Homeowners Are Interesting In Saving Money, Not the Planet

According to new survey results, owners of residential property are only concerned about energy efficiency if it saves them money, and not because it helps the environment.

The poll was carried out by County Homesearch, showing that 93 percent of all people looking for a house are concerned about the energy performance of the property.

Of those, 74 percent stated that the main reason behind this is due to the fact that energy efficient properties mean cheaper energy bills.

On top of interest in eco friendly measures such as double glazing in windows to cut down on bills, 46 percent stated that they would be interested in installing renewable technologies, including solar panels, if there were financial incentives for doing so.

Chairman of County Homesearch, Jonathan Haward, said: ‘the survey results are not surprising news’ since it’s clear that wasting energy means wasting money, on top of the negative impact it will have on the environment.

The government has just recently launched a new strategy that will help seven millions households across the UK make eco friendly home improvements by 2012. A pay-as-you-save scheme will be introduced as a way of providing loans that will help people meet the upfront costs of making such upgrades to their property.

Ed Miliband, energy and climate change secretary, said that the plan will help to create 65,000 jobs for builders, energy advisers and manufacturers, as well as helping to reduce the costs of energy bills.