People 'will make their homes greener to save money'

Those looking to enrol on a green energy course might be interested to learn that financial incentives are needed to encourage homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their property, according to one construction expert.

Gordon Miller, founder of whatgreenhome.com, agreed with Richard Diment, director general of the Federation of Master Builders, who claimed that financial rather than environmental issues are the primary motivation for the "overwhelming majority" of homeowners.

Mr Diment was speaking at the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum, where he argued that the environmental performance of existing housing stock needs to be improved.

"There are incentives, such as up to £2,500 towards the installation of renewable technologies such as solar thermal or photovoltaics," stated Mr Miller.

This news comes after the UK Green Building Council recently proposed that the government's pay as you save scheme should be implemented by offering households low-interest loans of up to £10,000 to pay for energy-efficient improvements to their houses.