Whether you're an existing Gas Engineer or looking into Gas Courses, one thing your clients want is an energy efficient home. The main reason obviously being a huge saving in money which can particularly help young families. It's reported that only 3% of homes in the UK have an EPC rating of A-C. When taking in the fact that the remaining 97% of homes equate to millions of people living in band D and lower, just imagine the total amount of money families are wasting!
But why this is the case?
As surprising as it may seem, when you ask people what the efficiency rating of their own homes is, how many people can give you an answer? Is it something that's being overlooked? It certainly safe to say that more and more people are beginning to take energy efficiency more seriously as they realise the amount of money they could be saving. Being a hot topic in the industry, organisations like OFTEC are looking to raise the standards of the gas and heating industry.
OFTEC's CEO Paul Rose had a lot to say on the topic with some interesting points you may not have known...
“Rural homes have continually missed out on government support to improve their energy efficiency, and they should now be high on the government’s priority list. However, given that financial support for energy efficiency improvements has fallen steadily in recent years, it’s now right that we question the government’s commitment to this vital issue.”
“We are particularly concerned about households in rural areas and what the bald statistics do not reveal is the misery and tragic consequences of cold, poorly insulated homes. Fuel poverty in rural areas is unacceptably high and the excess winter death statistics are a national scandal, standing at 50,100 for last winter in England and Wales according to the latest ONS figures. We understand that around a third of these deaths may be directly related to cold homes, which emphasises the need for urgent action.
“Looking further ahead, if the government is to meet its targets to reduce the harmful emissions that contribute to climate change, it must reduce energy demand. Improving the energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock will be crucial if we are to make rapid progress in this area. Most of the easy wins have already been done and deep retrofit costs for hard-to-treat rural homes can often cost tens of thousands of pounds. With massive pressure on public finances, we will need to quickly find and adopt the most practical and cost-effective solutions to meet these challenges – something that will be far from simple to achieve.”
Energy Efficiency driving demand for Gas Courses?
Able Skills Gas Courses are Bpec Approved
With more people beginning to seriously take energy efficiency into consideration and the industries looking to crack down on inefficient homes, what does this mean for those undergoing Gas Courses and existing Gas Engineers? Quite simply, it means more work heading your way. By making homes more energy efficient, you can help families save extra money and this is proving to be a massive market in the UK.
You might even currently be undergoing your gas portfolio and have worked on similar jobs. Perhaps it's something you're seeing an increase of and are looking to offer such service when fully qualified, registered with Gas Safe and working for yourself or for a firm. We'll leave you with this question... How efficient is your home?