Introduction
For some time now, the UK has been working closely with the various stakeholders in the energy sector to offer the consumers an opportunity to save more energy. According to a number of experts, there is an opportunity for households in the country to save energy. The endeavor by the government and the stakeholders in the energy sector to lower energy usage in the country, the Green Deal was formed. Back in February 2013, David Cameron expressed his desire to make the UK the most energy efficient country in the entire Europe. However, this is yet to be realized as the country is still experiencing high levels of poverty. This is most probably one of the reasons why homes in the country are poorly insulated, leading to high levels of energy loss.
Improving the energy efficiency in the country is a strategic objective for the government of UK. This is vital in decarbonising the country, increasing productivity by the various businesses and making power supply more secure in the country. The government has resolved to improve energy efficiency in the country using modern energy saving methods, such as:
- Supporting energy efficiency innovations
- Combining energy efficiency technologies with the expansive knowledge on energy efficiency
- Enacting new laws and regulations to promote energy efficiency
The Statistics
Earlier on, the ACE Research for the Energy Bill Revolution conducted a research to compare the poverty levels and energy efficiency in the UK to that in 15 other European countries. According to this research, the UK is among the worst ranking countries, with regards to energy efficiency and poverty levels. Additionally, this research revealed that the UK is among the European countries recording more winter deaths.
This is not an impressive finding, bearing in mind that the country is among the countries in Europe that have low energy prices. Additionally, the UK has relatively higher household incomes, as compared to several other European countries. So, what could be the problem? Various research findings have pointed and accusing figure to the poor energy efficiency in the country. The poor energy efficiency, particularly in the households, is a major problem in the country. This is why the government has moved in to improve energy efficiency among households.
Domestic Energy Usage in the UK
It is a known fact that the households in the country are among the least energy efficient households in the entire continent. Based on research findings, the households in the country accounted for about 30.23 percent of energy consumption in the country. This figure accounted for all household energy consumptions needs, including lighting, hot water, appliances, cooking and space heating. This percentage was an increase from the household energy consumption recorded in 1990 (about27.70 percent). This increase in energy consumption by the homesteads was in spite of the tightening of the regulations touching on energy efficiency, back in the 1970s.
This resulted into the increment of the insulation and home heating standards in the country. However, only 31 percent of the homes in the country had central heating in 1970. This figure has increased since then to hit 92 percent by the year 2003. Additionally, the number of households as well as the appliances used in the homes has grown since then. This has also contributed to the increased energy consumption by the households in the country. However, the fact still remains; the UK is still ranking poorly in terms of energy efficiency. As of the year 2003, energy consumption b the households in the country were as follows:
- Water heating – 23.60 percent
- Space heating – 60.51 percent
- Lighting and appliances – 13.15 percent
- Cooking- 2.74 percent.
The Opportunity for Energy Efficiency in the UK
Currently, the UK has an exponential opportunity to better energy efficiency in the country. This can be done in both the business and the domestic sectors. To do this, the different stakeholders should aim at reducing the energy bills while delivering a more sustainable energy. Individual consumers should also take up the initiative and try to combat their energy consumption by dong such things as improving electrical installations in their homes in a bid to improve efficiency, switching off appliances that are not being used, buying appliances that are more power efficient.
How will improved energy efficiency benefit the country?
Improving the level of energy efficiency in the country will not only benefit the individual consumers, but also the nation at large in various ways. Mentioned here are some of the benefits that the country can reap from improved energy efficiency:
- It will enhance economic growth in the country, hence create more job opportunities
- It will aid in the creation of secure and sustainable energy system
- It will save the households as well as the businesses money on energy bills
- It will reduce energy importation costs
Owing to these and other benefits, a number of changes have been instituted to curb this trend. Mentioned here are some of the remedies that are being enacted to better energy efficiency in the country.
The Green Deal
The green deal is a scheme by the government that helps the consumers make improvement to their homes, in a bid to save more energy. The scheme provides homeowners with low-interest loans to cater for energy efficiency improvements and installations in their homes. Thanks to this scheme, the debts relating to such installation loans are transferred to the new occupants of the house, the moment they take up the payment of the energy bills. While not an acceptable guarantee, the cost of this loan repayment is not supposed to be less than the savings on the bills after the installation.
The aim of the scheme is essentially to tie the repayment of the acquired loan to the energy bills. This is believed to offer the consumers a more secure return. This scheme, targeting the households, was introduced in January 2012. Due to the varying needs of commercial properties, the scheme was rolled in stages.
The Energy Companies Obligation (ECO)
To further enhance the effects of the Green Deal in saving energy, the energy supplier in the country have an obligation to deliver measures that are efficient to their consumers. This is achieved through the enactment of the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO). The obligation was first launched in the Great Britain in the year2013, to replace two other programs that existed before. The two programs, which were replaced by the ECO, are the Community Energy Saving Program (CESP) and the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT). The Eco, along with the Green Deal are expected to significantly improve energy efficiency in the households and the country at large.
Though the county is currently ranking poorly, with regards to energy efficiency, there is still an opportunity for the situation to improve. However, this can only be achieved through the combined effort of the government, the stakeholders in the energy sector and the individual consumers. Through the introduction of the Green deal and the enactment of various laws and regulations to improve energy efficiency in the country, the government is already playing its role. Homesteads and the businesses in the country should follow suit and exercise measures to improve energy efficiency.