Insulation Prioritization Programmes, Relative Income and the Implications for the Green Deal

Since 2003, the number of UK homes retro-fitting basic insulation measures has been boosted by the reinvestment of funds, raised from levies on household fuel bills, into household energy efficiency programmes. However as a result of a combination of market forces and prioritization policies, the retro-fitting rate in the homes of the highest earning householders has been signficantly less than in low income homes. This trend is important because collectively, the highest earning households use the most energy, emit the most carbon dioxide, they occupy the majority of untreated housing stock as well as a disproportionately high percentage of the residual “easy to treat” homes. This paper analyses retro-fitting rates by income group and considers how effective the Green Deal will be at countering the trends which have developed.