CPC2020: Upgrading our homes for net zero: a smart move or a hard sell? - a podcast by Conservative Environment Network

Panel: Sam Hall (CEN Director, Chair), Housing Minister Christopher Pincher MP, Julie Marson MP (CEN); Laura Sandys (NED, Energy Systems Catapult), Rob Cheesewright (Director of Corporate Affairs, Smart Energy GB)

With energy use in UK homes accounting for 14% of the nation’s total emissions, decarbonising the UK’s housing stock is vital to getting on track to net zero emissions. Through the move to greener, smarter buildings, consumers can take back control of their energy and reap the benefits of lower bills and warmer, healthier homes. This event will consider what the transition to net zero will mean for households in practice, the political challenges with delivering it, and what consumers want most from their homes in a net zero world.

Retrofitting homes with insulation and other energy saving measures will not only help deliver a green economic recovery from Covid-19 through creating net zero jobs, it will also cut energy consumption and so help efforts to address fuel poverty, which currently impacts some 2.5 million households. In the summer economic update, the Chancellor announced a £3 billion Green Homes Grant, which is set to support 140,000 green jobs while saving households £350 a year on bills. However, with around 19 million homes still at an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of lower than C, this event will consider what a longer term strategy for delivering energy efficiency improvements might look like.

The rollout of new technologies such as smart meters can equip consumers with more information to make smarter energy choices and reduce their demand. Smart meters are the foundation of a smarter and more flexible energy system, however the rollout has faced a number of challenges. What lessons can we learn from this experience for the remainder of the smart meter rollout and the wider home retrofit programme, and how do we bring the public with us in this essential part of the energy transition? This event will also consider how consumers are likely to respond to other low carbon technologies being introduced into the home, such as heat pumps and hydrogen boilers, and what obstacles they might face.

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