On this penultimate day, we’ve pulled together some key information and thoughts on the issues affecting homeowners – particularly in relation to renewable products and technologies.

Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have all promised to improve energy efficiency, and while the government launched its Pay As You Save (PAYS) scheme late last year, it seems sustainability is high on the list for the three main parties consideration.

Through the PAYS initiative, DIY Britons are provided with incentivised loans to carry out green home improvements.  The success of the scheme remains to be seen of course.

A recent blog post by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) outlined its concerns for a suitable strategy to encourage more homeowners to improve their homes in order to meet carbon targets, later highlighting that the campaign “…seems to be gaining pace with politicians and those of us lobbying them.”

As a result RIBA has called for the next Government to retrofit 4 million homes within the lifetime of the next parliament.  In the same post RIBA also reported on the ‘Cut the VAT’ coalition (of which RIBA is a member), which “proposes a cut in VAT on home maintenance and repair to 5%.”  The coalition also asserts that by lowering VAT, more homeowners will take up the offer of eco-fitting their homes, particularly if at the same time they are putting in a new kitchen or bathroom – but is this enough to achieve target and will our political leaders take note?

Environmental policy

Let’s take a look at Labour’s environmental policy and see how it compares to the other two main parties:

Labour’s energy and climate-change policies include:

• Achieving around 40 per cent low-carbon electricity by 2020
• Creating 400,000 new green jobs by 2015
• Making greener living easier and fairer through ‘pay as you save’ home energy insulation
• Energy-bill discounts for pensioners
• Banning recyclable and biodegradable materials from landfill

The Conservative’s environmental policy

Key environment policies include:

• Working towards zero waste
• Providing incentives to recycle
• Encouraging sustainable water management
• Work for reform of the Common Fisheries Policy
• Offering every household a Green Deal
• Transforming electricity networks with ’smart grid’ and ’smart meter’ technology
• Expanding offshore wind and marine power

The Liberal Democrat’s environmental policy

The Lib Dems believes it is the only party willing to make the tough choices to stop “real and dangerous” climate change.

Key environmental policies include:

• Pledging that at least 20 per cent of energy and 40 per cent of electricity will come from renewable sources by 2020 rising to 100 per cent by 2050
• Seeking to toughen limits on pollution across Europe
• Introduce a supermarket ombudsman to get a fair deal for farmers
• Ensuring guaranteed fair prices for energy consumers
• Making energy suppliers ensure homes are well insulated
• Roll-out of smart metering in five years
• More investment in public transport to cut emissions

(Source Environmental Policy: General Election 2010: 12th April 2010, Louise Gray, further information available here)

Hanging in the balance

A lot of information for us all to digest.

And with recent media speculation on the likelihood of a hung Parliament, what bearing will this take upon our Government’s approach to the environment and green technology for homeowners?

Some of the likely effects of a hung parliament on homeowners were recently outlined by consumer affairs correspondent Harry Wallop for the Telegraph – click here for the article in full.

The event itself takes place at Earl’s Court in London, 2^nd – 4^th March, and is expected to top last year’s attendance of 35, 617.

Glow-worm will be showcasing their Clearly Hybrid 5kW heat pump, an intelligent heating solution which selects the most efficient fuel for the householder.  The unit can be programmed to automatically switch to use whichever fuel – gas or electricity – is the cheapest, based on outdoor temperatures and tariffs.

Over the next few months we’ll be providing exclusive insights into the new hybrid pump here on the blog – if you’d like to register for information on the Clearly Hybrid heat pump, then please get in touch via the blog and we’ll make sure you’re first on the list.

The stand at Ecobuild will also include information on our Clearly Heat Pumps, air to water heat pump solution, boilers, central heating controls, Clearly Solar and Clearly Heat Recovery solutions.

We’ll be tweeting all the action from the show all week– click here follow us on Twitter and hear our thoughts on the show for latest information.

* Look for cavities – around 33% of the heat lost in an uninsulated home is through the walls, so insulating them can be one of the most cost-effective ways to save energy in the home. Not all buildings are suitable, but if your house was built between the 1920s and 1980s it could be a candidate for cavity wall insulation, saving up to £120 on annual heating bills.

* Fridge freezers are the most hardworking appliances in kitchens – UK households use £1.8 billion worth of electricity on refrigeration and freezing alone every year. To help cut costs, do not leave the door open longer than necessary, as cold air will escape. Avoid putting hot food into the fridge, defrost the freezer regularly and check the door seals are working properly.

* Look out for the energy saving recommended logo when buying new electrical appliances. The logo appears on a growing range of products – from light bulbs to laundry appliances, indicating the most energy efficient appliances which are also cheaper to run. Replacing an old, energy inefficient fridge-freezer with a new energy saving recommended you could save up to £34 a year.

* An insulating jacket for hot water tanks costs only a few pounds and pays for itself within months. Fit one that is at least 75mm (3″) thick to save around £30 a year. If every UK household fitted a jacket on their tank tomorrow, that would save around £130 million of energy every year.

* Loft insulation keeps the heat in a house. If a loft is uninsulated, about 15% of what a household is paying for heating could be escaping through the roof.

The independent watchdog energywatch provides free and impartial advice to help consumers get the best deal possible, vetting price comparison websites to ensure that you get a fair deal when shopping around for energy.

The website has a Confidence Code which strictly monitors price comparison websites – ensuring that consumers get consistently accurate and uniform results.

There are a number of accredited sites which offer an internet price comparison service to find out how much could be saved by switching to a new supplier.

These sites include:
• www.unravelit.com
• www.saveonyourbills.co.uk
• www.energyhelpline.co.uk
• www.uswitch.com
• www.moneysupermarket.com
• www.switchwithwhich.co.uk
• www.simplyswitch.com
• www.theenergyshop.com
• www.themoneyexpert.com/energy
• www.homeadvisoryservice.com
• www.energylinx.co.uk
• www.confused.com
• www.ukpower.co.uk

According to energywatch, switching both gas and electricity suppliers might save you over £100 a year. There are at least 10 million domestic consumers – almost half of all energy consumers – that have never switched supplier which means there’s over £1 billion worth of savings out there.
That’s a lot of money to be saved!