The Salary Calculator

Green home upgrades to help you save money

by Madaline Dunn

Although the energy price cap dropped to £2,074 on 1 July 2023, it’s still significantly higher than it was before, and many are still struggling to pay their energy bills. As a result, many are looking for ways to make their homes more energy efficient with green upgrades. In fact, research shows that 72% of homeowners want to make their homes more energy efficient, and 40% reportedly have plans to make improvements before the end of the year.

This week, at The Salary Calculator, we’ll walk you through the following:

• Green tips that can help you cut back on energy usage and save cash
• Some of the top green upgrades, how much they cost and how much they save
• Grants and incentives to assist you access upgrades

Green tips that save cash

You’ll be glad to hear that green upgrades don’t have to cost the earth and small changes can indeed have a huge impact. LED bulbs are one of these small changes. These bulbs are far more energy efficient than halogen bulbs. They last five times longer and use 80% less energy while producing the same amount of light. Aside from this, there are emissions savings to be had. In fact, the Energy Saving Trust found that if everyone made the switch, yearly, 1.7m tons of carbon emissions could be saved!

So what’s the full cost versus savings breakdown?

The upfront costs of a LED light bulb are around £5.40 upfront, and with £19 in energy costs across a 20,000-hour lifetime, this amounts to £24.40. However, research shows you can save £153.40 by upgrading just one bulb to LED.

Weather strips are also a low-cost way of both weatherising your home and saving money. Air leaks in your home can mean that both hot and cold air escape. Some estimates are that you can access between 10-20% annual energy savings. So what’s the initial cost? Just £3. The savings? As much as £669 after five years, according to some estimates.

Smart thermostats, meanwhile, have also been highlighted for their ability to assist in keeping bills low. Once you’ve got a smart thermostat installed, you’ll be able to be in control of your heating – even when you’re not at home, adjusting your home’s climate. Makes like Tado even provide you with monthly bill predictions and room-by-room comparisons. While varying from around £100-£200 for installation, Google’s Nest estimates that people can save up to 16.5% of their energy usage. Tado, meanwhile, says this can go up to 31%.

And, from one smart device to another, smart metres can also help people be greener and get more insight into their energy usage, which, in turn, can help you take action. Research from Smart Energy GB found that if everyone made the switch, savings could go as high as £560 million.

If you want more ideas on green tips, Nationwide recently launched a tool which gives people more insight into how to make their properties greener.

Green upgrades

Beyond small changes like LED lights and weather strips, if you want to make some larger changes, there could be even more savings to be had. Roof installation, for example, magnifies the impact of weatherstripping, helping you reduce both heat loss (up to a 25% reduction) and heating bills. While you’ll spend an average of £550, you could save £2,079 after five years. Not only that, you’ll also shrink your carbon footprint by around 530kg a year.

Double glazing can also be a barrier to heat loss. Estimates are that people in Britain lose between 10- 40 per cent of their heat through their windows. However, double glazing can lead to big savings – up to £235, while reducing your carbon footprint by 6%. Some research has found it can even boost house value. It’s an investment that takes time to pay off, but there will be a payoff. Head over here for a full breakdown.

Rooftop solar panels are another way to make big savings – although there are also some big upfront costs, too. Prices will vary depending on system size and number of panels, but research shows that:

• Installing a 3kW panel system with 12 panels could cost you between £5,000 to £6,000 to set up, but will save you around £850 a year on bills, and after 25 years, around £21,250
• For a 5kW panel system with 20 panels, you’ll be set back between £8,000 and £9,000, saving you £1,460 and up to £39,550 after 25 years.
• If you decide to go bigger than this, with a 6kW panel system that has 24 panels, you’ll pay between ​​£8,000 – £9,000 but save over £1,460 and over £40,325 after 25 years.

Grants and initiatives

These bigger investments in green upgrades can set you back quite a bit, as we have seen, despite their long-term savings.  However, there are grants and initiatives which can assist you in greening your home.

