in a National Energy Efficiency Data-Framework (NEED) report released by DECC late last year. NEED was set up to provide a better understanding of energy use and energy efficiency in buildings in Great Britain.
Goodall highlighted at a study of homeowners installing a package of cavity and loft insulation and a new boiler in 2010 that revealed just a 19% reduction in energy use, and a likely saving of about £140 at current gas prices. Compare this to Energy Saving Trust (EST) claims of savings at twice this amount.
"The smaller than expected reductions in energy use mean that the typical UK householder will lose hundreds of pounds a year from taking out a Green Deal loan," says Goodall.
The EST has maintained that loft insulation will save homeowners up to £180 a year and a new boiler up to £310. Installation companies frequently use EST figures in advertising to encourage homeowners to go ahead with the installation of energy efficiency measures.
The NEED study examined 21,000 homes with new loft insulation, 14,000 with a new boiler, and 16,000 with cavity wall insulation. All fell well short of the predicted savings mark. A comparison to homes that did not install these measures revealed that loft insulation decreases home gas consumption by 1.7%, cavity wall insulation by 7.8% and a new boiler by 9.2%.
Goodall also points out that the study found many households actually saw an increase in their gas consumption after implementing cavity wall insulation. He says:
"The report doesn’t provide a number, but a chart (Figure 3.3) suggests that perhaps 40% of homes with new insulation experienced increased bills compared to the control group. This may be because the insulation was installed badly – a depressingly common phenomenon – or because the occupants decided to heat their house to a higher temperature as a result of the better insulation."
The Guardian showed Goodall's findings to both the Energy Saving Trust and DECC. Speaking for the ETS, energy efficiency expert David Weatherall told the newspaper: "The NEED data is the first large-scale data on energy saving and we are looking at what the numbers mean, and releasing updated figures. There will be a reduction in the average savings figures we use, based on the NEED data."
DECC, however, has challenged the accuracy of Goodall's figures. A spokesperson said the comparison of costs and savings is inaccurate, “whereas DECC has developed a methodology – approved by independent experts on the Committee on Climate Change – to calculate savings from energy efficiency measures. No one can borrow more than they will pay back in energy savings, so no one will lose money by taking out a Green Deal loan."
Goodall concludes on his blog: "The implications for the Green Deal, the government’s main energy efficiency policy, are very troubling indeed. Unsurprisingly, the DECC statistical report doesn’t make this clear.
"If the research arm of DECC knows the true figure for the likely cost savings from energy efficiency measures, why are other parts of government continuing to promulgate much larger figures in order to get householders to take out Green Deals? When is DECC going to get sued for not telling people trying their best to save money that the Green Deal will typically cost families hundreds of pounds a year?"
