| |
How green is your house?
|
Green Streets - Energy Efficiency could cut bills by £4.6 billion
Writes Hazel Cottrell hazel.cottrell@consumerchoices.co.uk
A new study by British Gas has claimed that energy saving measures could cut Britain’s domestic gas bill by £4.6 billion a year*
This massive figure comes from interim results based on the first five months of the “Green Streets Challenge”. Organised by British Gas (www.britishgas.co.uk) and monitored by the think-tank Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR). this is a year long experiment in energy saving that began in January.
Sixty four families in eight different cities were selected to take part, all living in streets with the word ‘Green’ in their name, including Greenend Road in London, Green Lane in Leeds and Greenway road in Cardiff. Each street was given a budget of £30,000 to implement energy efficiency measures as well as advice from British Gas energy experts.
The savings that have been made are a result of installing energy efficient technology such as solar panels, loft and cavity wall insulation, energy efficient light bulbs and modern boilers as well as making simple energy saving behavioural changes.
Five months in, the participants have managed to reduce their energy use by 30% and CO2 emissions by 20%, with the best performing households achieving savings on gas of more than 50%.
British Gas say if all UK households implemented a similar series of energy saving measures, the UK could save £4.6 billion as well as cutting CO2 emissions dramatically. Indeed, organisers say that the great success of the experiment shows how it would be possible for the UK to reach the government target of reducing CO2 emissions by 20% on 1990 levels by 2010.
Chris Eagle, Commercial Manager at Energy Choices, says:
“With the average energy bill now reaching £1,000 a year and looking set to continue rising, now is the time to review your efficiency. Rising fuel costs are shortening the pay-back time of energy saving devices, so as well as ensuring you are on a capped tariff and making your payments by direct debit, it is becoming more and more financially important to practise energy efficiency at home”
For more information on how to improve your energy efficiency, read our complete guide to reducing your energy bills
*according to the Guardian (23/07/2008)
| 
