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UK must grasp 'golden window' to research green home improvements
27/10/10
Edited by Tom Bardsley.The UK has two-year "golden window" of opportunity in which to research and develop the technologies that will be needed to carry out green home improvements on the country's residential property, it has been claimed.
Kevin McCloud, presenter of Channel 4's Grand Designs, said with the government's Green Deal set to be launched in 2012, there is no time to waste in developing a strategy for delivering large-scale upgrades.
He added there are thousands of types of housing in Britain - including pre-war units built without cavity walls or damp-proof membranes - so the challenge facing ministers, designers and builders is making sure home improvements carried out through the Green Deal are adaptable to every existing design.
"We don't want to be revisiting houses that we insulate in the next five or ten years in another 20 because that only adds to the carbon burden," the expert said.
Under the Green Deal, households will have access to loans worth up to £6,500 for improving the energy efficiency and environmental performance of their property.
The money will be paid back over the long term through the resulting savings on fuel bills.
