Green Homes Grant demand ‘could outpace supply’

Almost 62% of homeowners in England are interested in the government’s Green Homes Grant, according to a survey

The demand for the Green Homes Grant scheme could outpace supply.

That’s according to a new survey conducted by YouGov and commissioned by the climate activism and advisory organisation Energy and Climate Intelligence, which suggests almost 62% of homeowners in England are interested in the government initiative.

With a budget of £2 billion, the offering of the grant starts today and is expected to provide 600,000 vouchers for energy efficiency improvements to homes.

The poll, which surveyed 1,400 adults in the UK, also suggests 66% of those who own homes considered to have poor energy efficiency are very or fairly interested in the grant.

However, figures also reveal more than half of respondents owning or renting homes with poor energy efficiency had not heard of the scheme.

Jess Ralston, Analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said: “With England’s housing stock in such a bad way, over half are below the Government’s EPC band C target, there’s lots of work to be done, so it’s not surprising the Green Homes Grant looks to be popular amongst the public.”

Peter Smith, Director of Policy and Research at the fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA), commented: “Just in England, one in ten households live in fuel poverty, meaning they live below the poverty line but also have much higher bills due to poor levels of energy efficiency.

“During cold spells, poor housing can lead to sharp rises in energy use, needless lives lost and avoidable stress to our highly stretched health services.”

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