Baxi Group, which is one of the leading providers of domestic central heating systems, has urged a wider application of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) Scheme to include whole home efficiency solutions that deliver carbon savings whilst helping to alleviate fuel poverty.
The CERT Scheme was introduced under the previous Labour Government in April 2008. CERT is essentially an energy and carbon saving scheme that applies only to the household sector. Under the CERT Scheme, energy suppliers are tied to a three-year (up to March 2011) obligation to meet household carbon saving targets. Such targets are relatively ambitious, yet suppliers can meet their objectives by promoting tried and trusted energy saving measures, including loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, eco-friendly lighting, energy-efficient central heating and so on. Earlier this month, Baxi called for a greater emphasis on whole home efficiency through the CERT Scheme.
The issue of fuel poverty is one that was given much attention at the beginning of the year, when Britain was gripped by one of its coldest winters on record; unfortunately, numerous households throughout the country continue to spend a substantial portion of their income on fuel bills, which could be reduced by up to £225 per year if energy saving measures are implemented.
Baxi Group’s Channel Specification Manager, Simon Osborne, said: “CERT is an important mechanism for delivering efficiency improvements in the home.
“Clearly, installing high efficiency appliances in leaky, poorly insulated dwellings is not the right approach.
“However, energy efficient boilers and microgeneration appliances in particular, should be playing a greater role as part of a co-ordinated CERT response which cuts carbon emissions within the whole building envelope.”
Mr Osborne added that it is also important for the Government and energy suppliers to address the targeting of the scheme by including more vulnerable households.
Mr Osborne concluded: “At present, the priority groups most likely to be affected by issues of fuel poverty are not receiving sufficient support through CERT”.
In the three-month period ending June 2010, CERT had delivered savings of 149 Mt CO2 – 81 per cent of its 185 Mt CO2 target; however, only 43 per cent of these savings were derived from target priority groups.
