New homes have become a huge part of the UK’s drive to net zero. The UK Government have recognised that the UK is home to swathes of properties which do not meet the current standards for thermal efficiency and leave tenants and homeowners alike with heating bills they can’t afford and rising cases in heating related health conditions
The House builders Federation published its “save a watt’ report in 2023 which uncovered that new-build home buyers were saving over £400 million a year in energy bills as well as collectively reducing carbon emissions by 500,000 tonnes.
It also highlighted that the average new-build homebuyer could save a huge £135 a month on energy bills compared to purchases of older properties. Surprisingly, this saving actually rose to a whopping £180 a month for buyers of houses rather than flats or bungalows.
Regardless of where you sit regarding new home vs old home – £180 a month in energy savings cannot be ignored or dismissed as nothing. In some cases, this is a life saving amount of money.
The comparisons between new-build homes and older buildings are clear:
New Builds: Homes constructed after 2011 typically achieve a median Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of Band B (scores of 81–91), indicating high energy efficiency.
Older Homes: Properties built before 1930 often have a median EPC rating of Band E (scores of 39–54), reflecting lower energy efficiency.
High Efficiency Prevalence: Approximately 86% of new build homes achieve top EPC ratings (A or B), compared to less than 5% of older homes
The Retrofit challenge for older homes with the ECO4 scheme
The clear inequalities between new build properties and older homes are one of the many reasons that the Government have heavily funded the ECO4 scheme and made it accessible to so many people in the UK.
The ECO4 scheme is designed to reach those in urgent need of retrofitting measures for older homes
The scheme is open to both homeowners and tenants (with the relevant landlord permissions) and includes a wide range of qualifying criteria which extend to those who live in the home.
The gulf of inequality in terms of efficiency has also paved the way for applicants of the ECO4 grants to qualify for 2 retrofit measures meaning that the impact of the retrofit measures will be felt both financially and in the quality of living inside the older property.
The scheme initially aimed to make annual energy savings of around 55 million, however the Government’s latest update on the 7th April has revealed that the application and installations are proving to be far more costly than first thought and work needs to increase if the Government is to reach its target.
If heating your older home is becoming a losing battle, reach out to Energy Grant Finder and take advantage of 2 insulation measures to help you stay warm this winter.
