Insulation: Perrey advises on when to insulate your home
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The cost of insulating the average UK home has risen by more than 50 percent over the last year. The increased costs will impact the nation’s ability to improve energy efficiency, reduce energy bills and carbon emissions. So do you think the Government should help fund home insulation? Vote in our poll.
Data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) suggests the price of insulation materials has increased by 51 percent in the year to October 2022. And calculations by the New Economics Foundation think-tank forecast further rises as the nation grapples with inflation. The increased costs have been attributed to general price rises and a shortage of materials resulting from the pandemic, labour shortages, Brexit and the war in Ukraine.
Separate data from the BEIS shows that over the last five years the cost of installing low-cost cavity walls in a typical UK home has increased by 77 percent to £480 while high-cost cavity walls have risen by 76 percent to £2,995. Loft insulation has also jumped 78 percent to £285.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his autumn statement that £6billion would be spent on retrofitting homes between 2025 and 2028. This is in addition to the £6.6billion already committed to energy efficiency saving projects, which provide grants for low-income and vulnerable households. However, the rising costs mean the funds will not be able to support as many Britons and will make it harder for those not eligible to improve their energy efficiency.
Simon Allford, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, said: “80 percent of the UK’s buildings that will be in use in 2050 have already been built. To reach net zero, it’s critical that we focus on retrofitting our existing building stock to make it more energy efficient. As costs soar and with a shortage of skilled labour, planning and funding energy efficiency improvements is a challenge. But it is one we must address.”
So what do YOU think? Should the Government help fund everyone with home insulation? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
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