Eco-homes and switching are key to lower energy bills

Gas and electricity bills will be lower for all if the UK meets the Government’s pledge to reach energy-efficient housing targets by 2025, an energy specialist said today.

But the construction of so-called ‘flat-pack’ homes needs to increase pace to make that happen and those not lucky enough to be in a home with a higher energy efficiency rating need to be nimble in changing supplier if they are to keep pace with change.

Barry Hayward, managing director of auto switch site Flipper, says the focus should be on Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) homes which typically have higher energy efficiency ratings and have been shown to use 20–30% less energy to heat.

He said: “We should all be championing the building of new eco-friendly homes as they cut consumption. The target date is only a few years away and everyone needs to look at how they can make their home more efficient.

“The UK’s construction industry is lagging behind Germany and the Scandinavian countries when it comes to building modern, energy-efficient homes which means it’s costing the British consumer more to heat their homes than many of their European counterparts.

“This will allow residents to save huge sums of money on energy bills. Carbon zero, energy positive houses are the homes of the future.”

Last month the Government announced it is set to establish an MMC taskforce to speed up the delivery of modular homes made up of “world-leading experts from across government and industry” who will work closely with local authorities and mayoral combined authorities.

Factory-made homes such as IKEA and Skanska’s ‘flat-pack’ housing development, BoKlok on the Brook, in Bristol, are designed with an eco-homes ‘excellent’ rating which means occupiers will enjoy significantly-reduced energy costs.

Said Barry Hayward: “Homes of these types will deliver real savings for the people who move in. We are supporting those who have registered with us at Flipper to source the lowest cost energy supplier. Often that is a green energy tariff. We also encourage people to do all they can to cut consumption.

“More energy efficient homes being built is good for all but it is important to improve the energy efficiency of older housing. The first step towards that is to seek out the lowest, greenest tariff.”

The Government has committed to introduce a Future Homes Standard by 2025 for new-build houses to be future-proofed with low carbon energy-efficient heating to create homes that are ‘fit for the future’ with low energy bills, and that are better for the environment.

Flipper checks the market every month for members switching them every time a saving of over £50 a year is found. Unlike comparison sites, who get paid commission by the energy providers for switching people to them, Flipper the UK’s first auto-switching service, do not take money from suppliers.

Members pay an annual fee of £30 when they are switched for the first time; tariffs are checked every month and customers are automatically moved to a better tariff if they can save £50 a year.

For more information visit: www.flipper.co.uk