UK plans efficiency retrofits for all homes

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain proposed on Thursday new long-term efficiency and other low-carbon re-fits to 7 million homes by 2020, the cost of which which energy companies would pay for and pass on to all consumers.

Under the proposed scheme, open for consultation from Thursday, any household could apply for a loan from an energy company, using that up-front money to pay for insulation or to install renewable sources of heating. They would repay the loan from the resulting energy savings and from cash payments paid in return for cutting carbon emissions.

“We need to move from incremental steps forward on household energy efficiency to a comprehensive national plan,” said Energy and Climate Change minister Ed Miliband.

Under the latest scheme, households could apply for “whole-house” re-fits including insulation of walls and lofts, fitting of external cladding on walls, and installation of heat pumps or solar thermal panels which gather heat from the ground or sun, respectively.

Reuters