The Government has launched ECO+, a program that is designed to help those the least well-off and living in homes with low energy ratings.

One billion Pounds will be invested in this scheme, designated to start in 2023 and run for three years. The money will be used to fund improvements that offer significant savings without high capital outlay: cavity wall and loft insulation are target areas for improvement. According to sources, the average spend per home has been calculated to be £1,500 – paid for by the fund – and it’ll offer the homeowner an average saving of £310 per annum. The average spend appears to be broadly in line with the costs of installing cavity wall insulation and laying insulation in the loft but the average savings are a little harder to comprehend; if anything, we’d suggest having both those aspects of a home improved should yield a bigger saving.

The scheme will be targeted at people who do not receive other benefits and are living in a home classed as being in EPC band D and below.

The new ECO+ scheme is a modification to the existing ECO scheme the Government has been running since 2013, which claims 3.4 million upgrades have been achieved in that time. However, the Green Homes initiative, started in 2020 and at a cost of £1.5 billion, was closed after only a year when it was discovered to have been of benefit to only 47,500 out of the potential 600,000 homes it was designed to serve.

“[ECO+ will] enable thousands more to insulate their homes, protecting the pounds in their pockets and creating jobs across the country”.

Grant Shapps, Business and Energy Secretary

ECO+ will be managed by the energy providers so it remains to be seen how efficiently they can swing into action and implement the upgrades that the UK housing stock is so desperately in need of having.

More details on the official announcement here