Households offered £10,000 to improve energy efficiency - Green Living, Environment - The Independent

Households offered £10,000 to improve energy efficiency - Green Living, Environment - The Independent

Up to 14 million families will be able to apply for up to £10,000 each to pay for energy-efficiency improvements on their properties, ministers will announce today. The money – which will be paid back in energy savings over 20 years – is almost double the previous figure of £6,500 outlined when the scheme was launched.

Under the proposal, which forms part of the Government's Energy Bill, homeowners and landlords will be able to apply for the money to pay for new boilers, insulation and central-heating systems.

Ministers claim it will be biggest home-improvement programme in Britain since the Second World War. It is the cornerstone of the Government's attempts to reduce household emissions by 30 per cent by 2020.

The work will be initially funded and carried out by Government-accredited providers and will be paid back through reduced-energy costs – while the bills paid by households will remain the same. The cost of repayments will stay with the property, rather than the individual.