Industry letter on owner occupier retrofit for the Secretary of State for BEIS

Dear Secretary of State,To support energy resilience and achieve net zero, the UK needs progress on energy efficiency in homes now.We are deeply aware of the strain both households and public finances are under in the shadow of the current gas crisis, which is why we believe it is so fundamentally important at this time to unlock private investment for homeowners to take control of their bills and thermal comfort.The ADE is a trade association and leading advocate for decentralised energy and building retrofit, with a membership base of more than 150 organisations. Undersigned organisations from the ADE’s membership and wider industry are asking Government to unlock massive private finance for the owner-occupied homes requiring energy efficiency upgradesThis framework should include ‘pull’ factors which incentivise consumer upgrades with private finance, such as tax changes, awareness campaigns, lending measures, savings and investment measures and services packages. These must be accompanied by ‘push’ factors incentivising consumers to make the switch with private finance, such as minimum energy efficiency standards at point of sale. Finally, supply chains will require greater financial incentives and stability to scale up to the required demand.This would greatly reduce public expenditure towards net zero, as it could remove the direct need for a Treasury funded scheme for a majority of the able to pay owner occupier market.It eliminates homeowners having to provide initial investment, allowing affordable schemes with flexibility for individual circumstances, especially valuable given 63% of homes require less than £1,000 per home to upgradeto EPC Band C.It will reduce bills for homeowners, with the overall housing stock saving up to £5bn annually in reduced operating costs.It boosts UK energy security, reducing gas demand and imported supplies. As we enter the more stringent Fourth Carbon Budget in 2023, this would build onthe government’s commitment to further action on owner occupier policy in the Heat and Building Strategy.All these elements should be combined in one package of reforms,which would allow private finance an easier pathway to funding owner occupier retrofit. For greater detail, we attach the ADE’s position paper Funding Owner Occupier tenure retrofit.We request a meeting with yourself and industry representatives to discuss the future of this policy in further detail.The ADE is happy to provide further assistance where required.Yours sincerely,Lily Frencham, Chief Executive Officer, Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE)Tony Beer, Managing Director, Retrofit WorksDanielle Belton, Director, Saving Energy UKBrian Berry, Chief Executive Officer, the Federation of Master BuildersPatrick Caiger-Smith, Executive Chair, Green Energy OptionsDavid Cowdrey, Director of External Affairs, Microgeneration Certification Scheme Charitable FoundationNeil Cutland, Director, Cutland Consulting LtdMike Darby, Chief Executive Office and Co-founder, Demand LogicChris Davidson, Policy Lead, Ground Source Heat Pump AssociationRichard Davis, Chief Executive Officer, Genius Energy LabNigel Donohue, Chief Executive Officer, Insulation Assurance Authority (IAA)Nicholas Doyle, Director, AdecoeNick Eyre, Professor of Energy and Climate PolicyDr Gary Felgate, Chair, Thermify Holdings LtdPaul Gilligan, Chief Executive Office, Pure LeapfrogIan Godsman, Managing Director, South Coast Insulation ServicesNick Gosling, Chief Strategy Officer, Vital EnergiMark Hamilton, Innovation Director, SMS Energy ServicesTony Hardiman MBE, Chairman, Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA)Emma Harvey, Programme Director, Green Finance InstituteStew Horne, Head of Policy, Energy Saving TrustVictoria Keen, Director, Watkins EnergyMervyn Piley, Executive Director, ESTA Energy Services and Technology Association (a trading division of Energy andUtilities Alliance (EUA)Ian Preston, Director of Household Energy Services, Centre for Sustainable EnergyDavid Robson, Chief Executive Officer, InstagroupJohn Sparrow, Company Secretary, Insulated Renderand Cladding Association (INCA)Russel Smith, Managing Director,Parity ProjectsCaitlin Turner, Senior Project Manager, SwecoLiz Warren, Director, SE2 LtdJoe Warren, Managing Director, PowervaultJulian Wiley, Director, Social Energy