Why Does Energy Efficiency Matter?

1. Why Does Energy Efficiency Matter? • Many homes are poorly insulated • Appliances are left on standby • Thermostats are used inefficiently • Tenants are paying more for energy than they should be.

2. Average Household Faces Fuel Poverty By 2015 • Energy costs have risen more than six times faster than household incomes since 2004 • The average dual fuel bill has climbed 117% in the last seven years

4. The Green Deal • Landlords & Tenants are often put off installing energy efficiency measures. • The Government plans to introduce the Green Deal – a finance mechanism by which households can get a package of energy-efficiency measures at no upfront cost.

5. How it Works • Itis paid for by the Tenants of the home through a service charge on their energy bill • The charge is tied to the property – so you only pay if you’re benefitting from the measures, and not if you move out • The main criteria is that expected fuel bill savings will exceed repayment charge = ‘Golden Rule’.

6. The Legislative timetable • It is anticipated that the Green deal will be launched in Autumn 2012 • Autumn 2011 – Formal consultation on secondary legislation • Early 2012 – Secondary legislation laid before parliament • Spring 2012 – Detailed industry guidance prepared • Autumn 2012 – First green feels appear

11. Green Deal & Landlords • Visibility of a Green deal on a property at viewing/ letting • Cant refuse reasonable requests from tenants

14. PV • “ A Licence to print money”

15. The ‘license to print money’ which is the Government’s Feed in Tariff scheme is available in its current (very generous) form for only another 24 weeks. Act quickly if you want to benefit. All change 1st April 2012.

16. British Gas • Solid Wall Offer

17. Introduction • According to the Energy Saving Trust, around 45% of the heat lost in an un-insulated solid wall home is through the walls. • Installing external wall insulation (EWI) can reduce heat loss and can save occupiers around £375 a year on their fuel bills, helping to reduce carbon emissions by around 1.9 tonnes per year for a home heated by gas (and much more for those heated by electricity and solid fuel) and alleviating fuel poverty in ‘hard to treat’ homes. • Traditionally, EWI is much more expensive to install than loft and cavity wall insulation and it has previously been seen as cost-prohibitive but British Gas can now provide a new solution to help increase the uptake in some of the most vulnerable households in your area. 17

18. Twice as much heat can be lost through an uninsulated solid wall as through an un-insulated cavity wall meaning that they are often classed as ‘hard to treat’. Which properties are suitable for external wall insulation? Homes built before or around 1920 usually have external walls made from a single skin of ‘solid brick’, rather than cavity walls. In addition, many post-war system built properties are made from concrete or other pre-fabricated materials (e.g. Cornish, Wimpey, BISFs) and do not have cavity walls. If a home is of solid brick construction, the bricks will tend to be placed head-on and lengthways in an alternating pattern. 18

19. What is British Gas able to offer? • Social housing • Private sector housing where the occupier falls into Priority Group Flex (PGF) categories - new enhanced funding available • PGF is a private household where at least one occupant is on a set list of benefits (see slide 9) • British Gas will CERT fund every external solid wall measure installed in the following two categories: 19

20. Funding for private sector households in PG Flex • Our new offer for private sector properties provides a significant amount of funding to households in receipt of the following benefits or allowances: • Council Tax Benefit - Housing Benefit - Income Support - Income-based Job Seekers Allowance - Income-related Employment and Support Allowance - Attendance Allowance - Disability Living Allowance - War Disablement Pension (that includes either a mobility supplement or constant attendance allowance) - Disablement Pension (that includes constant attendance allowance) - State pension credit - Child Tax Credit (where the relevant income is £16,190 or less) - Working Tax Credit (where the relevant income is £16,190 or less) 20

21. Typical funding levels – Based on an average 3 bed semi detached house Funding levels – private sector (PG Flex only) Huge uplifts in funding Full property funding amounts are contained in Appendix 2 21

22. How will the private sector PG Flex scheme work? • Individual households will not be able to apply directly to British Gas. • We will rely on local authority partners, managing agents and installers to help co-ordinate the scheme. • The process has been designed to be straightforward and with minimal administration. • Claims can be submitted for as little as one or two properties, so there is no requirement for minimum numbers or project size. 22

23. Homework! • Explore PV before Christmas • Consider BG Solid Wall insulation offer • Get ready for Green Deal