Affordability and low awareness of government support schemes to help cover costs are preventing Scotland from reaching its goals to improve the energy efficiency of homes, says a major study compiled with expert input from Procast.
The survey of 2,000 Scottish people by the Chartered Institute of Building asked what prevents them from making energy improvements and what would make them more likely to do so.
Affordability was cited by around 40% of people as a barrier, while the disruption of having work done (20%), not owning the home (23%) and a lack of understanding of how to improve energy efficiency (19%) were also among the top reasons.
Reducing energy bills (62%), government grants (42%), free and reliable guidance (27%) and improving a home’s energy rating (24%) were the most popular incentives identified by those who completed the survey.
Yet over a third (39%) had not heard of any of the past and present financial support schemes, with awareness being lowest in the over-55 age category.
David Chapman, Group Growth and Development Manager at Procast – who provided insight into the issue as a result of their expertise in the energy efficiency sector – said: “Through the retrofit projects we have been working on throughout Scotland, it has become evident that we need a much clearer, joined-up approach to the retrofit market.
“There are too many individual funding pots with too many restrictions that make it near impossible for the public to understand what support is on offer and how much projects will cost.
“If Government wants to reach energy and net-zero targets, it’s time for a review – and the findings from CIOB survey make this need very clear.”
Jocelyne Fleming, policy and public affairs officer for CIOB in Scotland, said: “We must improve the energy efficiency of Scotland’s draughty homes at a greater pace and scale than we’ve seen to date to reach our climate-change objectives, reduce fuel poverty and ensure everyone in Scotland has a warm, safe, home that is affordable to heat.
“Funding schemes which are short-lived and not well promoted simply aren’t achieving results when it comes to making Scotland’s homes more energy efficient and in turn lowering bills.
“We need Government to develop a clear strategy on retrofit which addresses how it can be delivered on the scale and at the pace needed.
“The success of government energy efficiency programming is integral to spurring on widescale retrofit. As such, government must ensure that these programmes are well-promoted and accessible to residents.”
In a letter to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee in 2022, the Scottish Government Minister for Net Zero Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, wrote: “We must significantly increase the pace of retrofit to meet our ambitious target to reduce emissions from heat in buildings by 68% from 2020 to 2030.
“This reduction will make an important contribution to the economy-wide 2030 interim emissions target agreed by the Scottish Parliament in 2019.”
Apart from the CIOB’s news platform, Procast’s contribution to the debate is covered here and here.
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