81% of homeowners want to upgrade their homes to save money on their energy bills - but are put off by cost or don’t know how

Nearly 81% of homeowners in the UK want to upgrade their homes to make them more energy efficient so they save money on bills, but 75% say it’s too costly and 45% say they don’t know what to do.

Most people (52%) say they would install solar panels over any other type of green technology measure, followed by electric cars (46%), heat pumps (39%) and additional home insulation (15%). Yet with many not knowing where to start when it comes to making their homes more efficient, there needs to be a bigger drive to help them understand what’s possible and the financing available to install costlier measures.

This is a big reason why we launched Energy Experts who check each room and provide a personalised Home Health Report with advice on steps you can take to make your home more energy efficient. These suggestions can vary from installing insulation and where, to switching your boiler for a heat pump as well as smaller changes like swapping to energy saving light bulbs and adding draught proofing.

Importantly, this report will clearly set out the government funding available to you to help install these measures, including any offers provided by OVO. Some of this financial support includes:

• Great British Insulation Scheme: For those with the lowest energy efficient homes and in council tax bands A-D in England and A-E in Scotland and Wales, you can apply for free funding to insulate your home.
• Energy Company Obligation (ECO): This government-backed scheme provides funding to energy suppliers like OVO to install energy efficient measures in the homes of those on benefits. For OVO customers, you could get loft insulation, a new boiler or even a heat pump for free.
• Boiler Upgrade Scheme: If you’re a homeowner and will be replacing fossil fuel heating systems, you can apply for a grant to install low carbon heating systems like heat pumps.
• Home Upgrade Grant: Provides energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating to low income households living in the worst performing, off gas grid homes in England.

While there is financial support out there, the government needs to do more to minimise barriers, in order to encourage faster uptake. This is particularly important for the most vulnerable households who are least likely to be able to afford energy efficient measures yet have the most to gain from cutting their energy bills.

Find out more about how our Energy Experts can help and book a visit today.