Insulating Britain: Examining the barriers and motivations to decarbonising our homes

SUMMARY

• Both homeowners and landlords have low trust in the insulation industry, as past experiences have led them to be wary of cowboy traders and being overcharged. This is made worse by uncertainty over where to find unbiased information about the appropriate type and cost of insulation.
• Homeowners – especially older ones or those with young children – are increasingly persuaded of the home comfort and health benefits of insulation. By contrast, cost savings are less salient than the up-front cost of insulation, due to the time it would take to receive a return on investment.
• Minimum energy efficiency standards are the most effective motivator for landlords to insulate their homes, as they will take the necessary steps if they have to in order to rent their homes out. But uncertainty around the future of these standards dissuades some landlords from insulating, in case their investment becomes unnecessary.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• To improve trust in and information around the insulation industry, the government should accredit installers to assure consumers of their reliability. Local authorities should also establish one stop shops to provide information on types of insulation and the support available, as well as success stories demonstrating the benefits of insulation.
• To push landlords to insulate their rental properties, the government should revive the plan to raise the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) for the private rented sector to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C – a move that 79% of landlords would support.
• To nudge homeowners into action, the government should introduce Property Linked Finance with long payback periods to help owner occupiers cover the upfront costs of insulation. Checkpoint prompts with messaging around the health and wellbeing benefits of insulation should also be deployed at key moments such as renovations.