Another bank survey has been released, suggesting a surge in interest in energy efficient homes in the UK.
NatWest’s Greener Homes Attitude Tracker is conducted on a quarterly basis and based on responses from 4,500 people across the UK.
Around half of homeowners stated that the rise in the cost of living due to factors such as higher energy bills, food prices, fuel prices and interest rates had made them more likely to implement energy saving measures over the next year.
Over two thirds now plan to upgrade their property over the next 10 years in a bid to reduce energy bills – a substantial rise since the previous survey at the start of the summer.
Prior to the government’s recent announcement on the energy cap, the NatWest survey showed that half of respondents didn’t feel the £400 discount was a sufficient response to help them manage mounting energy costs. Breaking the data down by income group showed that those earning between £23,000 to £34.000 per year were the most likely to feel that there wasn’t enough support in place.
When respondents were asked what measures they’re taking to reduce household bills in the short term, the data found:
– Some 44 per cent of households are making a larger effort to switch off devices that would have been left on without much thought in the past;
– 41 per cent of households are avoiding overfilling the kettle in a bid to reduce bills where possible;
– Over a third have reduced the use of water, taking shorter showers and avoiding the use of dishwashers to keep costs down;
– One in five are now using their microwave as an oven.
Lloyd Cochrane, head of mortgages at NatWest, says: “Our sentiment tracker shows how the sharp increases in energy bills and the cost of living more generally has made energy efficiency much more important to consumers’ everyday lives. We launched the tracker last year to provide better insight into consumer sentiment in this area, informing our products and services and how we can best support customers.
“The data has also shown a marked increase in the importance of the EPC rating of a property when prospective homeowners are looking at buying a new home. As well as informing our support for customers these insights form part of our work across industry and our engagement with Government to propose policies that can work positively to support consumers improve the energy efficiency of their homes.”
