This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Measuring the success of energy audits
05/09/2002
A project measuring the success of energy audits as part of the home-buying process is to receive £50,000.
The Executive has given Friends of the Earth Scotland a two-year funding package to measure the following:
- Whether a house buyers' decision-making is influenced by the results of energy audits
- Whether house buyers use the results of energy audits to carry out energy efficiency improvement measures to their new homes
- Whether the collated results of all the energy audits completed can provide useful information on the state of Scotland's housing stock
Speaking during a debate on fuel poverty today, Margaret Curran, Minister for Social Justice said:
"Fuel poverty is not just a problem that is confined to the large housing estates of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. It is also prevalent in towns and in small rural communities where the impact of low income and the poor condition of the housing stock are also taking their toll.
"In our Fuel Poverty Statement last week we set a demanding but achievable target of ensuring, so far as reasonably practicable, that people do not live in fuel poverty in Scotland by November 2016.
"We cannot achieve our goal without the support of our partners. Organisations such as Age Concern, Help the Aged and Energy Action Scotland and statutory bodies such as CoSLA, Ofgem and Energywatch are all committed to tackling fuel poverty. All were involved in putting together our Fuel Poverty Statement and supporting it and all are helping us on the road to meeting our ambitious target.
"Our resolve in progressing the Statement is made clear in our announcement of 50,000 pounds funding to Friends of the Earth in support of their project to undertake a pilot of domestic energy auditing. This valuable project will help us to understand if domestic energy auditing is a valid proposition and would make people more aware of the condition of their home.
"We are convinced that the Statement sets out a clear and coherent framework which, with the support of our partners, will make fundamental change in the lives of our most vulnerable - the fuel poor. We cannot, and will not, fail to meet our target. We owe it to the fuel poor of Scotland who have suffered for far too long."
Kirstie Shirra, Fuel Poverty Researcher for Friends of the Earth Scotland and the Association for the Conservation of Energy said:
"Fuel poverty is a particularly Scottish problem and solving it is an important part of sustainable development. If we do it right we can both improve the quality of people's lives and reduce climate change emissions.
"Energy audits for housebuyers could be one of key tools to help people choose energy efficient homes and to improve existing properties. This funding will help us to extend our previous work on Sellers' Survey with an on-the-ground study of the difference that energy efficiency information makes to house buyers and sellers."
During the debate the Minister also announced that the Scottish Executive is making a further one million pounds available for domestic energy efficiency this year for local authorities to spend on insulation through the Warm Deal programme.
The energy audit project will be one year in duration and carried out in two phases as follows:
Phase One: Recruitment and the Housing Market
The surveyor will identify potential property purchasers and carry out 250 free energy audits for them. The sample will be structured to include a spread of property types and values. The information given to the project participants on the energy audit will contain details of the likely running costs of the property audited and suggested energy efficiency improvements which could be made to it. Participants will be asked to answer a questionnaire on how useful this information was and whether it influenced their decision over whether to put in an offer on a property.
Phase Two: Analysis and the New Homeowner
During phase two, the project participants will be contacted again once they have moved into their new homes. They will be asked whether they have made use of the information provided to them as part of the energy audit or if they intend to make use of the information in the future. For example, have they carried out or are they planning any energy efficiency improvement work, such as insulation or installing a new heating system.
After the debate the Minister met Celia Baird, an Edinburgh pensioner who has benefited from the Executive's free central heating programme.