A lack of information and education when it comes to energy efficiency is stopping the UK from meeting government targets, according to solar distributor Rexel.
Rexel found that 90% of people questioned had never heard of or did not understand carbon reduction schemes such as the Carbon Trust Loans. With this particular scheme, businesses are offered interest free loans of between £3,000 and £400,000 to reduce emissions with renewables. And actually, a quarter said they would be interested if they had access to these interest-free eco loans.
What makes matters worse is that while 70% said they were willing to install environmentally friendly heating systems, only 13% knew and understood how the government’s Feed-in tariff works.
Senior Vice President at Rexel UK & Ireland, Henri-Paul Laschkar, said: “Ultimately 78% of Brits cited reduced expenses as their main motivation for going green, well ahead of environmental protection and future generations.
“A strong indication that the future of energy efficiency in the UK depends on our ability to better communicate financial incentives, ROI and long-term cost savings.”
As you’d expect, cost savings came up trumps for what mattered to Britain. But still two thirds of those questioned didn’t understand or had not heard of the new Smart Meter.
These monitor how much energy you’re using so you can cut back at different times of the day. As people are more aware of their energy consumption they’re more likely to turn off lights and use heating for less time.
The Smart Meters are intended to reduce home energy bills, whilst lowering the country’s carbon emissions.
The fact is British people aren’t onboard helping the country to be more energy efficient and this is down to a lack of information. While 81% are already buying energy saving light bulbs, just 3% have sensors to switch them off when there’s no movement in the room.