South and East England lag behind in home energy efficiency upgrades, study finds
City Energy Network (CEN) has used official data to calculate that some parts of the UK are falling behind in the drive to insulate and upgrade cold and draughty homes.
Under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, energy companies spend around £1 billion a year on energy efficiency improvements for low-income households. More than 2.5 million households have received some sort of home improvement under the scheme since 2013.
Cardiff-based CEN, which operates nationwide, says that while ECO has been good for the whole country, some places are feeling greater benefits from it than others.
The data shows that 135 in every 1,000 homes in the North-West of England have received some sort of energy efficiency upgrade under the ECO scheme. In Scotland the rate is 131 per 1,000 and in the North-East it is 128 per 1,000.
By contrast, the installation rate is 58 per 1,000 in the South-East, 63 per 1,000 in the East of England and 96 per 1,000 in Wales.
The analysis is published as ministers prepare their Warm Homes Plan, which will set out how the government will deliver on Labour’s manifesto promise to “upgrade five million homes to cut bills for families.”
CEN CEO Paul Screen comments:
“ECO is a fabulous scheme that makes homes warmer and greener, and we’re delighted to be one of the leading providers nationwide. But not all parts of the country are seeing the full benefit yet, so we’ve all got more work to do. We’re looking forward to working with the new government to make sure the benefits of its Warm Homes Plan are felt everywhere.
“Everyone feels the pinch from rising energy prices. The cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use, so doing more to make Britain’s homes warmer and greener is a no-brainer.”
| TABLE – Number of households in receipt of measures through the ECO scheme by region of the UK Region | Households in receipt of ECO measures, per 1,000 | % of homes below EPC -C |
| North-West | 135.7 | 56 |
| Scotland | 131.3 | 48 |
| North-East | 126 | 43 |
| West Midlands | 119.7 | 58 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 117 | 60 |
| Wales | 96.4 | 32 |
| East Midlands | 93.9 | 54 |
| England | 88.1 | n/a |
| South-West | 71.1 | 54 |
| East | 63 | 51 |
| South-East | 58.4 | 50 |
| London | 51.1 | 42 |
| UK average | 92.5 | n/a |