While the Green Homes Grant, which is no longer open to people, might have been deemed a “slam dunk fail” by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report, there are other schemes being delivered regionally.

For example, back in March 2023, the government announced that £1.4 billion would go to authorities, providers of social housing and charities to upgrade homes and off-grid households with energy efficiency measures.

Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council are some of the recipients of funding from the government Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 (HUG 2) scheme, having been successful in their bid for a minimum of £12.4 million.

The ‘Bright Green Homes’ project across the South West will also see over 500 households in Bristol, North Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset (BANES) receive funding for energy efficiency and renewable upgrades.

Similarly, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Consortium secured £82,313,888 in its Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 funding bid.

A full list, along with eligibility criteria, can be found here. 

Some energy companies also offer free insulation or grants to assist you with making your home more energy efficient, in line with the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) Scheme. Learn more about that here. 

Tags: cost of living crisis, Energy prices, savings, upgrades

Energy prices on the rise

by Madaline Dunn

News of rising energy prices will come as another financial knock to many people across the UK after what has been a turbulent two years. The cost of living is set to increase once again following a worldwide squeeze on gas and energy supplies.

In October, around 15 million homes saw their bills up 12%. Unfortunately, the situation is only likely to worsen, with industry leaders calling for government intervention to help tackle the “national crisis”.

At The Salary Calculator, we’ll walk you through:

• How much you can expect costs to rise by
• The causes of the price hike
• Whether there’s anything you can do to navigate this

How much will costs rise?

In the UK, the trade body Energy UK has released some bleak forecasts regarding energy bills, outlining that they could rise by 50% by springtime, which will ultimately hit low-income households and small businesses the hardest.

As a result, reports say that the energy bill for the average household could increase by £600 by April – and looking forward, next year, bills could reach £2,200-a-year on average.

Of course, with other rising living costs, this is concerning news for many. Alex Belsham-Harris, of Citizens Advice, says that already people are feeling the pinch. He added: “With major hikes to energy bills from April and other costs of living rising, the quickest and easiest way for the government to provide direct support for those hardest hit will be through the benefits system.”

What’s causing the hike?

Energy costs are on the rise for a number of reasons. Wholesale energy prices have surged as economies emerge from the pandemic, with demand increasing and fewer exports. Last year’s cold winter in Europe also played a part. So, there has been a range of technical and geopolitical issues at play. Since 2020, energy prices have risen by 250%, and in August, they rose further by a staggering 70%. This has led to more than 20 domestic suppliers going bust as the price cap prevented companies from charging consumers more to deal with this.

Although Ofgem’s price cap has limited energy suppliers in regards to how much they charge, this is to move in April and could reach £1,995-a-year per household.

What can you do?

It can be stressful thinking about the prospect of rising energy prices, and it’s understandable to have concerns and questions.

Some important information to remember is that if you’re struggling to keep up with payments, don’t put your head in the sand. Reach out to your supplier as soon as possible. Suppliers can help set up an affordable payment plan if you feel things are spiralling – they may even pass on the details of charities that can help you with your financial burden.

That said, if you feel as though the situation has advanced beyond that, it may be time to reach out to a debt adviser to help you navigate missed payments and the like.

Likewise, it’s worth noting that if your provider is one of the unlucky ones caught up in the crisis and goes bust, and you have credit on your account, it won’t be lost. Instead, your balance will be transferred to your new energy supplier – the same goes for any debt on your account; it will be passed on.

Of course, there are ways you can use energy more efficiently, too, to keep your bills lower. Simple things like not leaving appliances on standby and switching off lights when they’re not needed can have a big impact. Switching to low energy light bulbs can keep costs lower, too, as can using draft excluders and investing in better insulation and double glazing – although the latter may not be financially viable options for everyone.

Tags: Economy, Energy prices, living costs, Personal finances