Solar heating will pay for itself ... if you wait 208 years

There's good news and bad news if you follow the energy-saving advice in your Home Information Pack.

On the positive side, by installing solar heating you'll be helping the planet and start saving money.

But the bad news is that it will take 208 years to recoup your outlay - meaning at least that your great, great, great, great grandchildren should be laughing.

The research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found payback times for energy-saving projects on an average three-bedroom terraced house range from five years for cavity wall insulation to more than 200 years for solar heating.

Those installing double glazing face a 124-year wait while an energy-efficient condensing boiler could take 38 years.

Even a more basic measure such as loft insulation will take 13 years before energy savings amount to the same initial outlay.

Given that we spend an average of 16 years in one property, RICS says we are unlikely to be spurred into shelling out for some of the schemes.

It highlighted VAT as being a major factor in increasing the length of time before homeowners make savings and called for a grants system to make improvements more attractive.

The study heaps yet further controversy on the Government's troubled HIPs scheme.

Jill Craig, RICS head of policy and public affairs, said: "RICS has been calling on Government to reduce the level of VAT applied to all energy-saving measures and to provide an attractive grant program to aid real change.

"If this Government is really serious about combating climate change they have to turn their big talk into even bigger actions.

"Efforts must be focused on the bulk of the housing market, made up of older

homes from the 1920s-1960s, that produce twice as much CO2 as homes built after 1995.

"The Energy Performance Certificates should be applied flexibly to all residential property, not just those that are being bought and sold."

The certificates are supposed to encourage individuals to make energy- saving changes to properties to help reduce carbon emissions.

However, property owners will have an incredibly lengthy wait to get their money back even on more basic measures.

For example, the payback time for loft insulation is 13 years and 38 years for hot water cylinder and pipework insulation.

At present Energy Performance Certificates are compulsory only for homeowners selling their properties, which is thought to account for 6.9 per cent of homes.

The cost of having a house's energy performance assessed is between £100 and £150.

HIPs have been blamed for a 37 per cent fall in the number of family homes coming on to the market.

The packs became compulsory for homes with three bedrooms a month ago and for those with four or more in August.

Estate agents claim the regime is driving sellers out of the market, creating a property famine.

HIPs appear to be driving away the 20 per cent of sellers who have, in the past, put their home on the market "on spec" to see if they can find a buyer or get a good price.

RICS believes HIPs could cause real damage to the property market, which is fragile at the moment.

The market has also slowed down in the wake of higher borrowing costs, caused by five base rate rises in the past year and the impact of the global credit crunch.

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Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize for climate

Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize today for warning the world about the dangers of global warming, and leading the campaign to persuade governments and individuals to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

The former US vice-president will share the £750,000 prize with the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations panel which has worked for two decades to establish consensus on the science of man-made warming.

Mr Gore said tonight that climate change is the most “dangerous and urgent challenge” the world faces at the moment and said it is time to “elevate global consciousness” about the challenges of global warming.
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Insulation the 'most important' energy saving step

Landlords in England, Wales and overseas hoping to increase the energy efficiency of their homes in order to reduce costs in the long run have been advised that improving insulation and installing a new boiler are two of the most effective ways in which this can be achieved.

Sam Turnbull, co-founder of DownwithCO2.co.uk, revealed these measures had been found to be both successful and simple.

"Evidence shows that insulating the loft and insulating cavity walls are important and easy steps to take," he explained.

"On top of that there is improving your boiler. It is one of the most important users of energy in the house. These options may not be as trendy as putting a wind turbine on your house but they do have the most impact."

Ensuring a home is properly insulated is also relatively cheap - and even free for those on benefits.

Mr Turnbull also recommended that landlords replace their existing light bulbs with energy-saving alternatives - especially as the latter are coming down in price.

This article was brought to you by holidaylettings.co.uk, the UK's No.1 holiday home website.
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Energy-saving lightbulbs branded a health hazard

NEW energy-efficient lightbulbs could pose a threat to the elderly and to people with less-than-perfect eyesight, it was claimed yesterday.

The Labour peer Baroness Hollis of Heigham told the House of Lords the bulbs took much longer than standard ones to light up fully and were potentially dangerous on stairs and landings.

Lord Rooker, the environment minister, agreed there was a problem and called on manufacturers to rectify it.

However, he said technology had improved the performance of energy-saving bulbs.

"Things are improving," he said. "If the bulbs carry the energy-saving recommended logo, they will reach at least 60 per cent of their brightness in 60 seconds."

However, he admitted: "There are sometimes rooms that have no windows, such as bathrooms and cupboards, where one needs to have the light on straightaway. This is a matter that has got to be dealt with by the industry."

The minister said the number of energy-efficient lightbulbs in British homes had risen from 26 million in 2000 to 110 million last year.

And he said it was intended that Britain should lead Europe in the usage of more efficient and greener lightbulbs.

"We are working with energy suppliers, the Energy Saving Trust, retailers and manufacturers to phase out inefficient light bulbs in the UK, ahead of our European partners," Lord Rooker said
RAYMOND HAINEY
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