Insulate English homes and install heat pumps 'to knock hundreds of pounds off' bills

Researchers at the IPPR think tank have developed a 28-year plan to deliver energy-efficient home improvements across the country, with the aim of reducing the strain on citizens' wallets and the environment, at an annual cost of £7 billion.

New Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is facing calls to invest an additional £5billion to insulate UK buildings (

Image: Reuters)

Installing heat pumps and good insulation in English homes could cut household bills by hundreds and create millions of jobs, according to a new analysis.

Researchers at the IPPR think tank have developed a 28-year plan to deliver energy-efficient home improvements across the country, with the aim of easing the strain on people's wallets and the environment, for a annual cost of £7 billion. .

They say the move can become "the cornerstone of the government's upgrading strategy in England", as the communities with the highest demand for installers tend to be current or former industrial centers and coastal communities outside of London and the South East.

The Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Group (EEIG) wrote to Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng ahead of his mini budget on Friday, urging him to invest an additional £5 billion to insulate UK buildings.

The IPPR says all of England's 24 million homes are in need of refurbishment, putting the country "far behind" European neighbors such as Germany and France.

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The UK is currently installing less than a tenth of the measures needed in its 'cold, damp and leaky' housing stock to meet its net zero target, it says, the pace of rollout required is not only increasing in the face of the "catastrophic" energy price crisis.

The program could create more than 61,200 direct new jobs in the North East, equivalent to more than 5% of the region's total labor market, the IPPR said.

Cllr David Renard, environmental spokesperson for the...