Increased policy support for energy-efficiency programs can save 10 percent in energy bills

Increased policy support for energy-efficiency programs can save 10 percent in energy bills, a recent report by the UK Energy Research Centre’s (UKERC) Technology and Policy Assessment (TPA) has been able to reveal.

Called “Energy Efficiency Evaluation: The evidence for real energy savings from energy efficiency programmes in the household sector,” the report was able to reveal that well-established programs — like minimum energy efficiency standards for buildings, incentives to encourage consumers to buy more energy efficient appliances, and investment and refurbishment programs – can help attain an average 10 percent of savings in total household energy use.

But other programs — like information and advice programs, community-led and behavior change initiatives, and innovative finance programs — have not seen similar results.

According to the UKERC, support for energy efficiency in the United Kingdom has been weakened in recent years due to policy changes. But in the recent election, many major parties committed to energy efficiency measures in their election manifestos.

The report also found that, even though the U.K. has introduced smart meters widely, they are not doing so for demand response purposes. Rather, they are doing so to help customers understand their energy usage, in hopes they will reduce their usage on their own.

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