Go Zero

The Government's Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and Home Information Packs (HIPs) were introduced to assess the energy efficiency of homes alongside the existing checks carried out by lawyers and surveyors before a property changes hands.

After delays and teething troubles, the scheme was introduced for houses with four or more bedrooms at the beginning of August and this week the scheme has been extended to cover three bedroom properties.

Not surprisingly  the scheme has highlighted poor energy performance in our existing againg housing stock, with the average property receiving an 'E' grade on an A-G scale.

Owners of these homes could typically save £180 a year on heating bills, £60 on lighting and £30 on hot water by taking easily applied energy efficiency measures, of the sort Go Zero has been advocating since start up.  Such advice typically includes installing cavity wall and loft insulation, switching to low energy lightbulbs, fitting double glazing and putting thermostatic valves on radiators.

Typical 'green grants' of £100 to £300 for energy saving improvements like loft insulation are available to many home owners from energy suppliers as part of their legal obligations introduced by government to improve energy efficiency.

Go to the Energy Savings Trust website at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/ for details, . Equally call into the Village Green Space to find out what other measures you can adopt  and for help when applying for grants.

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