The UK energy price cap has now risen to 4 percent and recent reports even suggest that household energy bills could increase by £276 in January, it seems household energy bills are unlikely to decrease any time soon.
The Eco Experts’ findings show that UK households are turning to green technology to help lower their household energy bills, showing that homeowners are dissatisfied with government efforts to lower energy bills.
When asked if they agree that the government is doing enough to cut energy bills, the majority of respondents (65 percent) said they disagree, with just 15 percent of respondents saying they agree that enough is being done to cut bills, revealing a clear disappointment in the government to lower energy bills in UK homes.
However, UK households appear to be finding their own solution to energy bill costs, as 85 percent of UK homeowners say they believe renewable tech can help lower energy bills. With so many respondents backing renewable energy sources, perhaps the government might invest in more green technology.
According to The Eco Experts’ latest survey data, a staggering majority (78 percent) of UK homeowners said that the primary reason they purchased solar panels was to lower their household energy bills.
This stood out as the most popular reason for purchasing domestic solar panels, shedding light on the demand for green technology as a means of reducing household energy costs.
Primary reasons for purchasing solar panels:
To reduce household energy bills: 78 percent
To lower a home’s carbon footprint: 49 percent
To improve a home’s EPC rating: 27 percent
To gain independence from the National Grid: 24 percent
To make their home more valuable: 23 percent
To take advantage of government grants: 20 percent
Recommendation from friends, family of neighbours: 3 percent
“The government is clearly struggling to bring down bills, despite doing useful things like VAT off electricity” added The Eco Experts’ Deputy Editor, Maximilian Schwerdtfeger. “The reality is that the UK is too dependent on wholesale gas to generate electricity. The only way to get away from that is to improve renewable energy generation, storage, and capacity. Ministers also need to help more UK households get the technology that will protect them from shocks in the fossil fuel market, namely solar panels, both rooftop and plug in. The government should see this as an opportunity. There is clearly huge momentum behind clean technology, households still need help getting it. How can Andy Burnham do that? Remove VAT from plug-in solar panels, keep VAT off rooftop solar panels beyond 31st March 2027, and include plug-in solar panels in the Warm Homes later in the year. Another thing it should look at is legalising plug-in batteries. There is already work going in that direction, but we think the government should get new legislation through as soon as possible.”
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