The British public are far more interested in banking energy savings, rather than invest in further energy saving measures, says the Energy Saving Trust.
The findings of a new study – released to coincide with the launch of the Energy Saving Trust’s Energy Saving Week – reveal that five times as many UK householders would opt to bank the money they would save from “greening up” their home as would implement further energy saving measures.
ICM Research conducted the survey, which sought the opinions of 2,086 householders. Those that participated in the survey were asked what they would do with the money they had managed to save from implementing energy-saving measures around the home. While 49% of respondents said they would save the £400 in question, a mere one in ten said they would reinvest the money in more energy-efficiency measures, such as loft insulation,cavity wall insulation and double glazing.
Some 12% of respondents said they preferred to use the money to buy new gadgets and appliances, such as flat-screen TVs, washing machines or smart phones.
“We are currently in austere times so it’s no surprise that UK householders are trying to make every penny count,” commented Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust.
“But we are missing a trick by choosing to bank our cash from energy-saving measures or spending the money saved on more gadgets. If we chose to reinvest the money saved in further greening our homes we could make even bigger savings in the face of rising energy costs,” he added.
The survey also revealed that:
- Almost one in five people are more interested in increasing their comfort levels by leaving their heating on for longer rather than maximising their fuel bill savings.
- Three quarters of householders want to use gadgets and household appliances as efficiently as possible to try and save money on their fuel bill.
- When buying household appliances or gadgets, 50% said price is the main factor.
- Almost nine in ten householders have no idea how much it costs to power a 45-inch plasma TV for a year.
Perhaps even more startling, the survey revealed that the country would collectively save nearly £2bn on their annual fuel bills, if everyone in the UK was to put their £400 saving towards additional energy efficiency measures. That’s enough to not only power a city the size of London for three years, but it would also stop almost nine million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year.
