Government’s Green Deal initiative launches on the 28th January – but just 19% of consumers have heard of this flagship energy efficiency scheme
Consumers want to know: almost seven in ten (67%) are interested in making their home more energy efficient – 86% see lower energy bills as a key benefit
Help required: over half of consumers (51%) see cost as the biggest obstacle to making their home more energy efficient – lack of information and know-how holds over a quarter (27%) back
Over six in ten consumers (61%) are interested in the reassurance, quality control and cost-saving offered by Green Deal
Uswitch.com urges the Government to now communicate the scheme clearly to get consumers fully on board.
The Government’s new flagship energy efficiency scheme, Green Deal, launches 28th January. But new research from Uswitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, suggests that it is in danger of becoming Britain’s best kept secret. Less than two in ten consumers (19%) have heard of Green Deal, despite the fact that it could help millions to cut the cost of their energy bills.
Green Deal is a new way for householders to pay for energy efficiency home improvements. It will let you pay for some or all of the improvements over time through your electricity bill. Repayments will be no more than a typical household should save in energy costs. Those taking part will get a Green Deal assessment, a report with recommendations, the opportunity to get quotes from Green Deal providers and the improvements made by a Green Deal installer.
This could be music to householders’ ears – almost seven in ten (67%) are interested in making their home more energy efficient. And with the average household energy bill hitting an all-time high of £1,352 a year, almost nine in ten bill payers (86%) see lower energy bills as the key benefit of insulating their home.
However, cost is holding many back. Over half (51%) say this is the biggest barrier they face in improving the efficiency of their home. Another obstacle is a lack of information and know-how, which is holding over a quarter of consumers (27%) back.
This makes the Green Deal scheme even more important because of the level of reassurance and support it provides. Over six in ten (61%) are interested in the advice, reassurance and support it will offer, including the option of re-paying the cost of home improvements through their energy bills. Over half (54%) would like to get a report telling them clearly what improvements they could make to the energy efficiency of their home, while 49% like the idea of repaying the cost of energy efficiency improvements through savings made on their energy bills.
This makes it even more worrying that, despite consumers clearly crying out for this help, the Government has yet to make a concerted effort to tell them about Green Deal.
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at Uswitch.com, says: “The high cost of energy today means that Green Deal has to deliver – there is a lot at stake here for consumers. Household energy is rapidly becoming unaffordable and reducing the amount we use will protect us from higher bills. This is why consumers need to have a simple, well-designed and well-communicated scheme they can trust, if they are to feel the benefits in their pockets and on their bills.
“In the face of higher prices there are two simple steps to lowering bills: use less energy and pay the lowest possible price for what you do use. The Green Deal should hopefully help many more with the former, and I would urge consumers to help themselves now with the latter. There is currently almost £250 between the cheapest and most expensive energy tariffs on the market – a substantial saving that could make a big difference in the battle to afford to stay warm.”
In response to: ‘Have you heard of the Government’s Green Deal initiative?’
In response to: ‘Is making your home more energy efficient (e.g. better insulated, warmer, less draughty) something that you are interested in?’
In response to: ‘What do you think are the main benefits of making your home more energy efficient?’
In response to: ‘What do you think the biggest obstacles are that you face in making your home more energy efficient?’
In response to: ‘The Government will be introducing a scheme, currently called Green Deal, whereby householders can get a home assessment and advice on how to make their home energy efficient, be reassured that the work done under the scheme will be guaranteed to be of a good standard, have recourse to get work re-done if not satisfactory, plus the option of getting the improvements done and then re-paying the cost through the corresponding reduction in their energy bills. This would mean not incurring any upfront costs for making the home/energy efficiency improvements. On the face of it, does this scheme sound of interest to you?’
Based on a medium user customer using 3,300 kWh of electricity and 16,500 kWh of gas, on a standard Dual Fuel plan, paying quarterly by cash or cheque with bill sizes averaged across all regions and all big six suppliers.
In response to: ‘Which of the following would interest you?’
Based on a medium user customer using 3,300 kWh of electricity and 16,500 kWh of gas – E.ON’s standard cash and cheque price is £1,370 a year on average while SSE’s Discount Energy Bonus April 2015 (with paperless billing) is £1,134 a year - £236 a year cheaper.
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Uswitch is the UK’s top comparison website for home services switching. Launched in September 2000, we help consumers save money on their gas, electricity, broadband, mobile, TV, and financial services products and get more of what matters to them. Last year we saved consumers over £373 million on their energy bills alone.
Uswitch is part of RVU, a new business that also owns Money.co.uk and Bankrate.
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