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Nesta has published a report into how much insulation UK housing really needs.
The report sets out why insulating properties is not necessary to switch to a low-carbon heating, such as heat pumps, and says: “if the aim is to reduce carbon emissions as quickly as possible with a limited budget, then adopting heat pumps typically provides greater carbon savings per pound spent than insulation measures”.
The report covers:
- whether heat pumps require insulation
- the benefits and costs of insulation
- what a pragmatic approach to insulating homes in the UK looks like.
Nesta concludes that, although many homes need improved insulation, but “it is not cost effective to insulate every home to a high standard”, and has the following proposals:
- we should aim to improve 13 million homes to reach EPC C standard by 2030, with an estimated investment of around £60 billion;
- properties with easy-to-treat cavity wall and loft insulation should be targeted as a priority over hard-to-treat properties;
- greater emphasis should be placed on insulating households in fuel poverty, and governments in the UK should aim to insulate fuel-poor households and social housing to a high standard wherever possible;
- there is a strong case for higher standards in private rental properties, and governments in the UK should regulate for minimum standards of insulation;
- this insulation roll out should happen alongside a low-carbon heating roll out, and households should not be discouraged from buying a heat pump if their home is poorly insulated.
Read the report in full here: media.nesta.org.uk/documents/Insulation_impact__how_much_do_UK_houses_really_need___1.pdf
