• High costs and time taken to see financial benefits are barriers to making improvements
• Lower energy prices or council tax rate would encourage more to take action
• Homes account for 23% of all UK carbon emissions

Whilst homes in the UK represent almost a quarter (23%) of the UK’s carbon emissions[1] , research from the Building Societies Association (BSA) reveals that many homeowners are put off making energy efficiency improvements to their home without incentives or better information. 

Barriers and incentives

The biggest barriers homeowners cite as preventing them from making changes to improve the energy rating of their homes are meeting the upfront costs (cited by 51%) and thinking it will take too long to recover those costs (51%).  

Lack of knowledge is also deterring more than a third of homeowners from making improvements, with 37% saying they don’t know how much money the energy efficiency improvements will save them.

When asked what would encourage them to make changes that would improve the energy efficiency of their home, over half said a cheaper energy tariff (57%) or a lower council tax rate (53%).  A cheaper mortgage and evidence that the energy efficiency improvements will add value to the home were also strong incentives at 32% and 38% respectively. Around a third (35%) said that clearer information and reassurance about the quality of the work (31%) would motivate them.  

Action verses intentions

The majority think some energy efficiency improvements will add to a property’s value, such as replacing the windows and doors (76%) and upgrading the central heating system (76%). However, only a small proportion of homeowners have actually made these changes. Less than one in five (18%) have replaced their windows and doors and just 14%  have upgraded their central heating system in the last 12 months.

More positively, around half of homeowners (53%) confirmed they have made some energy efficiency improvements to their property in the last 12 months, the most popular of which are:

• Replaced lighting with low energy options – 32%
• Changed windows or doors – 18%
• Improved insulation (e.g. roof, loft, windows) – 17%

However, the research highlighted that for some of the more costly improvements there is a big difference between those who have considered making these change, and those that have actually gone ahead. For example, in the last 12 months:

• 17% have considered installing solar panels, but just 6% have actually done that 
• 9% have considered installing renewable energy sources, such as heat pumps, but only 5% have done that. 

Commenting on the findings, Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage and Housing Policy at the Building Societies Association said:

“There is clearly a great deal more to do if the energy efficiency of the 29 million homes in the UK are to be improved sufficiently to meet the UK’s net-zero by 2050 commitment. 

“With the recent hike in energy costs, it’s no surprise that our research shows homeowners have an appetite to make changes. However, action is hindered by insufficient information, people, processes, skills and infrastructure to decarbonise homes at the level required. 

“We urgently need a Government-led strategy, including details of any incentives, that will give businesses the confidence to invest in building the industry that will be required to support the decarbonisation transition, and which will provide homeowners with access to information that will enable them to plan the best approach for their property with the knowledge and confidence in what it will deliver.”

[ENDS]

 [1] https://www.greenfinanceinstitute.com/programmes/built-environment/

Press contacts:

Tanya Jackson, tanya.jackson@bsa.org.uk  Tel: 07881 501098
Katie Wise, katie.wise@bsa.org.uk  Tel: 020 7520 5904
Lauryn Willis, lauryn.willis@bsa.org.uk Tel: 0207 520 5922

Notes to Editors:

The Building Societies Association (BSA) represents all 42 UK building societies, including both mutual-owned banks, as well as 7 of the largest credit unions. 

Building societies have total assets of almost £525 billion and together with their subsidiaries, hold residential mortgages of over £395 billion, 24% of the total outstanding in the UK. They also hold £399 billion of retail deposits, accounting for 19% of all such deposits in the UK. Building societies account for 40% of all cash ISA balances. 

With all of their headquarters outside London, building societies employ around 52,300 full and part-time staff.  In addition to digital services, they operate through approximately 1,300 branches, holding a 30% share of branches across the UK. 

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2,132 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 15th - 16th January 2025.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).