Energy bills are increasing rapidly as the cost of living crisis takes hold of the nation.
But there are five simple changes that you can make around your home to help battle a growing bill. Analysis from the sustainability consultancy firm Eight Versa found that certain home improvement measures could help reduce an annual energy bill by around £1,000.
Eight Versa analysed domestic EPC (energy performance certificate) ratings across England and Wales, and from this calculated the potential savings and costs that implementing certain energy measures were made. Eight Versa’s analysis was based on current energy costs and the price cap per unit of energy - This means the actual savings at any particular time would vary depending on factors such as energy prices and any support measures in place, reported The Mirror.
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Eight Versa then recommended some common but simple upgrades you could implement in your home to aid with energy bills. They include these five changes:
- low-energy lighting
- boiler replacement
- updated insulation
- upgraded heating controls
- window replacements
The average cost of implementing these improvements ranges between £400 and £7,500 and could reach up to over £20,000 depending on the firm someone chooses to use and the work that is done. However, recommendations such as installing a smart meter, which is free, or switching to more energy-efficient lightbulbs would not cost as much to implement.
Chris Hocknell, director at Eight Versa, said: “These results show there’s not just a strong environmental argument for better efficiency and retrofitting our homes; there is also a very powerful economic argument. In some regions, the average savings per year are over £1,000.”
Chris noted that energy efficiency improvements would not only help reduce energy costs for the average household but would also help the UK on its move towards a Net Zero economy and could reduce stress on the current energy infrastructure.
He added: “It’s important to state that the typical homeowner won’t realise these benefits unless there is a standardised and coherent regulatory structure to incentivise and support these improvements over the long term. Recent events have cast this issue into a new and starker light.”
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