Domestic energy costs: Energy-saving pilot project cuts carbon emissions by a fifth

Domestic energy costs: Energy-saving pilot project cuts carbon emissions by a fifth

Britain could cut its domestic fuel bills by £4.6bn a year if it adopted a series of energy saving measures, according to a report out today.

An energy saving trial involving 64 households across eight cities organised by British Gas and monitored by the thinktank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), also found that families cut their carbon emissions by a fifth. British Gas managing director, Phil Bentley said: "Reducing energy consumption is the single most important thing households can do to reduce bills and cut emissions."

Average energy bills have now risen to about £1,000 a year and consumers are facing further big increases. One report has suggested prices could increase by more than 60% over the next two years.

Five months in to the planned year long Green Streets trial, British Gas and the IPPR say the families involved have cut their energy usage by up to 30%. Replicating that across Britain would mean domestic fuel bill savings of £4.6bn. Some households cut the amount of gas they consume by 50%, according to the study. The trial is based on British Gas customers and those of other energy suppliers. Each street has a budget of £30,000 to spend on energy efficiency measures - from new boilers to solar panels - and the one which performs best will win £50,000 to make a community building more energy efficient.

Matthew Lockwood, senior fellow in the IPPR's climate change team and the report's.....continued below

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author, said: "If the UK is to meet its target of reducing CO2 emissions by 20% from 1990 to 2010, and by 60% by 2050, radical approach to public policy will be needed. We need to recognise that three in four of the homes we will live in by 2050 have already been built."

Among the initiatives the IPPR would like to see are green financing packages to appoint energy advisers to help households with their energy saving plans.

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