Where is the big initiatve to tackle wales’ leaky homes?

Some homes are well insulated with modern double glazing; but far too many in Wales are not

A recent BBC piece drawing on the work of the National Energy Action Coalition, highlighted the fact that homes in Wales are among the least energy efficient in Western Europe. At the moment, the focus is on keeping warm this winter, but good insulation will also help keep homes cooler in the increasingly hot summers we are likely to experience.   

While some new homes are built to high standards when it comes to energy efficiency, many homes across Wales leave a lot of room for improvement. And for some new homes, there is a gap between how energy efficient they are supposed to be and what actually happens in practice. With the recent increase in the energy price cap, this issue will be felt in a very practical way by many households, most harshly by those living on low incomes. Given the commitments to reducing energy use at national and local level, we might have expected to see focused action on this issue.

Where is the big initiative, along with financing options, for people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes? An approach that actually works for different tenures – owner-occupation, private renting and social renting – and for people who can afford to pay for some or all of the costs and for those who can’t? There simply isn’t one. We’ve had various schemes such as Nest, Arbed and what is referred to as Optimised RetroFit for social housing, but, to date, they have simply not been at the scale needed.         

Welsh Government figures show that around 45% of Welsh households are in fuel poverty and even with the recent announcements on the energy cap, this percentage will increase. Alongside action to help citizens with soaring energy bills, we also need urgent and significant action to improve the energy efficiency of homes across Wales. Yes it would cost money but if thought through carefully, such action could use materials grown/produced in Wales, create apprenticeships and jobs – as well as reducing fuel costs and carbon emissions. Money well spent in our opinion.

Tamsin Stirling