New research published by Lloyds Banking Group during Energy Saving Week has revealed the lack of confidence and skills gaps landlords face when attempting to improve energy efficiency. 

A survey of 2,000 people – including over 250 landlords – shows that a key barrier preventing homeowners from taking action is that they don’t believe they have the skills or knowledge to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes, despite half of people agreeing it is important homes are net zero ready by 2035.

When asked, only 30 per cent of owners were confident they knew what to do to make their home net zero ready by 2035, with over a quarter agreeing they wouldn’t be able to identify the improvements their home needed to be greener.

Only 33 per cent have taken action to improve their property’s energy efficiency in the last five years. Among people who have undertaken these improvements, nearly all (96 per cent) say they are pleased with the results. Over eight in 10 said they would recommend this type of work to a friend, family member or work colleague. And, almost two thirds say the running costs of their home are lower after making the changes. 

However, when asked what support might have been useful before starting their retrofit journey, over a fifth said they’d have welcomed advice and support on how to go about the process. 

Alongside greater support and guidance on energy efficiency measures, access to skills is also a key factor, with almost a quarter stating that they would expect direction towards skilled tradespeople to help them bring their property towards net zero.

Lloyds says that with a documented green-skills shortage across the UK, including a shortfall of 200,000 installation workersand 100,000 heat-pump installers^, the lack of a well-trained labour force may soon have a detrimental impact on the journey to net-zero homes.

A bank spokesperson says: “The UK is home to some of the oldest housing stock the world. This means many of our homes are poorly insulated, and people are having to use huge amounts of energy to warm them – resulting in high energy bills and large carbon emissions.

“Improving the energy efficiency of our homes is a crucial step in individually and collectively reducing our energy consumption, but homeowners just don’t know where to begin and the lack of available skills to deliver the upgrades is an increasing concern. 

“If UK homeowners are to get retro-fit in 2024, we must see more collective action from industry, government and financial institutions to support them in this vital transition. That’s why we launched our Making Homes Greener initiative, a journey that will see us trial new tools and collaborations, such as our work with Regeneration Brainery, to improve the energy efficiency of Britain’s homes.”