Majority of UK homes 'fail on energy efficiency targets'

New analysis has found that nearly two thirds of UK homes currently fail to meet long-term energy efficiency targets.

The BBC reports that more than 12 million homes fall below the C grade on Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) graded from A-G, meaning that, amongst other things, that householders are spending more on energy bills and are pumping tonnes more CO2 into the atmosphere than necessary.

EPCs measure the efficiency of a house by looking at how well a property is insulated, glazed, or uses alternative measures to reduce energy use, with homes then given a grade between A and G. The closer to A, the more efficient the home, meaning it should have lower energy bills and a smaller carbon footprint.

The local authorities across England and Wales with the highest average CO2 emissions per household were all rural areas, with the fuel poverty charity National Energy Action highlighting a ‘rural/urban split’, especially in areas not connected to the gas grid.

Government ministers have set a target to upgrade as many homes to Grade C by 2035 ‘where practical, cost-effective and affordable’, and for all fuel poor households, and as many rented homes as possible, to reach the same standard by 2030. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said it was investing over £6 billion towards those upgrades, but critics say it is falling well short.

The government has said it needs to go ‘much further and faster’ to improve the energy performance of homes, with researchers arguing that only a national project of a scale not seen since World War Two would be enough to help Great Britain meet its 2050 net zero carbon target, which was signed into law in June 2019.

The BBC's Shared Data Unit analysed the grades awarded to more than 19.6 million homes across the UK since their introduction in 2007.